ABSTRACT
As noted by various scholars (e.g. Barber, 1998; Chapman, Uggerslev, Carroll, Piasentin, & Jones, 2005), attracting qualified applicants is an extremely important human resource management practice. The importance of selection practices depends a lot on the quality of the applicant pool, as well as whether the top applicants accept job offers (e.g. Boudreau & Rynes, 1985; Murphy, 1986). From an individual applicant’s perspective, an applicant’s intentions and behaviors toward a specific potential employer (e.g. applying for a job with this employer, intentions to accept a job offer if one is made by this employer) are components of the applicant’s job search process, which typically involves multiple possible employers (Boswell, Zimmerman, & Swider, 2012; Kanfer, Wanberg, & Kantrowitz, 2001). Not surprisingly, studies examining organizational attraction have examined the influence of firms’ recruitment practices, and job and organizational attributes, on the firms’ ability to attract the best applicants (e.g. Collins, 2007; Turban & Cable, 2003). Thus, as individuals conduct their job search they are exposed to various recruitment practices and obtain information about job and organizational attributes, which may influence their job search activities.
