Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
10-2019
Abstract
Personnel selection research has recognized the importance of providing applicants with both standardized (i.e., “consistent”) and individualized (i.e., “personable”) treatment during interviews. However, research has yet to examine the mechanisms underlying the effects of perceived consistency and personableness in the interview on applicants’ attraction to organizations. Drawing from signaling theory, we investigate how interview consistency and personableness impact organizational attractiveness. To this end, we developed a conceptual model that proposes that applicants interpret perceived interview consistency and personableness as signals about what the organization is like in terms of symbolic organizational attributes (organizational competence and benevolence, Lievens and Highhouse 2003), which in turn influence perceptions of organizational attractiveness. A longitudinal three-wave field study with 129 applicants showed that applicants’ perceptions of both consistency and personableness positively impacted organizational attractiveness. Additionally, these effects were mediated by organizational competence perceptions, but not by organizational benevolence perceptions. Furthermore, consistency and personableness perceptions differed in their relative influence on organizational competence, benevolence, and attractiveness, with personableness perceptions being a more influential predictor. This study contributes to a nuanced theoretical understanding of how applicants interpret interviews as signals about how organizations treat their members.
Keywords
Personableness, Recruitment, Applicant reactions, Interview, Consistency
Discipline
Human Resources Management | Organizational Behavior and Theory
Research Areas
Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources
Publication
Journal of Business and Psychology
Volume
34
Issue
5
First Page
671
Last Page
684
ISSN
0889-3268
Identifier
10.1007/s10869-018-9600-7
Publisher
Springer
Embargo Period
11-27-2019
Citation
WILHELMY, Annika; KLEINMANN, Martin; MELCHERS, Klaus G.; and LIEVENS, Filip.
What do consistency and personableness in the interview signal to applicants? Investigating indirect effects on organizational attractiveness through symbolic organizational attributes. (2019). Journal of Business and Psychology. 34, (5), 671-684.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/5972
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-018-9600-7