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Recruiting millennials: Exploring the impact of CSR involvement and pay signaling on organizational attractiveness

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  • Christopher J. Waples
  • Benjamin J. Brachle

Abstract

Modern organizations must consider corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its implications. CSR involvement carries many potential benefits, including opportunities to promote stakeholder engagement with the organization, particularly among young people (i.e., millennials) in the emergent workforce. Collectively, millennials are often described as both socially active and self‐centered. These seemingly antithetical motives complicate the execution of optimal recruitment practice. This empirical study examined the impact of CSR activity and relative pay level signals on organizational attractiveness. Participants who were seeking or soon to be seeking employment in the United States responded to a hypothetical company profile. Confirming expectations, results revealed an effect of CSR information on organizational attractiveness, wherein notification of CSR involvement enhanced attractiveness. Pay level and CSR notification did not significantly interact, indicating that the effects of CSR on attractiveness are not moderated by information about pay levels. The implications of the results and future research recommendations are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher J. Waples & Benjamin J. Brachle, 2020. "Recruiting millennials: Exploring the impact of CSR involvement and pay signaling on organizational attractiveness," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 870-880, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:27:y:2020:i:2:p:870-880
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.1851
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    2. Aneta Maria Pisarska & Joanna Iwko, 2021. "The Aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Job Candidates’ Recruitment and Selection Processes in a Teal Organization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-23, November.
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    4. Adolfo Carballo‐Penela & Emilio Ruzo‐Sanmartín & Carlos M. P. Sousa, 2023. "Does business commitment to sustainability increase job seekers' perceptions of organisational attractiveness? The role of organisational prestige and cultural masculinity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5521-5535, December.
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    6. Christian Danisch, 2021. "The Relationship of CSR Performance and Voluntary CSR Disclosure Extent in the German DAX Indices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    7. Mehran Nejati & Azadeh Shafaei, 2023. "Why do employees respond differently to corporate social responsibility? A study of substantive and symbolic corporate social responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 2066-2080, July.
    8. Saskia Crucke & Hanne Bockaert, 2023. "Exploring the attractiveness of social enterprises to job seekers: The role of perceived value fit and prestige," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(2), pages 399-422, June.
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