Enticing the IT crowd: employer branding in the information economy

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop an instrument to measure employer branding in the information age. Firms increasingly migrate from matter-intensive business models to information-intensive models, where value lies in information rather than the physical objects. This shift has, in turn, led to a change in employee work skills. This is particularly true in the information technology (IT) sector, where firms rely on a limited supply of skilled labor. Employer branding, a firm’s reputation as a place to work, is an important strategy to attract and retain employees. Design/methodology/approach From the literature, the authors developed and refined an instrument to measure key value propositions of employer brands. The potential IT employees surveyed in the study were students enrolled in the disciplines of computer science and information systems at a comprehensive university in North America. The study went through three stages resulting in an instrument for psychometric properties. Findings This research revealed eight employer branding value propositions that future IT employees care about. These dimensions are important for both IT firms and industries competing for skilled IT labor to understand and manage. Originality/value This paper extends the work of Berthon et al. (2005) on employer branding to the information intensive age and particularly the IT sector. It allows executives to manage and measure their employer brand so as to maximize competitive advantage in attracting and retaining skilled employees.

Assessing the Nexus Between Employer Branding and Employee Retention: Moderating Role of Organizational Identification

“…There exists a considerable amount of research on EB, focusing particularly on external stakeholders. Past studies have explicated EB as a ‘recruitment strategy’ aimed at attracting a pool of talented applicants (Backhaus & Tikoo, 2004; Dabirian, Berthon, et al, 2019; Dabirian, Paschen, et al, 2019). With this, empirical investigations on how EB can aid an organization to exhibit positive behaviours among internal stakeholders remain scarce, particularly, in the IT context.…”

“…The IT industry has witnessed a sweeping change in terms of technological innovation, demographics, market disruption and competition (Dabirian, Berthon, et al, 2019; Dabirian, Paschen, et al, 2019; Gannon, 2013; Moquin et al, 2019). With the unpredictable shades of an erratic market, the Indian IT sector faces the shortage of skilled employees.…”

Social media influence on the B2B buying process

“…Li and Zhang (2019) also demonstrated that SM usage effects customer loyalty and is mediated by buyers’ trust in salespersons’ integrity/benevolence and as such can indirectly improve a buyer’s loyalty. Also, as seen in the employee branding literature by Dabirian et al (2019) and Duncan et al (2019), employees participate and contribute information related to their employers on the different available SM channels. As these contributions increase, they indirectly contribute to the overall brand image and reputation of their employers, the seller organizations.…”

Guest editorial

“…The first two articles examine the employer/employee topics within the B2 context. Dabirian et al (2019), in article seven , develop an instrument to measure employer branding value propositions for IT firms as a means to gain competitive advantage in an industry where talent is a highly competed-for resource. In article eight , Duncan et al (2019) explore brand image of B2B firms through the lens of employee reviews on social media and demonstrate the value that firms can gain from this type of “competitive intelligence”.…”