The determinants of job seekers' reputation perceptions

• Published in: Journal of organizational behavior Vol. 21; no. 8; pp. 929 - 947
• Main Authors: Cable, Daniel M., Graham, Mary E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.12.2000; John Wiley & Sons; Wiley Periodicals Inc
• Subjects: Business structures; Community relations; Consumer goods industries; Correlation analysis; Employers; Employment; Employment at will; Field study; Job hunting; Job searching; Organizational behavior; Organizational culture; Perceptions; Perceptual organization; Profitability; Profitable firms; Public image management; Reputation; Reputations; Restaurant industry; Social identity; Stakeholders; Studies; Universities; United States > US
• ISSN: 0894-3796; 1099-1379
• DOI: 10.1002/1099-1379(200012)21:8<929::AID-JOB63>3.0.CO;2-O

Although job seekers' reputation perceptions may be based on different factors than other constituents (e.g., investors, consumers), we know little about the antecedents of job seekers' reputation perceptions. The present study utilizes verbal protocol analysis to explore the factors that job seekers consider when evaluating employers' reputations. Results from this qualitative investigation are complemented and cross-validated with an experimental policy capturing study and a field study of recruiting organizations. Data from all three methodologies suggest that some factors affecting job seekers' reputation perceptions are quite different from factors that have been revealed in previous reputation research, which has focused primarily on executives. For example, results from the present study reveal that the type of industry in which a firm operates, the opportunities that a firm provides for employee development, and organizational culture affect job seekers' reputation perceptions.