Attractiveness of Recruitment Advertisements: Impact of Information Specificity

Yıl 2016, Cilt: 16 Sayı: 1, 161 - 175, 01.02.2016

Esra Alnıaçık

Öz

Job advertisements are important tools used by companies to attract talented employees. Main functions of job ads are informing potential employees about job posts and convincing them to apply for the job. This study investigates some variables that may affect the attractiveness of job ads. Particularly, the study examines the effects of the specificity of information given in a job advertisement on the potential applicants’ willingness to apply for the job opening and their attitudes toward the job ad. Results of an experimental study on 600 undergraduate students revealed that, providing information about the benefits offered by the job increased the likelihood to apply for the job. Further, specific and concrete messages found to generate a higher level of intention to apply for the job, when compared to vague and general messages. Finally, results indicated that students in their final year of study were more sensitive to specific messages when compared to other students. These findings are discussed in detail and theoretical and managerial implications are provided

Anahtar Kelimeler

Job Advertisement, Willingness to Apply, Attitude towards Job Ad, Message Specificity, Organisational Attractiveness

İş İlanlarının Çekiciliği: Mesaj Belirginliğinin Etkisi

Öz

İş ilanları, işletmelerin yetenekli çalışanları kendilerine çekmek için kullandıkları önemli araçlardan birisidir. İş ilanlarının temel amacı, işletmenin ihtiyaç duyduğu niteliklere sahip çalışanlara iş ile ilgili bilgi vermek ve onların işletmeye iş başvurusu yapmalarını sağlamaktır. Bu araştırmada, adayların iş ilanlarına başvuru yapma niyeti üzerinde etkisi olan bazı değişkenler incelenmiştir. Bu çerçevede, iş ilanı içinde işletmenin çalışanlara sunduğu olanaklarla ilgili bilgiyi verip vermemenin ve de bu bilgiyi genel bir ifadeyle ya da ayrıntılı bir şekilde vermenin, adayların iş ilanına yönelik tutumlarını ve ilanda belirtilen pozisyona başvuru yapma niyetini nasıl etkilediği irdelenmiştir. Bu amaçla, kurgusal iş ilanları hazırlanarak üniversite öğrencileri üzerinde bir deneysel araştırma gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda, iş ilanlarında kurumun çalışanlara sunduğu olanaklara ilişkin bilgi vermenin, adayların iş başvurusu yapma niyetini olumlu yönde etkilediği; bu bilginin genel bir ifade yerine ayrıntılı bir şekilde verilmesinin daha da olumlu bir etki yaptığı belirlenmiştir. Buna ilaveten, son sınıflarda okuyan mezuniyet aşamasındaki öğrencilerin ayrıntılı bir şekilde sunulan bilgiden, alt sınıflardaki öğrencilere nazaran daha fazla etkilendiği de ortaya çıkarılmıştır. Sonuçlar üzerinde tartışılarak, uygulamacılara ve araştırmacılara çeşitli öneriler sunulmuştur

Anahtar Kelimeler

İş İlanı, Başvuru Niyeti, İş İlanına Yönelik Tutum, Mesaj Belirginliği, Örgütsel Çekicilik

Kaynakça

• Aaker, D.A., ve D.M. Stayman (1990), “Measuring Audience Perceptions of Commercials and Relating Them to Ad Impact,” Journal of Advertising Research, 30(3): 7–17.
• Abernethy, A.M. ve G.R. Franke (1996), “The Information Content of Advertising: A Meta-Analysis,” Journal of Advertising, 25 (3): 1–17.
• Acarlar, G., ve R. Bilgic, (2013), “Factors influencing applicant willingness to apply for the advertised job opening: the mediational role of credibility, satisfaction and attraction”, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(1): 50–77.
• Allen, D., Van Scotter, J., & Otondo, R. (2004), “Recruitment communication media: Impact on prehire outcomes” Personnel Psychology, 57: 143-171.
• Barber, A.E., and Roehling, M.V., (1993), “Job Postings and the Decision to Interview: A Verbal Protocol Analysis” Journal of Applied Psychology, 78: 845–856.
• Baş, T., A.Ü., Aydınlık, F. Erenel, (2011), “Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Belirlenmesine Yönelik Keşfedici Bir Araştırma”, Ege Akademik Bakış, 11(3): 439-452.
• Belt, A., & Paolillo, J. (1982), “The influence of corporate image and specificity of candidate qualifications on response to recruitment advertisement”, Journal of Management, 8: 105-112.
• Breaugh, J. A. (2005), “Employee recruitment: Current knowledge and important areas for future research” Human Resource Management Review, 18: 103-118.
• Breaugh, J. A., ve Starke, M. (2000), “Research on employee recruitment: So many studies, so many remaining questions, Journal of Management, 26(3): 405-430.
• Blackman, A. (2006), “Graduating Students’ Responses to Recruitment Advertisements” Journal of Business Communication, 43(4): 367–388.
• Breaugh, J. A., & Billings, R. S. (1988), “The realistic job preview: Five key elements and their importance for research and practice” Journal of Business and Psychology, 2: 291–305.
• Cable, D.M., Aiman-Smith, L., Mulvey, P.W., ve Edwards, J.R., (2000), “The Sources and Accuracy of Job Applicants’ Beliefs About Organizational Culture” Academy of Management Journal, 43: 1076–1085.
• Cable, D.M. ve M.E. Graham, (2000), “The Determinants of Job Seekers’ Reputation Perceptions,” Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21(12): 929–947.
• Capelli, P., (2001), “Making the Most of On-line Recruiting” Harvard Business Review, 79(3): 139–146.
• Dowling, G.R., (1988), “Measuring Corporate Images: A Review of Alternative Approaches” Journal of Business Research, 17(8): 27–34.
• Erdem, B., T., Gezen, (2014), “Turizm İşletmelerine Yönelik İş İlanlarının İçerik Analizi Yöntemiyle İncelenmesi”, Uluslararası Yönetim İktisat ve İşletme Dergisi, 10(21):19-42.
• Feldman, D.C., Bearden, W.O., ve Hardesty, D.M. (2006), “Varying the Content of the Job Advertisements: The Effects of Message Specificity” Journal of Advertising, 35: 123–141.
• Feldman D.C. ve Brian S. Klaas, (2002), “Internet Job Hunting: A Field Study of Applicant Experiences with On-line Recruiting” Human Resource Management, 41(Summer): 175–192.
• Fernandez, K.V. ve D.L. Rosen, (2000), “The Effectiveness of Information and Color in Yellow Pages Advertising” Journal of Advertising, 29(Summer), 61–73.
• Fisher, C.D., Ilgen, D.R., ve Hoyer, W.D., (1979), “Source Credibility, Information Favorability, and Job Offer Acceptance” Academy of Management Journal, 22: 94–103.
• Gatewood, R.D., ve H.S. Field, (1998), Human Resource Selection, 4th ed., Orlando, FL: Dryden Press.
• Gatewood, R.D., Gowan, M.A., ve Lautenschlager, G.J., (1993), “Corporate Image, Recruitment Image, and Initial Job Choice Decisions” The Academy of Management Journal, 36: 414–427.
• Goltz, S.M., C.M. Giannantonio, (1995), “Recruiter Friendliness and Attraction to the Job: The Mediating Role of Inferences about the Organization”, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 46(1): 109-118.
• Highhouse, S., Zickar, M., Thorsteinson, T., Steirwalt, S., & Slaughter, J. (1999), “Assessing company employment image: An example in the fast food industry” Personnel Psychology, 52: 151-172.
• Kaplan, A.B., M.G. Aamodt, ve D. Wilk, (1991), “The Relationship Between Advertisement Variables and Applicant Responses to Newspaper Recruitment Advertisements” Journal of Business and Psychology, 5 (3): 383–395.
• Lee, C.-H., F.-M. Hwang, Yu-Chen Yeh, (2013), “The impact of publicity and subsequent intervention in recruitment advertising on job searching freshmen’s attraction to an organization and job pursuit intention” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43: 1–13.
• MacKenzie, S.B. (1986), “The Role of Attention in Mediating the Effect of Advertising on Attribute Importance,” Journal of Consumer Research, 13 (September): 174–195.
• Mason, N., ve J.A. Belt (1986), “Effectiveness of Specificity in Recruitment Advertising,” Journal of Management, 12(September): 425–432.
• Maurer, S.D., V. Howe, ve T.W. Lee (1992), “Organizational Recruiting as Marketing Management: An Interdisciplinary Study of Engineering Graduates,” Personel Psychology, 45(Winter): 807–834.
• Neely-Martinez, M., (2002) “Breaking the mold”, HR Magazine, 46: 82-90.
• Ogilvy, D., (1983), Ogilvy on Advertising, New York: Crown.
• Powell, G.N. (1984), “Effect of Job Attributes and Recruiting Practices on Applicant Decisions: A Comparison,” Personel Psychology, 37 (Winter): 721– 732.
• Premack, S.L., ve J.P. Wanous, (1986), “A Meta-Analysis of Realistic Job Preview Experiments,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 70(November): 706–719.
• Rafaeli, A., ve Amalya L.O., (1998), “Employment Ads: A Configurational Research Agenda,” Journal of Management Inquiry, 7 (December): 342–358.
• Reeve, C.L., ve Schultz, L. (2004), “Job-Seeker Reactions to Selection Process Information in Job Ads” International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 12: 343–355.
• Roberson, Q.M. C.J. Collins, S. Oreg, (2005), “The Effects of Recruitment Message Specificity on Applicant Attraction to Organizations”, Journal of Business and Psychology, 19(3): 319-339.
• Roehling, M.V. (2002), “The “good cause” norm in employment relations: Empirical evidence and policy implications”, Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 14: 91-104.
• Ryan, A.M., ve R.E. Ployhart, (2000), “Applicants’ Perceptions of Selection Procedures and Decisions: A Critical Review and Agenda for the Future,” Journal of Management, 26(3): 565–606.
• Rynes, S.L., (1991), “Recruitment, Job Choice, and Post-Hire Consequences: A Call for New Research Directions,” in Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, M.D. Dunnette ve L.M. Hough, Eds., Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Rynes, S.L.; Miller, H.E., (1983), “Recruiter and job influences on candidates for employment”, Journal of Applied Psychology, 68(1): 147-154.
• Schneider, B.D. B. Smith, ve H.W. Goldstein, (2000), “Attraction-Selection-Attrition: Toward a Person– Environment Psychology of Organizations,” in Person- Environment Psychology, W.B. Walsh, K.H. Craik, ve R.H. Price, Eds., Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Snyder, R., (1989), “Misleading Characteristics of Implied-Superiority Claims,” Journal of Advertising, 18(4): 54–61.
• Taylor, M.S., & Bergmann, T.J., (1987), “Organizational recruitment activities and applicants’ reactions at different stages of the recruitment process”, Personnel Psychology, 40: 261-285.
• Thorsteinson, T., & Highhouse, S., (2003), “Effects of goal framing in job advertisements on organizational attractiveness”, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33(11): 2393-2412.
• Turban, D., Forret, M., & Hendrickson, C., (1998), “Applicant attraction to firms: Influences of organization reputation, job and organizational attributes, and recruiter behaviors”, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 52: 24-44.
• Turban D.B., ve D.W. Greening, (1996), “Corporate Social Performance and Organizational Attractiveness to Prospective Employees,” Academy of Management Journal, 40 (June): 658–672.
• Van Hoye, G., & Lievens, F., (2005), “Recruitment- related information sources and organizational attractiveness: Can something be done about negative publicity?”, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 13:179-187.
• Walker, H.J., Feild, H.S., Giles, W.F., & Bernerth, J.B., (2008), “The interactive effects of job advertisement characteristics and applicant experience on reactions to recruitment messages”, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 81: 619– 638.
• Wanous, J.P., (1978), “Realistic Job Previews: Can a Procedure to Reduce Turnover Also Influence the Relationship between Abilities and Performance?” Personnel Psychology, 31: 249–258.
• Yüce, P. ve Highhouse, S., (1998), “Effects of Attribute Set Size and Pay Ambiguity on Reactions to “Help Wanted” Advertisements”, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19: 337–352.