Displaying employee testimonials on recruitment web sites: Effects of communication media, employee race, and job seeker race on organizational attraction and information credibility.

Abstract

This study investigated participants' reactions to employee testimonials presented on recruitment Web sites. The authors manipulated the presence of employee testimonials, richness of media communicating testimonials (video with audio vs. picture with text), and representation of racial minorities in employee testimonials. Participants were more attracted to organizations and perceived information as more credible when testimonials were included on recruitment Web sites. Testimonials delivered via video with audio had higher attractiveness and information credibility ratings than those given via picture with text. Results also showed that Blacks responded more favorably, whereas Whites responded more negatively, to the recruiting organization as the proportion of minorities shown giving testimonials on the recruitment Web site increased. However, post hoc analyses revealed that use of a richer medium (video with audio vs. picture with text) to communicate employee testimonials tended to attenuate these racial effects.

How University Websites’ Emphasis on Age Diversity Influences Prospective Students’ Perception of Person-Organization Fit and Student Recruitment

“…At a first glance, these findings seems at odds with the results of studies on job application showing that emphasizing diversity has differential, and sometimes even opposite effects on minority or majority group members (e.g. Walker et al 2009). However, there are two points to consider.…”

Understanding internet recruitment via signaling theory and the elaboration likelihood model

“…Much of the early work in this area focused on aspects of the websites themselves, such as usability and aesthetics (Braddy, Thompson, Wuensch, & Grossnickle, 2003;Cober, Brown, Levy, Cober, & Keeping, 2003;Cober et al, 2000;Coyle & Thorson, 2001;Scheu, Ryan, & Nona, 1999;Williamson, Lepak, & King, 2003;Zusman & Landis, 2002) and the effects of employee testimonials (Braddy, Meade, & Kroustalis, 2008;Highhouse, Hoffman, Greve, & Collins, 2002;Van Hoye & Lievens, 2007;Walker, Feild, Giles, Armenakis, & Bernerth, 2009). More recent work has investigated a series of other variables not directly associated with the website, such as person-organization (P-O) fit (De Goede, Van Vianen, & Klege, 2011;Pfieffelmann, Wagner, & Libkuman, 2010), the role of previous information such as industry stereotypes (De Goede et al, 2011), and organizational familiarity (Walker, Feild, Giles, Bernerth, & Short, 2011).…”

Employee Reviews on Company Independent Sites and its Impact on Organizational Attractiveness: Role of Information Realism, Person – Environment Fit and Source Credibility Framework

“…The study also provides a conceptual framework determining how realistic information leads to organiza tional attractiveness. Walker et al (2009) claim that the use of media to commu nicate organizational information increases the likelihood that job seekers develop preferred image beliefs. When job seekers start their job search process, corporate website is typically one of the first tools to gather information and evaluate prospective employers.…”

“…One of the ways of providing recruitment related information is through employee testimonials. Research on the usefulness of employee testimonials has so far focused on corporate websites, which are under the control of organizations (Van Hoye, Lievens 2007;Walker et al 2009). Apart from corporate websites, social media tools like online commu nities, forums are becoming popular.…”

“…Job seekers can quickly search for such independent information about the organization from employee's blogs, chat rooms and company independent websites. So far re search has focused on company dependent websites where the information is completely controlled by the organiza tion whereas company independent sources have largely been ignored (Cable, Turban 2001;Van Hoye, Lievens 2007;Walker et al 2009). …”