Influencing Employer Attractiveness by Connecting Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity Management

Demographic change (low labor supply) and tertiarization (higher demand in knowledge-intensive professional activities/jobs which are characterized by human interaction and innovation) in globally operating companies lead to a shortage of labor and bring on a change from an employer market to an employee market. The current situation in companies is characterized by the fact that target groups can choose their employer and that the topic of “employer attractiveness” is developing into a crucial competitive advantage for companies. In this context, identifying factors that increase employer attractiveness is of special relevance. Studies indicate that the construct of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a significant factor when it comes to choosing a profession. It is, however, also pointed out that the specific effect of CSR in the context of choosing an employer has not been sufficiently researched by the industry. By means of a qualitative analysis of the studies on factors which increase employer attractiveness, this article shows the relevance of both CSR and diversity management (DiM) as influencing factors. Based on the analyses, an integrative model which summarizes the analytically derived CSR and DiM factors, and which allows to give recommendations for action with regard to influencing employer attractiveness, is presented. The result is that only applied as joint corporate strategies, CSR, and DiM can facilitate the management of perceived employer attractiveness.