Date of Award
8-2012
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Legacy Department
Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Committee Chair/Advisor
Raymark, Patrick
Committee Member
Pak , Richard
Committee Member
Pury , Cynthia
Committee Member
Taylor , Mary Anne
Committee Member
Giumetti , Gary
Abstract
Organizational recruitment websites have become an important tool for both recruiters and job seekers. The structural characteristics of such websites (e.g., aesthetics, usability) have received some attention but less research has examined the content of these websites. A weblog (or blog), specifically a leader or CEO blog, is one novel way that organizations can impact recruitment through their website. Although research is limited, anecdotal evidence suggests that blogs may be a powerful recruiting tool.
In line with research that suggests followers prefer leaders who are similar to themselves (e.g., Keller, 1999), the effectiveness of leader blog messages for recruitment purposes may be a function of how well the content and/or style match the characteristics of the job seekers. The current study examined job applicant personality characteristics as well as implicit leadership theories (ILTs; Offerman, Kennedy, & Wirtz, 1994) as predictors of leader preference, and subsequent attraction to the organization, using an organizational recruitment website with leader information presented in a weblog. Perceptions of the leader were found to be more favorable when the content of the blog was consistent with participants' ILT, such that increases in ratings of the corresponding ILT component were associated with increased preference for the leader. The current study provides support for the position that ILTs are important for understanding ratings of leader preference, and furthermore, that these effects can be found simply by reading a blog on a website.
Recommended Citation
Beeco, Rebekkah, "EFFECTIVENESS OF CEO BLOGS AS A RECRUITING TOOL: IMPACT OF MESSAGE CONGRUENCE WITH APPLICANT PERSONALITY AND IMPLICIT LEADERSHIP THEORIES" (2012). All Dissertations. 983.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/983