Do People Make the Place? An Examination of the Attraction‐selection‐attrition Hypothesis

Abstract

This study tests the hypotheses that (1) congruence between internal need states and external environments drives the organizational‐choice process and (2) those attracted to particular organizations are more homogeneous than the applicant pool in general. Subjects were evaluated on 14 needs using the Jackson Personality Research Form. They then viewed two video‐taped segments of simulated campus interviews to gain information about two distinct types of organizational reward systems. The interview segments entered the discussion in progress to avoid any reference to a particular job that might introduce an occupational confound. Subjects received job offers from both organizations and were asked to indicate which of the two organizations they found more attractive by accepting one of the offers. Analysis of variance results indicated only weak support for the congruency hypothesis. Differences were observed in nAch between the groups of subjects attracted to each organization. No differences were found for any of the other need strength measures. This suggests that the subjects attracted to the different organizations were substantially similar. Hierarchial factor analysis of the PRF has suggested a six‐factor structure that appears consistent with the second‐order factors from other respectable personality measures. This suggests that the second‐order solution may be a parsimonious mapping of the personality domain and may therefore be more relevant in testing these hypotheses. The analysis was repeated using these dimensions. The results suggest that work force homogeneity may be more complex than originally considered. Implications for the homogeneity hypothesis are discussed, and suggestions for further study of this concept are offered.

Becoming the Leader: Leadership as Material Presence

“…In some ways this echoes long-standing research by social psychologists that suggests people are attracted to those who resemble themselves (e.g. Bretz, Ash & Dreher, 1989). But in the terms of this study, the direction of influence is unclear: do people define leadership based on their self-perception, or do they model themselves on their definition of leadership?…”

An Analysis of the Relation between Personality and the Attractiveness of Total Rewards Components

“…Several authors express the need to carry out analyses of how personality traits affect employment characteristics preferences (Barber and Bretz, 2000;Schneider, 1987;Schneider, Goldstein, and Smith, 1995). Consistent with this perspective, our study considers candidates' viewpoints rather than those of organizations (e.g., Bretz, Ash, and Dreher, 1989;Cable and Judge, 1994;Judge and Cable, 1997;Turban and Keon, 1993). More specifically, our study seeks to provide more information on how various compensation components may facilitate or impede the attraction of people with specific personality traits.…”

“…In fact, we analyze real job choices made by people who are active in the labour market, as recommended by several authors (e.g., Barber, 1998;Lawler, 1971;Lievens et al, 2001;Rynes, 1991;Ziegert and Ehrhart, 2004). Most prior research considers the attraction phenomenon among samples of students with little or no work experience (e.g., Aiman-Smith, Bauer, and Cable, 2001;Bretz, Ash, and Dreher, 1989;Bretz and Judge, 1994;Cable and Judge, 1994;Lievens et al, 2001;Trank, Rynes, and Bretz, 2002). In addition, job attractiveness is often assessed by asking participants to talk about a series of job descriptions and/or fictitious organizations (e.g., Cable and Judge, 1994;Feldman and Arnold, 1978;Rynes, Schwab, and Heneman, 1983;Zedeck, 1977).…”

The importance of pay in employee motivation: Discrepancies between what people say and what they do

“…5. People with high need for achievement and higher feelings of self-efficacy prefer pay systems that more closely link pay to performance (e.g., Bretz, Ash, & Dreher, 1989;Turban & Keon, 1993).…”