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Tài liệu tiếng Anh tham khảo dành cho các anh chị học cao học quản trị kinh doanh, tài liệu chuẩn và rất thiết thực trong công tác làm luận văn, báo cáo. Building on existing studies suggesting that corporate social performance (CSP) is important in the job choice process, the authors investigate job seekers’ perceptions of importance of CSP and explore effects of CSP dimensions on organizational attractiveness. Job seekers consider CSP important to assessment of firms and rate five specific CSP dimensions (environment, community relations, employee relations, diversity, and product issues) as more important than six other CSP dimensions. Using signaling theory and social identity theory, the authors hypothesize differences in effects of CSP data on ratings of employer attractiveness and find that environment, community relations, and diversity dimensions have the largest affect on attractiveness ratings.
http://bas.sagepub.com/ Business & Society http://bas.sagepub.com/content/41/3/292 The online version of this article can be found at: DOI: 10.1177/0007650302041003003 2002 41: 292Business Society Kristin B. Backhaus, Brett A. Stone and Karl Heiner Exploringthe Relationship Between Corporate Social Performance and Employer Attractiveness Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com On behalf of: International Association for Business and Society can be found at:Business & SocietyAdditional services and information for http://bas.sagepub.com/cgi/alertsEmail Alerts: http://bas.sagepub.com/subscriptionsSubscriptions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navReprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navPermissions: http://bas.sagepub.com/content/41/3/292.refs.htmlCitations: What is This? - Sep 1, 2002Version of Record >> at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012bas.sagepub.comDownloaded from BUSINESS & SOCIETY / September 2002Backhaus et al. / CSP AND EMPLOYER ATTRACTIVENESS Exploring the Relationship Between Corporate Social Performance and Employer Attractiveness KRISTIN B. BACKHAUS BRETT A. STONE KARL HEINER State University of New York at New Paltz Building on existing studies suggesting that corporate social performance (CSP) is important in the job choice process, the authors investigate job seekers’ percep - tions of importance of CSP and explore effects of CSP dimensions on organiza- tional attractiveness. Job seekers consider CSP important to assessment of firms and rate five specific CSP dimensions (environment, community relations, em- ployee relations, diversity, and product issues) as more important than six other CSP dimensions. Using signaling theory and social identity theory, the authors hy- pothesize differences in effects of CSP data on ratings of employer attractiveness and find that environment, community relations, and diversity dimensions have the largest affect on attractiveness ratings. The demographics of our workforce are changing, highlighted by the exit of the baby boom generation and the entrance of Generation Y workers. The evolving needs and values of today’s workers make employee recruit - ment more challenging. “How-to” articles about recruiting and attracting new employees abound in the popular business press, but scholars are challenged to explain clearly the science of organizational attraction. What makes an organization attractive to a potential applicant? One stream of research suggests that job seekers prefer organizations with whom they perceive congruence between their and the organization’s primary values (Cable & Judge, 1994; Chatman, 1989, 1991; Judge & Bretz, 1992; Judge & Cable, 1997; Schneider, 1987). In the job search process, individuals tend to be more attracted to organizations with which they perceive a match (Judge & Bretz, 1992). 292 BUSINESS & SOCIETY, Vol. 41 No. 3, September 2002 292-318 © 2002 Sage Publications at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012bas.sagepub.comDownloaded from A second stream of research focuses on attributes of the organization. Studies suggest that organization structure (Turban & Keon, 1993) and reward systems (Bretz, Ash, & Dreher, 1989) influence initial organiza - tional attraction. Organization image has also been shown to influence the firm’s ability to attract applicants (Belt & Paolillo, 1982; Gatewood, Gowan, & Lautenschlager, 1993; Rynes, 1991; Tom, 1971). By organiza - tional image, we refer to the general impressions held by those outside the organization (Barber, 1998). Tom (1971) described image as the collec - tion of knowledge, beliefs, and feelings about an organization. Image may derive from snippets of information or from in-depth involvement with the organization. Image resides at the level of perception and can change over time. Organizational image has been shown to influence early job choice decisions (Fombrun & Shanley, 1990). Gatewood and colleagues (1993) found image to be related to familiarity with the firm and personal interac - tion with it. Because image is constructed from a broad range of impres - sions created by various organizational activities, the firm’s corporate social performance helps to inform perceptions of image (Greening & Turban, 2000). Corporate social performance (CSP) has been defined as “a business organization’s configuration of principles of social responsibility, pro- cesses of social responsiveness and policies, programs, and observable outcomes as they relate to the firm’s societal relationships” (Wood, 1991, p. 693). CSP is a multidimensional construct, encompassing organiza- tional activities related to treatment of employees, the natural environ- ment, workplace diversity, customers, product, and other issues (Berman, Wicks, Kotha, & Jones, 1999). Research suggests that a firm’s corporate social performance may influence perceptions of organizational attrac - tiveness (Greening & Turban, 2000; Turban & Greening, 1997). Our study aims to add to this literature by investigating job seekers’ perceptions of the importance of CSP and exploring the differential effects of CSP dimensions on organizational attractiveness. This study adds to previous research in a few key respects. First, we examine both the attitudes of job seekers toward CSP and the way in which CSP information affects job seekers as they evaluate the attractiveness of employers. Second, of 11 CSP dimensions typically considered under the rubric of CSP, most research focuses on only 5 (employee relations, the natural environment, product quality, treatment of women and minorities, and community rela - tions). Although these 5 dimensions are the ones most commonly used in CSP research, no empirical evidence has been presented to support the inclusion of these 5 dimensions over any others. Given the growing list of CSP areas of concern in our society today (Stone, 2001), it is becoming increasingly important to demonstrate empirically that these particular Backhaus et al. / CSP AND EMPLOYER ATTRACTIVENESS 293 at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012bas.sagepub.comDownloaded from CSP dimensions are considered most important to job seekers. Third, pre - vious research results (Greening & Turban, 2000; Turban & Greening, 1997) support the notion that there is a relationship between CSP and organizational attractiveness, but still we cannot discern the degree to which variations in levels of corporate social performance across various CSP areas will affect this relationship. We address this issue. Finally, we explore patterns of effects of combinations of CSP ratings on organiza - tional attractiveness. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND HYPOTHESES Corporate Social Performance Corporate Social Performance (CSP) has become an important issue to the public, even to the extent that it influences financial investments. Investment in socially and environmentally responsible firms increased 82% in 2 years, whereas investment in the broad market was up only 42% (Social Investment Forum, 1999). In addition, considerable scrutiny has been placed on the role of business in society over the past 10 years (Harri- son & Freeman, 1999). Marketing research suggests that consumers are paying attention to the CSP records of the companies from whom they are making purchases (Gildea, 1994; Maignan, Ferrell, & Hult, 1999; Owen & Scherer, 1993; Paul, Zalka, Downes, Perry, & Friday, 1997). A recent survey revealed that 88% of consumers are more likely to buy from a com- pany that is considered socially responsible (Smith, 1996). Most CSP research has been conducted to measure the relationship between financial performance and social performance. Although these studies have been largely inconclusive, there have been positive links found between the two (Cochran & Wood, 1984; Coffey & Fryxell, 1991; McGuire, Sundgren, & Schneeweis, 1988; Waddock & Graves, 1994; Wokutch & Spencer, 1987), but others have revealed unclear or negative links (Alexander & Buchholz, 1982; Aupperle, Carroll, & Hatfield, 1985; Cochran & Wood, 1984; Coffey & Fryxell, 1991; McGuire et al., 1988; Shane & Spicer, 1983). However, in the process of exploring the financial implications of CSP, researchers have uncovered other important aspects of CSP. Waddock and Graves (1997) found that good CSP contributes to improved financial performance. From this, they developed the good management theory, suggesting that good management of relationships with various stakeholders results in stronger corporate performance (Waddock & Graves, 1997). 294 BUSINESS & SOCIETY / September 2002 at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012bas.sagepub.comDownloaded from Stakeholder theory provides the underpinning for the good manage - ment theory and also provides conceptual support for the study reported here. Stakeholder theory posits that companies have a responsibility to those who have vested interests in firm performance and those who are directly affected by the firm’s actions (Evan & Freeman, 1983; Freeman, 1984). Stakeholder theory provides a logical explanation for why CSP matters. Treating stakeholders well, making decisions that affect employ - ees, communities, and the environment positively leads to positive out - comes. Indeed, studies support the notion that effective management of key stakeholder relationships has positive financial implications for orga - nizations (cf. Berman et al., 1999). Stakeholder theory suggests that organizations must be responsive to the competing demands of those who hold a stake in the organization. Employees are among the important stakeholders identified in CSP research. Effective management of the relationship with employees was found to affect firm financial performance (Berman et al., 1999). Mitchell, Agle, and Wood (1997) suggested that employees have sufficient power, legitimacy, and urgency to become salient stakeholders to top manage- ment. As Greening and Turban (2000) argued, prospective employees may also have this power, legitimacy, and urgency, especially when jobs are plentiful. Moreover, based on stakeholder theory and public interest in CSP, there is reason to argue that CSP may be an important tool in attract- ing employees. Signaling Theory In his seminal work on recruitment and selection, Wanous (1992) pointed out that job seekers require complete and accurate organizational information to match their needs properly with organizational offerings. However, job seekers usually have limited information about organiza - tions and must use bits and pieces of data to construct a view of what it would be like to work for an organization (Barber, 1998). Organizational characteristics have been shown to be indicative of personnel practices (Jackson, Schuler, & Rivero, 1989), and job seekers tend to use these char - acteristics as clues. This use of organizational attributes as predictors of working conditions is captured under the rubric of signaling theory. Signaling theory suggests that individuals use various clues, dropped by the firm, to draw conclusions about the firm’s intentions or actions (Srivastava & Lurie, 2001). In the organizational choice process, prospective employees use any available information to improve their efforts to make a rational decision (Wanous, 1992). Information about certain CSP dimensions may Backhaus et al. / CSP AND EMPLOYER ATTRACTIVENESS 295 at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012bas.sagepub.comDownloaded from provide the data a job seeker needs to assess the appropriateness of the employer. Social Identity Theory Social identity theory suggests that individuals derive their self-concept in part from their membership in certain social groups (Tajfel, 1982). In other words, we define our identity in terms of our group membership, and enhance our self-esteem by comparing our group to lesser quality groups (Stets & Burke, 2000). The successes and reputation of our group contrib - ute to our self-concept (Underwood, Bond, & Baer, 2001). Our employer is an important source of self-concept (Tajfel, 1982). We enjoy the bene - fits of our employer’s positive reputation but also suffer detrimental effects of our firm’s negative reputation (Dutton, Dukerich, & Harquail, 1994). This provides another foundation on which to argue that a firm’s CSP will be important to job seekers as a way of selecting a self-enhancing employment setting. Organizational Attraction Although the study of organizational attraction has revealed some insights, there remains much to be learned (Barber, 1998). One stream of extant research investigates organizational characteristics and their effects on attraction to the organization. Structural attributes, such as decentral- ized decision making (Turban & Keon, 1993) and reward systems (Bretz et al., 1989), are shown to influence perceptions of attractiveness. Gatewood and associates (1993) examined corporate image, another organizational characteristic, finding that perception of an organization’s image is a significant predictor of decisions to pursue employment with that company. Specifically in the area of CSP, Bauer and Aiman-Smith (1996) find that individuals are attracted to employers with a proenvironmental stance, whereas Wright and associates (Wright, Ferris, Hiller, & Kroll, 1995) concluded that organizations with positive affirmative action pro - grams are more successful in attracting high-quality applicants. Turban and Greening’s (1997) study found a positive relationship between pub - lished ratings of firms’ CSP and participants’ ratings of firms’ attractive - ness. Because they find a correlation between CSP and attractiveness, the study concluded that organizational attractiveness perceptions may be influenced by CSP. Greening and Turban’s (2000) study expanded on their previous study, measuring the relationship between CSP and attractive - ness more directly by supplying CSP data to participants and testing the 296 BUSINESS & SOCIETY / September 2002 at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012bas.sagepub.comDownloaded from effects of that information on their perceptions. Again, they found a posi - tive relationship between CSP ratings and attractiveness ratings. Albinger and Freeman (2000) also found that CSP influences attractiveness ratings but only for those job seekers with high levels of job choice. Thus, previous research suggests that attractiveness and CSP are related. Furthermore, signaling theory and social identity theory suggest that CSP may inform the applicant’s job choice process. On that basis, we begin our two-phase study by determining the extent to which our sample considered CSP relevant in the job search process. Hypothesis 1: Job seekers rate CSP as an important organizational attribute when considering prospective employers. Dimensions of CSP Methodological problems have made the study of CSP difficult (Waddock & Graves, 1997). The primary problem relates to the multidimensionality of CSP. Various measures have been used as proxies for CSP, but the variation among them has led to difficulty in generalizing findings or even drawing practical conclusions from studies. Many of these problems have been addressed effectively by the use of data from Kinder, Lydenberg, and Domini (cf. Graves & Waddock, 1994.) Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini (KLD) ratings measure social performance of major corporations, assessing firms in 11 (previously 8) categories of CSP, which include community, diversity, employees, product, (ecological) environment, non-U.S. operations, nuclear power, involvement in alco - hol, gambling, tobacco, and military contracting, as well as an “other” cat - egory (Waddock & Graves, 1997). Of these 11 dimensions, 5 (environ - ment, community relations, diversity, product issues, employee relations) have become widely used in management research on CSP (Berman et al., 1999; Greening & Turban, 2000; Johnson & Greening, 1999; Turban & Greening, 1997). These 5 dimensions have proved to be most relevant to research related to stakeholder impressions of CSP (Berman et al., 1999; Waddock & Graves, 1997) and have been the most studied of 11 dimensions in the aca - demic literature. However, with regard to recruitment, no empirical evi - dence has been compiled to indicate that these 5 dimensions are the most relevant to job seekers. In addition to the weight of evidence presented in other stakeholder/CSP studies, we suggest that signaling theory and social identity theory support the importance of these 5 dimensions. First, as previously indicated, signaling theory suggests that job seek - ers look for clues to indicate what it would be like to work for a company. Backhaus et al. / CSP AND EMPLOYER ATTRACTIVENESS 297 at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012bas.sagepub.comDownloaded from The concept of issue intensity, a term borrowed from ethical decision- making theory (Jones, 1991), suggests that the greater the importance of an issue to the decision maker, the more salient that issue becomes to the decision process. Therefore, we reason that important issues about the workplace that have direct personal impact on the individual will carry greater issue intensity than those that have a less direct, less personal impact. For that reason, employee relations and management of diversity, having a greater daily effect on the worker, would signal more salient mes - sages about life in the firm than other, more distant dimensions. Albinger and Freeman’s (2000) work on CSP dimensions supported this sugges - tion. Their study revealed that firms’ support for diversity and employee relations was related to positive perceptions of the firm as an employer. Second, social identity theory supports the importance of treatment of the environment, the community, and product issues to the job seeker. Workers derive a sense of self-identity and self-esteem from their associa - tion with their employer (Crocker & Luhtanen, 1990). Furthermore, Dutton and colleagues’ (1991) study of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey revealed that individual employees were personally affected by the negative image of their employer with regard to a particular issue, namely, the treatment of the homeless community. The poor image of the organization was transferred to the individual organization mem- bers (Dutton et al., 1991). This work suggests that behaviors of the firm that are visible to the public affect self-identity of the worker. Thus, we assert that they would prefer to be associated with firms that contribute positively to the environment and the community and produce quality goods. Based on this, we propose: Hypothesis 2: Job seekers consider the CSP dimensions of environment, com - munity relations, diversity, product issues, and employee relations more important than the other dimensions, which include non-U.S. operations, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, military contracting, and nuclear power. Having argued that CSP is important to job seekers, and also having proposed that certain aspects of CSP are more important than others, we now turn to the area of individual differences. The following hypotheses propose that certain aspects of CSP are more important to some groups of job seekers than to others. Studies indicate that women and minorities place greater value on organizational diversity efforts than do White men (Kossek & Zonia, 1993; Thomas & Wise, 1999; Williams & Bauer, 1994). Furthermore, Greening and Turban (2000) revealed that gender moderates the relation - ship between treatment of women and minorities and organizational 298 BUSINESS & SOCIETY / September 2002 at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012bas.sagepub.comDownloaded from attraction under certain circumstances. On this basis, we hypothesize that female and minority job seekers may use data about organizational treat - ment of women and minorities as a signal of potential working conditions for themselves. A poor record of treatment of minority or female employ - ees may discourage such candidates from goingforward to apply or accept a position. Thus, we propose the following: Hypothesis 3: Female job seekers will rate the dimension of diversity as more important than male job seekers. Hypothesis 4: Minority job seekers will rate the dimension of diversity as more important than nonminority job seekers. Knowledge of CSP As we have discussed, we believe that CSP may be an important ele - ment in recruitment. In terms of attracting potential employees, it is important for organizations to convey specific information (Barber, 1998) as well as information that is personally relevant to the job seeker (Chaiken & Stangor, 1987). For example, studies show that decentralized organization structure, allowing participative decision making, has a posi- tive effect on applicant attraction (Turban & Keon, 1993). Reward struc- ture has been shown to signal career growth opportunities and impact attraction (Thompson, 1967). Similarly, there has been increasing focus on organizational image and its effects on applicant attraction. The concept of employer branding sug- gests that firms must create a desirable employment image and convey that to prospective candidates (Engaging Employees Through Your Brand, 2001). Organizational values are an integral part of the employment image, as they convey signals to candidates indicating what it will be like to work for the company. Second, organizational values and behaviors create an organizational identity, and that identity is central to the individ - ual’s identity formation after they join the organization (Hatch & Schultz, 1997). CSP, which is a value-based construct, communicates a wealth of information to the job seeker about the organization, and that information can be used in the job-choice process. Thus, we argue that knowledge of CSP has an affect on job choice. Hypothesis 5: Firms’ CSP ratings will influence job seekers’ assessment of employer attractiveness. CSP can be conceptualized as a singular attribute, as we did for Hypothesis 5, or could be seen as multiple attributes. Waddock and Graves Backhaus et al. / CSP AND EMPLOYER ATTRACTIVENESS 299 at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012bas.sagepub.comDownloaded from (1997) suggested that we can understand CSP’s functions better when we examine them on a dimension-by-dimension basis. In our next set of hypotheses, we build on previous findings indicating that employee rela - tions, product quality, concern for the natural environment, and treatment of women and minorities appear to be more important than community relations (Greening & Turban, 2000). We begin with this hypothesis and continue with more specific propositions. Hypothesis 6: Individual dimensions of CSP will have differential effects on job seekers’ assessment of employer attractiveness. Of the five dimensions under consideration, employee relations hits closest to home when it comes to effects on workers. Job seekers, espe - cially college students, demonstrate concern for growth opportunities, part of the employee relations dimension (Jeffords, Scheidt, & Thibadoux, 2000). A company’s positive or negative record in terms of treatment of employees sends a clear signal to potential employees about the desirability of that employer (Albinger & Freeman, 2000). Therefore, we hypothesize the following: Hypothesis 7: Employee relations will be most influential of the five dimen- sions on assessment of employer attractiveness. Product issues, although seemingly less central to an employee’s life, has been shown to be important to prospective employees. In a study of the fast-food industry, Highhouse, Zickar, Thorsteinson, Stierwalt, & Slaugher (1999) found that product image was one of the most important indicators of employer image. Social identity theory suggests that an indi - vidual would derive a more positive sense of self-identity from association with high-quality or prestigious products. Generalizing from this, we hypothesize that product issues will be the second most influential of the five dimensions, after employee relations. Hypothesis 8: Product issues will rank second among the dimensions in its effect on assessments of employer attractiveness. METHOD Procedure This was a two-part study. In Part 1, data were collected from 297 undergraduate business students as an in-class exercise. The survey was 300 BUSINESS & SOCIETY / September 2002 at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012bas.sagepub.comDownloaded from [...]... Black owned businesses Journal of Business Ethics, 19, 171-179 Engaging employees through your brand (2001) New York: Conference Board Downloaded from bas.sagepub.com at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012 316 BUSINESS & SOCIETY / September 2002 Evan, W., & Freeman, R E (1983) A stakeholder theory of the modern corporation, Kantian capitalism In T Beauchamp & N Bow (Eds.), Ethical theory in business. .. environment, diversity, and community relations dimensions The affect Downloaded from bas.sagepub.com at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012 308 BUSINESS & SOCIETY / September 2002 Table 5 Employer Attractiveness Ratings at Time 1 and Time 2 Company Name American Express Anheuser-Busch AT&T Bell Atlantic Boeing Cisco Systems Coca-Cola Compaq Computer CVS Dell Computer Delta Air Lines Dow Chemical DuPont Eastman... of Management Review, 22, 853-886 Owen, C., & Scherer, R (1993) Social responsibility and market share Review of Business, 15, 11-17 Paul, K., Zalka, L M., Downes, M., Perry, S., & Friday, S (1997) U.S consumer sensitivity to corporate social performance, development of a scale Business & Society, 36, 408419 Pinheiro, J C., & Bates, D M (2000) Mixed-effects models in S and S-plus New York: Springer-Verlag... relations, employee relations, diversity, and product issues outrank 6 other categories of CSP The study also reveals that women Downloaded from bas.sagepub.com at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012 310 BUSINESS & SOCIETY / September 2002 express greater interest than men in a firm’s diversity record, and similarly, minorities express greater interest than nonminorities As we explored the data, we were also... sensitive to any attributes that suggest concern for the betterment of society or consciousness of societal needs The presence of a positive CSP record may suggest a better and more welcoming environment Research in the area of corporate social orientation, a construct that measures the perceived importance of a firm’s responsibility to society, also suggests that women and minorities are more philanthropically,... dimensions First, firms with a low employee relations score garnered low attractiveness ratings even when other factors were Downloaded from bas.sagepub.com at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012 312 BUSINESS & SOCIETY / September 2002 high For example, the mean rating for all firms with the lowest employee relations score was 2.9 However, when paired with a high community relations score or a high product... sample of job seekers to include individuals at different career stages, with different skills, education and experience Downloaded from bas.sagepub.com at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012 314 BUSINESS & SOCIETY / September 2002 Additional research is needed to explore further the effects of CSP This study analyzed the response to CSP data in a hypothetical situation Researchers might investigate... of stock and dimensions of corporate social performance: An empirical examination Journal of Business Ethics, 10, 437-444 Crocker, J., & Luhtanen, S R (1990) Collective self-esteem and in-group bias Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 60-67 Dielman, T E (1996) Applied regression analysis for business and economics Belmont, CA: Duxbury Dutton, J E., Dukerich, J M., & Harquail, C V (1991)... minority participants rated diversity significantly higher than nonminorities did Hypothesis 4 is supported (see Table 3) Downloaded from bas.sagepub.com at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012 306 BUSINESS & SOCIETY / September 2002 Effects of Knowledge of CSP In Part 1, we confirmed previous findings suggesting that CSP is important to job seekers Now we move to the effect of knowledge of CSP records... corporate social performance Academy of Management Journal, 37, 1034-1041 Greening, D W., & Turban, D B (2000) Corporate social performance as a competitive advantage in attracting a quality workforce Business & Society, 39, 254-280 Griffin, A E C (1999, August) Integrating organizational socialization and impression management: The role of organizational image and identity Paper presented at the annual . http://bas.sagepub.com/ Business & Society http://bas.sagepub.com/content/41/3/292 The online version of this article can be found at: DOI: 10.1177/0007650302041003003 2002 41: 29 2Business Society Kristin. http://www.sagepublications.com On behalf of: International Association for Business and Society can be found at :Business & SocietyAdditional services and information for http://bas.sagepub.com/cgi/alertsEmail. What is This? - Sep 1, 2002Version of Record >> at Harvard Libraries on August 17, 2012bas.sagepub.comDownloaded from BUSINESS & SOCIETY / September 2002Backhaus et al. / CSP AND