Employer branding

About: Employer branding is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1555 publications have been published within this topic receiving 54897 citations.

A model replication with an extension of students´perception of prospective employer attractiveness

Abstract: In the light of a long-term rising focus on human resources as the essential for a competitive advantage of the organisations, human resource management intersects with marketing policies and tools to help organisations to attract and retain potential employees. Therefore the paper attempted to replicate a model by Sivertzen et al. (2013) which investigate the factors of em-ployer branding strategies. The study tested the relationships between the dimension of em-ployer attractiveness scale and the use of social media in relation to applying for a job and to corporate reputation. The model is replicated with extension of different industries and was tested on two larger samples compared to the original paper. An electronic questionnaire was distributed to computer science students and students of economics at universities in the Czech Republic. The model is analysed on the basis of 337 responses related to three well-known com-puter-based companies and 290 responses related to three well-known economics-based com-panies operating on the Czech market. The analysis was processed in R statistical software using the structural equation modelling. The purpose of the replication with extension is to verify the original results and provide additional evidence that helps to build a cumulative body of know-ledge when building essentials of emerging human resource marketing field. The findings indicate that several employer attractiveness attributes could have a positive relation to corporate re-putation. However, it differs between industries. The validation of the employer attractiveness scale resulted in different dimensions than in the original study. New dimensions with different indicators are proposed. The positive relation between the use of social media and corporate reputation, use of social media and intentions to apply for a job and as well corporate reputation and intentions to apply for a job are suggested by the results.

How Hospitality and Tourism Students Choose Careers: Influences of Employer Branding and Applicants’ Customer Orientation

Abstract: The concept of fit has become an important recruitment issue in recent years. The hotel industry is labor intensive, requiring a large workforce to serve customers, and the demand for staff remains urgent. In this sense, hotels must attract suitable staff to provide excellent customer-oriented service. Therefore, recruitment activities should carefully consider how to deliver messages and further attract appropriate applicants. This study examined whether employer branding and applicants’ customer orientation influence applicants’ person–job fit and job choice intention. The study found that person–job fit has a mediating effect. The research results suggest that hotels should develop employer branding and seek customer-oriented job applicants to increase the likelihood of hiring excellent employees who can fit within their organizational culture.

Towards an integrated people management approach? An exploratory study into the relationships between Corporate Social Responsibility, Employer Branding and Human Resource Management in the New Zealand and Australian financial sectors

Abstract: This research expands on the current literature surrounding employee-focused Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Employer Branding (EB) and Human Resource Management (HRM). It explores whether practical connections exist between these concepts, and what impact they have on each other’s capabilities and spheres of influence. Investigated within the financial sector, this study provides some initial insights into the New Zealand and Australian service sector in the period following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). The GFC has drastically affected the business environment and this is mirrored in the most recent literature (Wettenhall, 2011). The literature notes that cost efficiencies, job security concerns and demands for greater organisational transparency have become the norm (Bondy, Moon & Matten, 2012). This is driven by more competitive markets, an increasingly diverse workforce, and more informed and less loyal customers. Some of the recent literature consequently calls organisations to refocus inwards, away from the volatile external environment (Garavan & McGuire, 2010) to their employees, as a means of ensuring competitive advantage (Inyang, Awa & Enuoh, 2011; He, 2012). Despite this renewed focus on the effective recruitment, engagement and retention of talented employees (Nilsson & Ellstrom, 2012), the current normatively dominant employee-focused CSR, EB and HRM literature all remain, for the most part, separated into distinct academic silos. Although research into each of these three areas is extensive and continually developing, employees have only recently become a focus within each field. Increased emphasis on employees has resulted in an enhanced focus on HRM in the literature. However, with limited empirical support, this literature lacks practical instruction as to how HRM can actually go about achieving these often ‘superman-like’ theoretical suggestions. Consequently, concerns remain with some authors as to whether HRM has the skills and influence to actually meet these increasing expectations (Evans, 2009; Guest & Woodrow, 2012). These concerns are mirrored for both EB and CSR. Likewise, recent literature promotes the relationship between HRM, CSR and EB, as valuable and beneficial for HRM and business, despite there often being very limited empirical evidence to support its claims (Sukserm & Takahashi, 2010; Inyang et al., 2011; Martin, Gollan & Grigg, 2011). Focused specifically on employees and the overlap and integration of CSR, EB and HRM, this research aims to address this research gap and the biases in the literature. It first explores the current literature to better understand what the literature envisages in terms of a more integrated and internally consistent people management approach. It will then empirically explore whether the literature’s largely normative theoretical claims are actually practiced.

Is it time to reposition positioning

Abstract: It is over 30 years since Al Ries and Jack Trout introduced the concept of ‘positioning’ in a series of articles in AdAge magazine and since then the brand positioning model, in all its many shapes and sizes, has become a core tool for marketers. However, the whole marketing brandscape has changed radically since the 1970s and the authors argue that most of the existing models are no longer fit for purpose. The authors argue that the current models are more suitable for single-minded proposition development and are too ‘narrow-minded’ for today's brands where it is important to recognise: (i) the need for multiplicity – multiple products and services from one brand, multiple target audiences, multiple need states and different insights communicated and connected across multiple channels and touch-points; (ii) that, while important, the consumer is not king and a failure to recognise this can lead to brand-ness, not brand-ness; and (iii) that marketing propositions are different from long-term branding. The authors put forward a new brand framework that separates the long-term brand philosophy from specific propositions and allows for multiple propositions to co-exist.

Talent Attraction through Online Recruitment Websites: Application of Web 2.0 Technologies

Abstract: Talent attraction is one of the major challenges for HR managers. With the rise of online recruitment channels, the number of applicants for a given job vacancy have increased substantially. In addition, the time taken in finding the right talent from the huge pool of applications has increased significantly, adding up to the hiring cycle. In today’s competitive labour market, employers need to highlight their brand image to prospective job-seekers, so that there is higher chance of recruiting the best talent that fits their manpower requirement. In this paper, an attempt is made in investigating that to what extent web 2.0 technologies such as podcasts, blogs and online employee testimonials may enhance the employer's brand value in the eyes of employed professionals. A multi-group moderated mediation analysis is conducted with 361 working professionals who are active online recruitment platform users. The analysis helps establish the effect of the perceived quality and credibility of career websites on job-seekers’ perception about the employer and on their subsequent application intention. The findings reveal positive effect of video podcasts and realistic employee testimonials presented through third party blogs on job-seekers’ perceived quality and credibility of the job advertisement. This phenomenon is reflected in their heightened attraction for the employer and eventual intention to apply for jobs at the firm.