Employer image within and across industries: Moving beyond assessing points-of-relevance to identifying points-of-difference

This study draws from brand positioning research to introduce the notions of points-of-relevance and points-of-difference to employer image research. Similar to prior research, this means that we start by investigating the relevant image attributes (points-of-relevance) that potential applicants use...

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Main Authors: Van Hoye, Greet, LIEVENS, Filip, Weijters, Bert, Cromheecke, Saartje
Format: text
Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2022
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Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/7016
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/8015/viewcontent/EmployerImageWithin_Across_Industries_sv.pdf
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spelling sg-smu-ink.lkcsb_research-80152024-03-20T06:15:13Z Employer image within and across industries: Moving beyond assessing points-of-relevance to identifying points-of-difference Van Hoye, Greet LIEVENS, Filip Weijters, Bert Cromheecke, Saartje This study draws from brand positioning research to introduce the notions of points-of-relevance and points-of-difference to employer image research. Similar to prior research, this means that we start by investigating the relevant image attributes (points-of-relevance) that potential applicants use for judging organizations' attractiveness as an employer. However, we go beyond past research by examining whether the same points-of-relevance are used within and across industries. Next, we further extend current research by identifying which of the relevant image attributes also serve as points-of-difference for distinguishing between organizations and industries. The sample consisted of 24 organizations from 6 industries (total N = 7171). As a first key result, across industries and organizations, individuals attached similar importance to the same instrumental (job content, working conditions, and compensation) and symbolic (innovativeness, gentleness, and competence) image attributes in judging organizational attractiveness. Second, organizations and industries varied significantly on both instrumental and symbolic image attributes, with job content and innovativeness emerging as the strongest points-of-difference. Third, most image attributes showed greater variation between industries than between organizations, pointing at the importance of studying employer image at the industry level. Implications for recruitment research, employer branding, and best employer competitions are discussed. 2022-09-01T07:00:00Z text application/pdf https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/7016 info:doi/10.1002/hrm.22105 https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/8015/viewcontent/EmployerImageWithin_Across_Industries_sv.pdf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business eng Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University employer branding employer image industry image organizational attractiveness points-of-difference points-of-relevance recruitment Human Resources Management Organizational Behavior and Theory
institution Singapore Management University
building SMU Libraries
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider SMU Libraries
collection InK@SMU
language English
topic employer branding
employer image
industry image
organizational attractiveness
points-of-difference
points-of-relevance
recruitment
Human Resources Management
Organizational Behavior and Theory
spellingShingle employer branding
employer image
industry image
organizational attractiveness
points-of-difference
points-of-relevance
recruitment
Human Resources Management
Organizational Behavior and Theory
Van Hoye, Greet
LIEVENS, Filip
Weijters, Bert
Cromheecke, Saartje
Employer image within and across industries: Moving beyond assessing points-of-relevance to identifying points-of-difference
description This study draws from brand positioning research to introduce the notions of points-of-relevance and points-of-difference to employer image research. Similar to prior research, this means that we start by investigating the relevant image attributes (points-of-relevance) that potential applicants use for judging organizations' attractiveness as an employer. However, we go beyond past research by examining whether the same points-of-relevance are used within and across industries. Next, we further extend current research by identifying which of the relevant image attributes also serve as points-of-difference for distinguishing between organizations and industries. The sample consisted of 24 organizations from 6 industries (total N = 7171). As a first key result, across industries and organizations, individuals attached similar importance to the same instrumental (job content, working conditions, and compensation) and symbolic (innovativeness, gentleness, and competence) image attributes in judging organizational attractiveness. Second, organizations and industries varied significantly on both instrumental and symbolic image attributes, with job content and innovativeness emerging as the strongest points-of-difference. Third, most image attributes showed greater variation between industries than between organizations, pointing at the importance of studying employer image at the industry level. Implications for recruitment research, employer branding, and best employer competitions are discussed.
format text
author Van Hoye, Greet
LIEVENS, Filip
Weijters, Bert
Cromheecke, Saartje
author_facet Van Hoye, Greet
LIEVENS, Filip
Weijters, Bert
Cromheecke, Saartje
author_sort Van Hoye, Greet
title Employer image within and across industries: Moving beyond assessing points-of-relevance to identifying points-of-difference
title_short Employer image within and across industries: Moving beyond assessing points-of-relevance to identifying points-of-difference
title_full Employer image within and across industries: Moving beyond assessing points-of-relevance to identifying points-of-difference
title_fullStr Employer image within and across industries: Moving beyond assessing points-of-relevance to identifying points-of-difference
title_full_unstemmed Employer image within and across industries: Moving beyond assessing points-of-relevance to identifying points-of-difference
title_sort employer image within and across industries: moving beyond assessing points-of-relevance to identifying points-of-difference
publisher Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
publishDate 2022
url https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/7016
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/8015/viewcontent/EmployerImageWithin_Across_Industries_sv.pdf
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