Master Thesis
Gender differences in perception of anonymous application procedure: Testing the influence on Attitudes about the Organization, Likeability to Apply and
Organization Recommendation
Submitted by Annekathrin Heuer 10700862
University of Amsterdam Graduate School of Communication
Master’s Programme Communication Science: Corporate Communication Supervisor: Lise A. van Oortmerssen
Abstract
Demands of employees towards their employers became more relevant in terms of
employee treatment as one dimension of their corporate social performance. Fair treatment of minorities, e.g. female employees, is already important to organizations but still lacking equality. Employer Branding is just one activity organizations can avail from, particularly the impression they send out during the first contact with the prospective employee (initial stage of application). In this study the impact of the application procedure on the Attitudes about the Organization, the Likeability to Apply and the Organization Recommendation were center of research. The aim of this experiment was to investigate whether anonymous application procedures enhance the Attitudes about an Organization, applicants’ Likeability to Apply and their Likeability to recommend the organization by future employees. Results revealed no statistically significant effects of Application Procedure and Gender on any of the dependent variables Attitudes about the Organization, Likeability to Apply and
Organization Recommendation. However, numbers showed a tendency that organizations offering anonymous applications to their prospective employees benefit in terms of the aforementioned dependent variables. Thus, considering this procedure as a tool for
employer branding activities might be interesting for companies. To further investigate this field of research and to attain significant results, manipulation of stimuli and the
composition of sample could be improved.
Key Words: Employer Image, Anonymous Application Procedure, Employer Branding, and
Gender differences in perception of anonymous application procedure: Testing the influence on Attitudes about the Organization, Likeability to Apply and Organization
Recommendation
Organizations are constantly changing and improving their various functions, where one crucial part of an organization’s developing process is the war for talent is, in order to keep up with the competitive environment of the corporate world (Van Hoye & Saks, 2011). Finding the desired candidates for the organization is a challenge that organizations are facing continuously. One way to cope with this challenge is through the image of the organization as an employer that prospective employees perceive during the early stages of job seeking (Highhouse, Lievens & Sinar, 2003). The image of organizations as employers concern various aspects such as working atmosphere, career opportunities, work-life comfort, and payment attractiveness (Baum & Kabst, 2013). Still, there is more to an organization than those components as for example the treatment of women and minorities (Backhaus, Stone & Heiner, 2002). Women’s employment rate has increased in the last century partly due to Equal Employment Opportunity laws but gender equity, in terms of equal treatment, has not been reached (Sipe, Johnson & Fisher, 2009). To state more precisely, equal treatment meaning that women have similar chances as men to be
applicable for higher positions and positions in general. Hence, an overall conclusion that might be drawn from society is unintentional discrimination towards women likely by organizations, which influences their image as employer. To overcome this perception, organizations have the chance to change the perceived image already at the first stage of the application process by providing the opportunity to apply anonymously.
Prior studies have shown that discrimination of women and minorities takes place especially in the first stage of applying for a job position (King, Mendoza, Madera, Hebl, & Knight, 2006; Blommaert, Coenders, & van Tubergen, 2013; Cotton & Griffing, 2008).
King et al. (2006) examined ethnical discrimination towards Kosovo-Albanian applicants due to prejudices obtained by Swiss society. The authors describe the discriminative action as “a complex interaction between characteristics of the applicant, the job, and the recruiter” (King et al., 2006, p. 406). Blommaert et al. (2013) investigated specific characteristics of recruiters based on their interethnic contacts, their educational level of themselves and their parents. The more positive they scored on the latter items, the less discriminative behavior was observed. In addition, Saks, Leck and Saunders (1995) yield a study in Canada that demonstrated positive reactions towards organizations omitting discriminative questions.
Furthermore, research has investigated the relationship between employer image and organizational attractiveness in regard of organizations’ social performance (Turban & Greening, 1997). Organization’s social performance refers to the construct of corporate social responsibility, which “emphasizes [a] company’s responsibilities to multiple stakeholders, such as employees and the community at large, in addition to its traditional responsibilities to economic shareholders” (Turban & Greening, 1997, p. 658).
Implementing an anonymous application procedure can be regarded as a social responsible action that might develop positive images towards the organization due to fair and neutral treatment of applicants (Turban & Greening, 1997).
However, the influence of anonymous application procedures, as a tool for reducing discriminative behavior in the selection process, on applicants attitudes do not seem to have been in the center of research. Hence, the differences of the perception of Attitudes about the Organization, Likeability to Apply and Organization Recommendation between females and males is interesting to investigate in order to demonstrate possible improvements organizations can undertake.
This study aims to examine what impact anonymous applications have on the perception of organizations as employer within the minority group of females and how it
affects the Attitudes about the Organization, the Likeability to Apply, and the Organization Recommendation. In the present study the focus was solely on the initial first stage of recruitment and investigated students and Young Professionals. This leads to the following research question: How does the perception of Attitudes about the Organization, Likeability to Apply, and Organization Recommendation vary when an organization is offering
anonymous application procedures versus not offering this procedure to applicants? How does the perception differ between male and female?
Theoretical Framework
The focus of the following section was to investigate the various terms that are adduced to develop the model in order to answer the present research question. In particular, the dependent variables Attitudes about the Organization, Likeability to Apply and
Organization Recommendation are introduced to the reader. The context of workforce diversity and discrimination underlying the association between the independent variable Application Procedure (anonymous vs. non-anonymous) and the aforementioned dependent variables are discussed furthermore.
Anonymous Application Procedure
Anonymous application procedures were introduced in the labor market to combat hiring discrimination. Anonymous job applications are characterized by the exclusion of “any information about the applicant’s status as a member of a minority or other
disadvantaged group in the written application documents that recruiters use in deciding whom to invite for a job interview” (Rinne, 2014). The procedure eliminates information about the applicant that indicates applicants’ race and gender. Moreover to increase anonymity date and place of birth, disability, marital status and the applicant picture are removed in the initial stage of recruitment (Aslund & Nordström Skans, 2012). Anonymous applications can function as a useful policy instrument to enhance desired diversity in an
organization (Krause, Rinne & Zimmermann, 2012a). Due to the aforementioned discrimination issues of minority groups, e.g. female applicants, anonymous application procedures gain popularity in the European labor market (Krause, Rinne & Zimmermann, 2012b).
Previous research has shown that anonymous applications, in fact, do decrease the discrimination rate of minorities. Research concerning the aforementioned relationship has been conducted in Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Germany (Aslund & Nordström Skans, 2012; Bøg & Kranendonk 2011; Krause et al., 2012a). In sum, employer image and
discrimination has already been widely studied and several components have shown impact on the relationship.
Discrimination in recruitment process
The composition of the workforce in the 21st century has changed tremendously with the increasing employment of women. This leads to issues of gender discrimination, which can still be observed in the workforce (Byrd & Scott, 2014). Gender discrimination is defined as: “Gender-based behaviors, policies, and actions that adversely affect a person’s work by leading to unequal treatment or the creation of an intimidating environment because of one’s gender.” (Sipe et al.,p. 342). Furthermore, Sipe et al. (2009) elaborate on the definition by adding the aspect of employer decisions regarding selection during recruitment.
Two main theories of economic discrimination are preference-based discrimination and statistical discrimination (Carlsson & Rooth, 2008). Preference-based discrimination states that employers choose their applicants based solely on their personal preferences, which in most cases are male applicants. Recruiters belonging to the majority group tend to select new employees originating from the same majority group, which indicates the
Statistical discrimination is based on inequality of minorities in society constructed on established stereotypes and prejudices. The prediction of productivity of an individual is based on the average productivity rate of the corresponding minority group, which the observer perceives. In the present case, women are perceived less productive than men resulting in gender inequality (Carlsson & Rooth, 2008). Research has shown that
discrimination during recruitment of applicants has the strongest effect during the first phase of the recruitment process when employers select their interview candidates (Cediey & Foroni, 2008).
Diversity in the workforce
A high number of organizations aim to employ a widespread variety of employees that make the workforce within the organization diverse. Especially the diversity of workgroups influences the dynamics within an organization (Van Knippenberg, Dreu & Homan, 2004). Diversity regards different dimensions of group membership, which is perceived between individuals. Diversity dimensions are certainly age, gender and ethnicity but also political preference, religion or sexual orientation. Studies have shown the presence of positive as well as negative effects of diversity in the workforce (Hofhuis, Van der Zee & Otten, 2013).
Further research investigated workgroup performance and effectiveness within the context of diversity. So far, research has demonstrated effects of proportional representation meaning that an increased number of members of the minority group has a potential
negative or positive effect on other group members (Ely &Thomas, 2001). Benefits of diversity are the additional knowledge about specific external stakeholders within society, which reflect the minority group. Another positive aspect is the added creativity and innovation during projects (Van Knippenberg et al., 2004). Negative aspects for example are the attitudes of employees of the majority group, which are characterized as resisting
and threatened in various terms (Hofhuis et al., 2013). Taylor and Fiske (1976), for example had empirical evidence showing that women and minorities experience negative outcomes when underrepresented. Another approach in diversity literature is the effect of group composition, which focuses on the added value that members of underrepresented groups bring into the workforce (Ely & Thomas, 2001).
Workplace diversity is regarded as one of the dimension of CSP, Corporate Social Performance, which is linked to organizational attractiveness as previous research has shown (Greening & Turban, 2000; Turban & Greening, 1997). Corporate Social Performance increasingly gained interest in society over the past few years and was introduced as a concept that measures a company’s corporate social responsibility, which serves the evaluation of those activities (Albinger & Freeman, 2000; Backhaus et al., 2002). Studies have shown that potential job seekers are considering different dimensions of Corporate Social Performance as important while they are assessing the company. Some dimensions of CSP are evaluated more relevant than other dimensions. Interestingly, women are showing higher interest in a company’s diversity record than men (Backhaus et al., 2002). This aspect is particularly important for the present study, which focuses on the differences of perceptions between men and women while experiencing different
application procedures. In the following paragraph, this aspect is explained by using
Signaling Theory and Social Identity Theory. Additionally, the dependent variables that are relevant to further develop the underlying model are introduced.
Attitudes about the Organization
Attitudes about the Organization is substituted with various terms in the literature, e.g. organizational image as employer, organizational attractiveness, employer image and recruitment image (Hoye & Saks, 2011; Smither, Millsap, Stoffey, Reilly & Pearlman, 1996; Gatewood, Gowan, & Lautenschlager, 1993; Turban & Greening, 1997). Tom (1971,
p. 971) defines organizational image as: “the way the organization is perceived by
individuals. It is a loose structure of knowledge, belief, and feelings about an organization.” In the present study the focus is generally on the image of the organization as a workplace (Highhouse, Zickar, Thorsteinson, Stierwalt, & Slaughter, 1999). The variable Attitude about the Organization is based on the perception of people that encounter the organization as (prospective) employer. In order to fully understand Attitudes about the Organization prior research has made the link to Signaling Theory and Social Identity Theory, which are both introduced in the next paragraph.
Signaling Theory. Prospective employees are in need of specific information about their future company in order to evaluate if there exists a match between his needs as employee and the demands of the organization as an employer (Spence, 1973 & Wanous, 1992). Signaling Theory states that people use any kind of clues that organizations send out so as to build up their own image of the company (Albinger & Freeman, 2000). Prospective employees are exposed to information while they are looking for job offers and while they are applying for jobs particularly. Arguing that the option for anonymous application is information taken into account while applying, it will influence the attitudes about the organization maintained by the applicant. Research has shown that discriminative questions in the application form (e.g. asking for gender, age, race, marital status) are negatively understood by all applicants, majority and minority, and evaluated as unfair in the
application process and in general employee treatment (Saks et al., 1995). Hence, I argue that job applicants evaluate anonymous application procedures offered by companies fairer, which positively affects their Attitudes about the Organization. Another approach to explain the present effect is the theory of social identity developed by Tajfel (1981) and Turner (1987).
Social Identity Theory. Individuals tend to identify themselves with specific groups, which they encounter in every day life (Tajfel, 1982). Being a member of a group further defines an individual’s self-image. Concluding that group memberships are chosen carefully, the organization an individual works for is one of the main membership a person experiences. The context of organization is important in regard of an individual’s
identification with the organization he is employed with. Literature distincts between two types of motivations to identify with the organization, namely the need for
self-categorization and the need for self-enhancement (Turban & Greening, 1997). Self-categorization is essential for individuals in order to locate themselves within the perspective of society. At the same time, self-enhancement occurs as a rewarding
experience that individuals obtain by being a member of a specific group. An example for this motive is the representation of the organization in the media. Positive appearance in the media is perceived as rewarding feeling for the employees of that specific organization. Therefore, I argue, that the organization as employer maintains an important role regarding someone’s self-identity, which influences the employer of own choice. Prospective
employees build up an image about the organization and their membership of the organization that they will strongly identify with (Dutton, Dukerich & Harquail, 1992). Hence, the perception evolved during the first initial stage of applying, influence the opinion of the applicant about the organization. Therefore, the hypotheses state the following:
H1a: Attitudes about the Organization with anonymous application procedures is evaluated more positively than Attitudes about the Organization without anonymous applications procedures.
H1b: Women will evaluate Attitudes about the Organization with anonymous application procedures more positively than men evaluating Attitudes about the Organization with anonymous application procedures.
Likeability to Apply
Research in this area has shown that employer image, or as follows Attitudes about the Organization, functions as predictor for applicants’ Likeability to Apply for an
organization (Baum & Kabst, 2013). Studies have shown that the image of an organization is highly related to further develop the intention to apply for a job position for an
organization. The aforementioned relationship was suggested by Rynes (1989) and
empirically confirmed by Gatewood et al. (1993). The results of the study indicated that the perception of the corporate image and the recruitment image had correlated positively with the intention to apply. While choosing a job, applicants have little information to evaluate the employer. The image they have perceived and the attitudes they have developed during the initial stage, therefore is the only aspect available concluding that the decision for application interferes highly with the employer image (Collins, 2007). Therefore, the hypotheses state the following:
H2a: The Likeability to Apply for an organization with anonymous application procedures is evaluated more positively than the Likeability to Apply for an organization without anonymous application procedures.
H2b: Women will evaluate the Likeability to Apply for an organization with anonymous application procedures more positively than men evaluating the Likeability to Apply for an organization with anonymous application procedures.
H2c: Attitudes about the Organization is positively associated with Likeability to Apply.
Organization Recommendation
Research has shown that an individual’s attitude towards an organization can easily transmit to other prospective applicants, thus is threatening for the reputation of the
organization if the employer image is negative (Smither et al., 1996). Findings of Smither et al. (1996) have indicated that a positive image about the organization increases the
likeability to recommend the organization. Therefore, I argue that Attitudes about the Organization and the Likeability to Apply influence Organization Recommendation, which is perceived during the application process. Applicants are more likely to recommend an employer, which they evaluate positively based on the dependent variable Attitudes about the Organization. Hence, the following hypotheses state:
H3a: Organization Recommendation with anonymous application procedures is more likely than Organization Recommendation without anonymous application
procedures.
H3b: Women will evaluate Organization Recommendation with anonymous
application procedures more positively than men evaluating Organization Recommendation with anonymous application procedures.
H3c: Attitudes about the Organization is positively associated with Organization Recommendation.
In sum, the developed model with hypotheses is illustrated in Figure 1, which displays all relationships between the aforementioned variables.
Figure 1. Theoretical Model.
Method Research Design
To test whether gender influences the relationship between Application Procedure and Attitudes about the Organization, Likeability to Apply and Organization
Recommendation an experiment with a 2 x (opportunity anonymous application vs. no opportunity anonymous application) 2 (female vs. male) between subjects factorial design was conducted. The type of application procedure varied across experimental groups, thus Application Procedure was a between-subject factor. Gender was a between subject factor leading to four conditions to which participants were randomly assigned. Table 1 illustrates the resulting conditions of the experimental design. The experimental group was exposed to the opportunity to apply anonymously, whereas the control group was exposed to the non-anonymous application.
Table 1
2x 2 Experimental Design
Anon. Application Non-anonymous Application
Female Att. Org. 1
Lik. Apply 1 Org. Rec. 1
Att. Org.2 Lik. Apply 2 Org. Rec. 2
Male Att. Org.3
Lik. Apply 3 Org. Rec. 3 Att. Org.4 Lik. Apply 4 Org. Rec. 4 Sample
In November and December of 2014, 93 participants were recruited through personal connections on social networks, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Xing as well as via e-mail. Hence, a sample of 106 participants (N=106) was used for this study. They were selected based on the following criteria: their educational background, gender, age and country of residence. Their educational level was required to be at least a bachelor degree or attaining a bachelor degree. Respondents were selected, if they were in the age range of 18-30 and they were selected if they were currently living in Western Europe (Austria,
Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands and Switzerland; United Nations Statistics Division).
Participants were randomly selected for the condition anonymous application/ non-anonymous application. Overall the sample consisted of 61.3 per cent women and 38.8 per cent male participants. The age of the participants stayed in the expected range varied from 20 to 30 years and the average age was 24 years old. The nationality of participants was in most cases Dutch or German nationalities but other Western European countries were also represented in the sample. The participants indicated their educational level, which in most
cases was a professional degree or research degree accounting for 88.7 per cent of the sample.
While filling out the questionnaire about the experiment, participants were asked to indicate their appreciation for anonymous application procedure (yes/no) and they were asked to elaborate on their opinion, voluntarily. Examining the given answers of participants has shown that the opinion about anonymous application procedures in the sample is biased. This aspect should be taken into account while evaluating the results of the present study, because possibly different opinions about application procedures, which is the main component of the model, might influence the perception of the dependent variables
Attitudes about the Organization, Likeability to Apply and Organization Recommendation. Participants appreciating the option for anonymous application procedures might evaluate all dependent variables more positively than participants not appreciating the option for anonymous application procedures. This aspect applies for both, the experimental and control condition.
Stimulus Materials
Stimulus materials consisted of two components: the company profile and the anonymous application templates (see Appendix II). The company profile was fictive and described a telecommunications organization operating in Western Europe. I developed the company profile based on various information of actual telecommunication organizations such as KPN, Vodafone and Telekom.
The second part of the stimulus, the anonymous application template, was developed based on a template, which was used during a project by the institute for the study of labor located in Bonn, Germany. The pilot project was implemented in 2012 and lasted for 12 months. Major organizations such as Procter & Gamble, L’Oreal and Deutsche Telekom participated in this project. The enforcing institution provided various templates on their
webpage in order to create a common understanding about the outlook of anonymous applications. In this regard, templates were solely used as examples and have not been applied in practice.
The provided template from the institution was translated from German to English and cultural specific aspects such as education were adapted to provide applicability for all Western European cultures. The anonymous application template consisted of two parts, the resume and the cover letter. Different aspects and dimensions of both parts were tailored for research purposes solely. The resume template presented aspects concerning anonymity, e.g. name, age and nationality, which are held anonymous in the experimental condition and which are not held anonymous in the control condition. The same applies for the cover letter, which was written in anonymous manner in the experimental condition compared to the control condition, where it is written in non-anonymous manner.
Several native speakers checked the company profile and the anonymous application template for general understanding, language and grammatical issues. All readers agreed that more information about the company as employer was needed in order to answer the survey questions. Thus, additional information was added and language was improved to increase understanding of the company profile, which was relevant for answering survey questions.
Additionally, the material was discussed with co-students, which where to some extent familiar with the topic but also with students not familiar with the research project. Discussing the material gave new insights regarding clarity and conciseness, which improved the quality of the stimuli.
Procedure
The online experiment was conducted with the research software “Qualtrics”. Participants were recruited through personal messages through social networks and reached
out to by e-mail. The message consisted of the link, which led participants to the
experiment. Additionally, participants were asked to spread the link within their personal network, which recruited even more respondents.
The experiment was set up as follows: Participants were exposed to a fictive
company and received various information about the organization. The experimental group was exposed to the anonymous stimuli, whereas the control group was exposed to the non-anonymous stimuli. Participants were asked to read the provided material carefully and to get an idea about the organization, which was tested afterwards in the questionnaire. After reading the material, participants were required to fill out a survey measuring the items of all three dependent variables: Attitudes about the Organization, Likeability to Apply and Organization Recommendation. The retrieved data were analyzed with statistical software SPSS.
Measures
After respondents were exposed to the stimulus material a follow up questionnaire consisting of three parts was measuring participants’ perceptions of the dependent variables Attitudes about the Organization, Likeability to Apply and Organization Recommendation. The questionnaire concluded with items related to the respondents’ personal information.
Attitudes about the organization. The variable was measured with 5 items using a 1 to 5 rating scale (see Appendix I). Items measure the overall impression of the company as an employer and are namely “unfavorable-favorable”, “unattractive-attractive”,
“undesirable-desirable”, “negative-positive” and ”boring-challenging” (Smither et al., 1996). The variable is measured on a reliable scale (Cronbach’s α = .78). A Principle Component Analysis shows that the 5 items form one single uni-dimensional scale: only one component has an eigenvalue above 1 (eigenvalue 8.98). All items correlate positively with the first component.
Likeability to Apply. Variable is measured by job seekers’ intentions to apply with two questions adapted from Taylor and Bergmann (1987) by Collins (2007): “If I saw a job opening for this organization, I would apply for it” and “If I were searching for a job, I would apply to this organization.” Participants were asked to respond to the questions using a 5-point scale (1: Strongly Disagree; 5: Strongly Agree) (see Appendix I). The scale showed good reliability (Cronbach’s α = .86).
Organization Recommendation. The extent to which participants will recommend the fictive organization to others is measured by the following two items: 'I would
recommend __ to a friend who is looking for a job', and 'I would not suggest __ to my friends as an organization to work for' (reverse scored). The items were measured on a 7-point scale (1: Strongly Disagree; 7: Strongly Agree) (see Appendix I). The scale was tested for reliability and showed a reliable result for measuring organization recommendation (Cronbach’s α = .65).
Manipulation Check. Furthermore, in order to see if the anonymous application procedure condition was successfully implemented a manipulation check was utilized at the end of the questionnaire. The questions were asked subsequently to the measurement of dependent variables. Participants were not able to look back once they turned to the next page. This procedure was integrated to avoid biased responses to the dependent measures from the manipulation check. Participants were asked if they perceived the option for anonymous application as an increased chance to be invited for further selection in the recruitment process (yes/no). Additionally, participants in the anonymous application procedure condition were asked to indicate if they perceived the application procedure as anonymous (yes/no) and if they perceive the procedure as negative or positive action. For the non-anonymous application procedure condition participants were asked if they regard the present procedure as an equal chance for both male and female applicants (yes/no).
Results Manipulation Check. For the application procedure manipulation,
participants were asked to indicate whether or not they perceived the application procedure as anonymous (yes/no). The analysis has shown significant differences between the
experimental group and the control group. The results of the independent t-test showed that the experimental group scored significantly higher on ‘perception of application procedure’ (M=1.16, SD=.42) than participants in the control group (M=1.46, SD=.50), t(104)=-3.35, p=.001. For the manipulation check it should be noted that the assumption of equal
variances in the population has been violated, Levene’s F (104) = 24.77, p = .001, 95% CI [-.48, -.12].
The manipulation check shows that participants in the experimental group perceive the manipulation of an anonymous application procedure, whereas participants in the control group did not perceive the manipulation of an anonymous application procedure. In the next paragraph it was tested if the application procedure and gender influence the Attitudes about the Organization, Likeability to Apply and Organization Recommendation.
Results
In this paragraph the aforementioned hypotheses were tested. Subsequent to the previous manipulation check the model (see Figure 1) was tested. First, Hypothesis 1a, which predicts a correlation between Application Procedure and Attitudes about the Organization was tested, followed by further testing of hypothesis of the moderation
between Application procedure and Likeability to Apply, as well as, Application Procedure and Organization Recommendation. The results were discussed extensively in the
discussion.
Testing the hypotheses
All proposed hypotheses were tested with multiple regression analysis. All three dependent variables were measured by several items with semantic differential or with a
Likert-scale leading to the assumption that all dependent variables can be regarded as continuous. The independent variable Application Procedure was measured on a nominal level as well as the variable Gender. In every regression model analysis it was controlled for the variable Education. Overall the following criteria for all three regression models can be pertained: the dependent variables are continuous, the independent variables are both dichotomous. Cook’s distance, Durbin-Watson test and the tolerance statistics support the assumption of no influential cases, independent errors and no perfect multicollinearity, respectively.
Gender as a Moderator for Attitudes about the Organization. Hypothesis 1a predicted a positive association between the independent variable Application Procedure and the dependent variable Attitudes about the Organization. In order to test this
relationship a t-test was carried out. Analysis has shown that participants are distributed evenly between the Control Group (N=56) and the Experimental Group (N=50). The average evaluation of Attitudes about the Organization of respondents in the Experimental Group in the present sample (M=3.47, SD= 0.81) does not differ significantly from the average evaluation of respondents in the Control Group (M=3.37, SD= 0.61), t(104)= .725, p=.470, 95% CI[-.175, .377]. Therefore, hypothesis 1a was not confirmed.
Testing for Gender as Moderator predicted that the relationship between Application Procedure (Anonymous vs. Non-Anonymous) and Attitudes about the Organization was moderated by Gender. It was assumed that Gender strengthens the relationship between Application Procedure and Attitudes about the Organization. The regression model 1 explained Attitudes about the Organization for 4 per cent, as displayed in Table 2. The model with Attitudes about the Organization as dependent variable and Application
Procedure and Gender as independent variables is not significant, F (4,101) = 1.058, p=.38, (R2 = .040). The regressions analysis included a standardized version of Application
Procedure and Gender, an interaction term of these two standardized variables, as well as the control variable Education. Controlling for the aforementioned variables no significant effects of either Application Procedure or Gender resulted from analysis. Also, the
interaction term showed no significant effect on Organization Recommendation. Therefore the regression model cannot be used to predict any influence of Gender as moderator in the relation of Application Procedure and Attitudes about the Organization. Thus, hypothesis 1b was rejected.
Table 2
Regression models to predict dependent variables (N=106)
Attitudes about Organization
Likeability to Apply Organization Recommendation
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Variable B SE b* B SE b* B SE b* Constant 3.033*** .323 1.995*** .436 3.080*** .501 Gender .073 .071 .102 .070 .096 .070 .190 .110 .161 Application Procedure -.063 .070 -.088 -.254 .095 -.251** -.070 .109 -.059 Interaction -.037 .071 -.051 .020 .096 .020 .064 .110 .054 Education .123 .098 .124 .352 .133 .252** .541 .152 .333** R2 .040 .126** .148 F 1.058 3.625** 4.380** ∆R2 .002 .091 .114 Note. *p<.05. **p<.01. ***p<.001.
Gender as a Moderator for Likeability to Apply. Hypothesis 2a predicted a positive relation between the independent variable Application Procedure and the dependent variable Likeability to Apply. A t-test was utilized to analyze the relationship between these two variables. Analysis has shown that respondents of the experimental group (M=3.37, SD= 1.02) evaluated the average of Likeability to Apply significantly higher compared to
the evaluation of the control group (M=2.90, SD= 0.96), t(104)=2.434, p=.017, 95% CI[.08, .85]. Thus, hypothesis 2a was supported.
In Hypothesis 2b it was stated that Gender moderates the relationship between Application Procedure (Anonymous vs. Non-Anonymous) and Likeability to Apply. A multiple regression analysis with Application Procedure and Gender as independent variable and Likeability to Apply as dependent variables, showed that Likeability to Apply is for 12.6 per cent explained by regression model 2 displayed in Table 2, F (4,101) = 3.625, p=0.008, (R2 = .126). Regression analysis included a standardized version of Application Procedure and Gender, an interaction term of the two variables as well as the control variable Education. While testing for all other variables there was not significant effect found. Therefore, gender is not suitable as moderator of the relationship between
Application Procedure and Likeability to Apply. Thus, hypothesis 2b was not confirmed. Hypothesis 2c stated a positive relation between the independent variable Attitudes about the Organization and the dependent variable Likeability to Apply. As shown in Table 3, the regression model 4 was a significant predictor of Likeability to Apply. It explained 34.8 per cent of the variation of Likeability to Apply. The independent variable Attitudes about the Organization was a significant, positive and moderate predictor of Likeability to Apply. All in all, there was a positive relation between Attitudes about the Organization and Likeability to Apply, thus hypothesis 2c was confirmed.
Table 3 Regression models Model 4 Likeability to Apply Model 5 Organization Recommendation Variable B SE b* B SE b*
Attitudes about the Organization .835 .112 .590*** .966 .457 .587*** R2 .348 55.391*** .341 .344 54.640*** .338 F ∆R2 Note. *p<.05. **p<.01. ***p<.001.
Gender as a Moderator for Organization Recommendation. Hypothesis 3a predicted a positive association between the independent variable Application Procedure and the dependent variable Organization Recommendation. This relationship was tested by means of an independent sample t-test. The analysis has shown that respondents of the experimental group (M=4.85, SD= 1.25) evaluated the average of Organization
Recommendation not significantly different compared to the evaluation of the control group (M=4.79, SD= 1.12), t(104)=.280, p=.780, 95% CI[-.39, .52]. Therefore, Hypothesis 3a was not supported.
Hypothesis 3b described the relationship between Application Procedure and Organization Recommendation moderated by Gender. A multiple regression analysis was conducted with Application Procedure (Anonymous vs. Non-Anonymous) and Gender as the independent variables and Likeability to Apply as the dependent variable. The
regression model yield that Organization Recommendation is for 14.8 per cent explained by regression model 3 displayed in Table 2, F (4,101) = 4.380, p=.003, (R2 = .148). The
regressions analysis included a standardized version of Application Procedure and Gender, an interaction term of these two standardized variables, as well as the control variable Education. When controlling for these variables the model revealed no significant effects of either Application Procedure or Gender. Also, the interaction term showed no significant effect on Organization Recommendation. Therefore, gender is not suitable as moderator of the relationship between Application Procedure and Organization Recommendation. Thus, hypothesis 3b was not supported.
Hypothesis 3c predicted a positive relationship between the independent variable Attitudes about the Organization and the dependent variable Organization
Recommendation. As displayed in Table 3, the regression model 5 was a significant predictor of Organization Recommendation. It explained 34.4 per cent of the variation in Organization Recommendation. The independent variable Attitudes about the Organization was a significant, positive and moderate predictor of Organization Recommendation. Overall, Attitudes about the Organization was positively associated with Organization Recommendation and therefore supported hypothesis 3c.
Discussion
The aim of this study was to gain insights in employment processes within the concept of employer branding and employee’s perceptions of their prospective employers. Anonymous application procedures and gender play a significant role in the present research. In order to investigate the research question a model was developed and tested, which examined the moderating effects of gender on Attitudes about the Organization, Likeability to Apply and Organization Recommendation. An experiment was conducted to manipulate the perception of the Application Procedure in order to examine the differences that participants experienced. By doing so, an attempt to answer the following research question was made: How does the perception of Attitudes about the Organization,
Likeability to Apply, and Organization recommendation vary when an organization is offering anonymous application procedures to applicants? How does the perception differ between male and female?
Overall, the results indicate that participants in the experimental condition
(anonymous application procedure) evaluate the perception of all three dependent variables more positively than participants n the control condition. Consequently, organizations might rethink their recruitment strategies in order to create positive attitudes for future applicants. However, the results of the analysis have only shown a trend and no statistically significant effects that can be drawn from the sample.
Contrary to expectations, gender has no significant effect on any of the aforementioned relationships between the Application Procedure and the dependent variables. Meaning that Gender neither influences the relationship between Application Procedure and Attitudes about the Organization, nor the Likeability to Apply, nor the Organization Recommendation significantly. Although the analysis of manipulation check has shown that participants perceived the manipulation as required, the scores of all regression models do not demonstrate any significant association in the moderating relationships. Expressing the aspect that female and male applicants who are applying for jobs either anonymously or non-anonymously do not differ in their perception of their maintained image of the organization, or their likeability to apply for that specific
organization or their likeability to recommend that organization to their social network. It might be that female participants of this sample did not perceive themselves, as minority and therefore did not prefer the non-anonymous application procedure, contrary to findings of Backhaus et al. (2002).
One explanation for these outcomes is that the manipulation might not have been strong enough. For the anonymous condition it was made very clear, that participants
perceived particularly this application procedure, where in case of an application, no personal information is supposed to be given. On the other hand, for the non-anonymous condition it was difficult to develop a manipulation that participants perceived particularly as non-anonymous, meaning that they were supposed to provide personal information in case of an application.
Another reason for misconception of the manipulation might be a wrong perception of anonymous applications, meaning that participants did not acknowledge the manipulation of the application procedure in a way it was intended. Particularly in the control condition it was difficult to emphasize on non-anonymous procedures. This explanation is reasonable since studies have shown contrary results and have found significant effects of
discriminatory questions and the pursuit of employment as well as attitude towards the organization (Saks et al., 1995).
Lastly, as mentioned in the description of the sample, the perception of anonymous application was biased in the present sample. Some participants did like the idea of
anonymous application procedures, whereas other participants did not like the fact that they have to hide behind anonymity.
Nonetheless, the study has shown that the perceptions of Attitudes about the Organization are positively related to Likeability to Apply and Organization
Recommendation, which subsequently means that having a good image as organization is beneficial in order to get the attention of applicants.
Limitations and Future Research
While the results of this present study show no statistically significant effect and the developed model was not supported significantly, there are some limitations present that might have influenced the research and hence generated these results. In future research, various approaches might solve current issues. Limiting this research project was the size of
the sample (N=106), which is reasonable for experimental studies but which is likely to reject significant results. The composition of the sample might be revised meaning that actual applicants should be used instead of participants who are not actually looking for job positions.
Future research needs to examine if participants’ perceptions and responses are due to particular manipulations and what is specifically relevant for demonstrating an employer interested in a diverse workforce. Hence, an explorative study to examine the stimuli might be an approach to initiate an overview. This is a consequence drawn from the conclusion of the manipulation check, which has shown that the manipulation in the non-anonymous condition was not completely transferred towards the participants.
Another aspect that needs to be considered for further research is the moderating variable between the relationship of the independent variable Application Procedure and the mentioned dependent variables. Gender might not differentiate the effect on the dependent variables but research did not eliminate other factors that are possibly influencing the association. Factors that could be considered are sector, job experience and former associations with an actual organization to name but a few.
Managerial Implications
Even though results have shown no significant effects there are still aspects that can be taken into consideration in context of an organization. Previous research has shown that discriminative behavior during the recruitment process exists, which affects various issues. This research has tested the influence on perceptions of the organization as employer and therefore adds to present literature to the field of research. Trends underlined by the study help organizations to improve their employer branding and recruitment activities.
Applicants do perceive and reflect application procedures while forming their opinion about the organization. It is only beneficial for employers to focus on
non-discriminatory behavior towards their (prospective) employees. Assumingly this trend might gain more importance in the coming years. This assumption is in line with research by Saks et al. (1995). Creating an environment were applicants are treated equally will benefit the organization as well as the employee.
However, research has also shown that, apart from the application procedure, the image of an organization as employer (Attitudes about the Organization) is highly related to the Likeability to Apply for the job position and to recommend the organization as employer to friends. In conclusion, this leads to the suggestion that organizations have to be aware of the power of their image and their perception of society, specifically as employer.
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Appendix I
MEASURES
Attitudes about the organization
Please evaluate the overall impression of the company “Acquinta” based on the material you just have seen and indicate your opinion on the following adjectives: Unfavorable ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Favorable Unattractive ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Attractive Undesirable ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Desirable Positive ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Negative Boring ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Challenging
Intentions to apply
Please indicate to which extent you would intend to apply for the job
opening of the company “Acquinta” on a scale from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree:
If I saw a job opening for Acquinta, I would apply for it.
Strongly disagree ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Strongly agree
If I were searching for a job, I would apply for a job with Acquinta.
Strongly disagree ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Strongly agree Organization recommendation
Please indicate to which extent you would recommend this organization to others from (1) strongly disagree to (7) strongly agree:
I would recommend Acquinta to a friend who is looking for a job.
Strongly disagree ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Strongly agree
I would not suggest Acquinta to my friends as an organization to work for. (reverse scored)
Manipulation Check Experimental Group
Please indicate to which extent you would agree
Do you think in this procedure men and women have equal chances to be invited for a job interview at Acquinta?
Yes/No
Did you notice that you have the opportunity to apply anonymously for the job opening at Acquinta?
Yes/ No
Manipulation Check Control Group
Please indicate to which extent you would agree
Do you think in this procedure men and women have equal chances to be invited for a job interview at Acquinta?
Yes/No
Did you notice that you had to provide your gender in the application format? Yes/ No Statistical Data Gender: Age: Education
Country of living
