Does business commitment to sustainability increase job seekers' perceptions of organisational attractiveness? The role of organisational prestige and cultural masculinity

Abstract

This study analyses how recruiting messages showing commitment to sustainability influence job seekers' perceptions of organisational attractiveness. To address a call from prior research, we propose that organisational prestige mediates the positive relationship between commitment to sustainability and attractiveness. As job seekers from different cultures can have different responses to companies' information, the moderating role of the masculinity dimension of national culture is also examined. In a study of 412 job seekers from four different countries, experimental manipulation was used to assess perceptions of different recruiting messages containing information on business sustainability. Results support the proposed relationships. Theoretical and practical contributions include the integration of signalling and social identity theories to considering a wide variety of mechanisms which show how individuals are attracted to organisations and useful information for helping managers to recruit young talent. Using a sample of young part-time job seekers is a limitation of this work.