Three Essays on the influence of company Facebook and traditional channel activities on recruitment success
The appearance of web and online media has created a substantial change in the manner by which employers and applicants interact. The development of web 1.0 applications with one-way communication and the advancement of web 2.0 technologies with interactive components have extended the spectrum of recruitment channels. The new recruitment media channels have led the selection and analysis of their impact out of interaction on each other to a new challenge within academical literature. This dissertation addresses these issues in three separate essays. Study 1 focuses on the impact of Facebook as a social media recruitment channel on recruitment success. Many companies embed Facebook into their recruitment strategy as an additional recruitment channel for reaching potential applicants and motivating them to apply for available positions. Study 1 analyzes these activities and addresses the question of whether different Facebook activities influence recruitment success above and beyond other undertakings on traditional and online media channels. Study 1 concludes that on Facebook, company posts with a general focus and posts containing work or recruitment information both have a positive impact on recruitment success. The results of Study 1 are validated by company interviews with human resources (HR) managers who are responsible for the overall HR strategy of the company. Study 1 is the first academic work within HR and marketing research, which analyzes the impact of a company’s Facebook activities. Study 2 examines the impact of traditional media recruitment channels on recruitment success. Many companies employ traditional media channels for their recruitment marketing actions with the aim of achieving recruitment success. Study 2 uses media richness theory as a basis for analyzing the impact of a company’s activities within traditional media channels on recruitment success. Study 2 concludes that exhibition fair and online marketing activities influence recruitment success. In connection with brand equity theory, Study 2 also verifies whether the addition of Facebook activities reinforces the impact of traditional media channels on recruitment success. The results indicate that general Facebook activities have a reinforcing impact on exhibition fair and print media recruitment practices. Finally, Study 3 focuses on both the literature overview of traditional and social media recruitment practices and social media influence from the marketing literature. It also summarizes and categorizes previous research on the influence of traditional, online, and social media recruitment practices; the effect of a multichannel mix; and the influence of social media and social networking sites on different business outcomes from the marketing literature. Additionally, Study 3 identifies the research gaps and provides recommendations for future studies. This dissertation uses vector autoregression modelling, including a validation with the help of company interviews and the employment of media richness, signaling, and brand equity theories, combined with a thorough analysis of the research need. The dissertation closes the research gap regarding the analysis of the impact of Facebook, online, and traditional media on recruitment success. It also adds new perspectives to the HR and marketing literature.
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