Exploring the mechanisms of the relationship between website characteristics and organizational attraction

With the development and application of Internet technology, the Internet has become a critical tool for employee recruitment. The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether the characteristics of corporate websites would predict job seekers' perceptions of person–organization fit and person–job fit, which in turn would predict the seekers' attraction to the organization. Data were collected from 353 job seekers through a bulletin board system and websites of job-related forums. The results indicate that the website content (i.e. organizational culture, compensation, and job preview) and website stylistic features (i.e. aesthetics and navigational usability) had differential effects on job seekers' fit perceptions, which in turn affected organizational attraction. Directions for future research and practical implications are also discussed in this paper.

[1]  Steven R. Ash,et al.  A Web of applicant attraction: person-organization fit in the context of Web-based recruitment. , 2002 .

[2]  Timothy A. Judge,et al.  Effects of Work Values on Job Choice Decisions , 1992 .

[3]  T. Judge,et al.  PAY PREFERENCES AND JOB SEARCH DECISIONS: A PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT PERSPECTIVE , 1994 .

[4]  Jennifer Niederst.  Learning web design - a beginner's guide to HTML, graphics, and beyond , 2001 .

[5]  P. M. Podsakoff,et al.  Self-Reports in Organizational Research: Problems and Prospects , 1986 .

[6]  Changya Hu,et al.  The effect of person-organization fit feedback via recruitment web sites on applicant attraction , 2007, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[7]  Bo N. Schenkman,et al.  Aesthetics and preferences of web pages , 2000, Behav. Inf. Technol..

[8]  P. Levy,et al.  Organizational Web Sites: Web Site Content and Style as Determinants of Organizational Attraction , 2003 .

[9]  Franziska Marquart,et al.  Communication and persuasion : central and peripheral routes to attitude change , 1988 .

[10]  Juan Ling,et al.  Aesthetic properties and message customization: navigating the dark side of web recruitment. , 2007, The Journal of applied psychology.

[11]  Filip Lievens,et al.  Research on Internet recruiting and testing: Current status and future directions , 2005 .

[12]  Don A. Larsen,et al.  Effect of Recruiter on Attraction to the Firm: Implications of the Elaboration Likelihood Model , 2002 .

[13]  Paul E. Levy,et al.  Form, content, and function: An evaluative methodology for corporate employment web sites , 2004 .

[14]  D. Byrne.  The Attraction Paradigm , 1971 .

[15]  D. Wegener,et al.  The problem of equivalent models in applications of covariance structure analysis. , 1993, Psychological bulletin.

[16]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[17]  Alison E. Barber,et al.  Job Postings and the Decision to Interview: A Verbal Protocol Analysis , 1993 .

[18]  J. S. Adams,et al.  TOWARD AN UNDERSTANDING OF INEQUITY. , 1963, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[19]  Kelly A. Piasentin,et al.  Applicant attraction to organizations and job choice: a meta-analytic review of the correlates of recruiting outcomes. , 2005, The Journal of applied psychology.

[20]  S. Rynes.  Recruitment, Job Choice, and Post-Hire Consequences: A Call For New Research Directions , 1989 .

[21]  Amy L. Kristof.  PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW OF ITS CONCEPTUALIZATIONS, MEASUREMENT, AND IMPLICATIONS , 1996 .

[22]  P. Cappelli,et al.  Making the most of on-line recruiting. , 2001, Harvard business review.

[23]  A. Kristof-brown,et al.  CONSEQUENCES OF INDIVIDUALS' FIT AT WORK: A META-ANALYSIS OF PERSON-JOB, PERSON-ORGANIZATION, PERSON-GROUP, AND PERSON-SUPERVISOR FIT , 2005 .

[24]  Paul E. Levy,et al.  The Quest for the Qualified Job Surfer: It's Time the Public Sector Catches the Wave , 2000 .

[25]  Daniel M. Cable,et al.  APPLICANT PERSONALITY, ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE, AND ORGANIZATION ATTRACTION , 1997 .

[26]  Phillip W. Braddy,et al.  Organizational recruitment website effects on viewers’ perceptions of organizational culture , 2006 .

[27]  Joseph E. McGrath,et al.  Dilemmatics: The Study of Research Choices and Dilemmas , 1981 .

[28]  Angelo S. DeNisi,et al.  A Meta-Analytic Examination of Realistic Job Preview Effectiveness: A Test of Three Counterintuitive Propositions , 2000 .

[29]  M. Spence.  Job Market Signaling , 1973 .

[30]  A. Kristof-brown,et al.  PERCEIVED APPLICANT FIT: DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN RECRUITERS' PERCEPTIONS OF PERSON-JOB AND PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT , 2000 .

[31]  Karl G. Jöreskog,et al.  Lisrel 8: Structural Equation Modeling With the Simplis Command Language , 1993 .

[32]  E. Thorson,et al.  The Effects of Progressive Levels of Interactivity and Vividness in Web Marketing Sites , 2001 .

[33]  Dennis L. Hoffman,et al.  Marketing in Hypermedia Computer-Mediated Environments : Conceptual Foundations 1 ) , 1998 .

[34]  Viswanath Venkatesh,et al.  Determinants of Perceived Ease of Use: Integrating Control, Intrinsic Motivation, and Emotion into the Technology Acceptance Model , 2000, Inf. Syst. Res..

[35]  J. Webster,et al.  The Use of Technologies in the Recruiting, Screening, and Selection Processes for Job Candidates , 2003 .

[36]  James R. Van Scotter,et al.  RECRUITMENT COMMUNICATION MEDIA: IMPACT ON PREHIRE OUTCOMES , 2004 .

[37]  Timothy A. Judge,et al.  Realistic job previews : A test of the adverse self-selection hypothesis , 1998 .

[38]  J. Breaugh.  Employee recruitment: Current knowledge and important areas for future research , 2008 .

[39]  Charlie L. Reeve,et al.  Job-Seeker Reactions to Selection Process Information in Job Ads , 2004 .

[40]  Brian R. Dineen,et al.  A Web of applicant attraction: person-organization fit in the context of Web-based recruitment. , 2002, The Journal of applied psychology.

[41]  Michael R. Butler.  The diffusion of television advertising , 1991 .

[42]  John E. Hunter,et al.  Statistical power in criterion-related validation studies. , 1976 .

[43]  Daniel M. Cable,et al.  Person–Organization Fit, Job Choice Decisions, and Organizational Entry☆ , 1996 .

[44]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[45]  Hans van der Heijden,et al.  Factors influencing the usage of websites: the case of a generic portal in The Netherlands , 2003, Inf. Manag..

[46]  H. J. Arnold,et al.  Social desirability response bias in self-report choice situations. , 1981 .

[47]  Jennifer A. Chatman,et al.  PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: A PROFILE COMPARISON APPROACH TO ASSESSING PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT , 1991 .

[48]  P. Levy,et al.  Recruitment on the Net: How Do Organizational Web Site Characteristics Influence , 2004 .

[49]  Robert F. Otondo,et al.  Web-based recruitment: effects of information, organizational brand, and attitudes toward a Web site on applicant attraction. , 2007, The Journal of applied psychology.

[50]  Larry J. Williams,et al.  Antecedents and consequences of satisfaction and commitment in turnover models: A reanalysis using latent variable structural equation methods. , 1986 .

[51]  Ronald S. Landis,et al.  Applicant preferences for Web-based versus traditional job postings , 2002, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[52]  Robert E. Ployhart,et al.  Staffing in the 21st Century: New Challenges and Strategic Opportunities , 2006 .

[53]  S. Carless.  Person-job fit versus person-organization fit as predictors of organizational attraction and job acceptance intentions : A longitudinal study , 2005 .

[54]  J. Breaugh,et al.  Research on Employee Recruitment: So Many Studies, So Many Remaining Questions , 2000 .

[55]  James E. King,et al.  The effect of company recruitment web site orientation on individuals perceptions of organizational attractiveness , 2003 .

[56]  Knowlton W. Johnson.  Structural Equation Modeling in Practice: Testing a Theory for Research Use , 1998 .

[57]  Steven D. Maurer,et al.  ORGANIZATIONAL RECRUITING AS MARKETING MANAGEMENT: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDY OF ENGINEERING GRADUATES , 2006 .

[58]  Philip Barker,et al.  Evaluating interactive multimedia courseware—a methodology , 1993 .

[59]  Blake E. Ashforth,et al.  A LONGITUDINAL INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN JOB INFORMATION SOURCES, APPLICANT PERCEPTIONS OF FIT, AND WORK OUTCOMES , 1997 .

[60]  D. Whetten.  What Constitutes a Theoretical Contribution , 1989 .

[61]  Jeffrey R. Edwards,et al.  Person-job fit:: A conceptual integration, literature review, and methodological critique. , 1991 .

[62]  F. Hall,et al.  Organizational Entry: Recruitment, Selection, and Socialization of Newcomers , 1981 .

[63]  Adams Js.  Towards an understanding of inequity , 1963 .

[64]  James A. Breaugh,et al.  Recruitment science and practice , 1992 .

[65]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[66]  D. Osborn.  A reexamination of the organizational choice process , 1990 .

[67]  Leslie A. Hayduk.  Structural equation modeling with LISREL: essentials and advances , 1987 .

[68]  P. Bentler,et al.  Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis : Conventional criteria versus new alternatives , 1999 .

[69]  Jane Webster,et al.  Perceived disorientation: an examination of a new measure to assess web design effectiveness , 2001, Interact. Comput..

[70]  Robert E. Ployhart,et al.  Applicants’ Perceptions of Selection Procedures and Decisions: A Critical Review and Agenda for the Future , 2000 .

[71]  Vida Scarpello,et al.  The matching model: An examination of the processes underlying realistic job previews. , 1990 .