An exploratory study of jobseekers’ decision-making styles, recruitment information sources and organisational attractiveness

an article by Yu-Lun Liu (Coventry Business School, UK and Alliance Manchester Business School, UK) and Kathleen A. Keeling and K. Nadia Papamichail (Alliance Manchester Business School, UK) published in Personnel Review Volume 45 Issue 6 (2016)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consequences of jobseeker decision-making style on information search behaviour, information evaluation and perceptions of organisational attractiveness (OA). In this study, the authors assess whether, when presented with a realistic job information searching scenario of receiving basic job information from a typical formal short job advertisement, maximisers and satisficers differ on need for further information and evaluation of further information from informal information sources in relation to valence and tie strength.

Design/methodology/approach
A scenario-based experiment was conducted on 280 participants from the USA, with work experience in retail, using Amazon Mechanical Turk.

Findings
The results show that, compared to satisficers, significantly more maximisers chose to search for further information about the company/vacancy after receiving a typical short advertisement message. Furthermore, the results highlight the moderating effects of decision-making style (maximiser vs satisficer), tie strength (strong-tie vs weak-tie provider) and message valence (positive vs negative) on jobseekers’ perceived OA.

Practical implications
Companies seeking to increase their candidate pool should consider accommodating the different decision-making styles of jobseekers by carefully designing the content of recruitment information and utilising recruitment information sources. Although conducted in just one sector, the ubiquity of the maximiser/satisficer decision-making style implies further research to assess the implications for other sectors.

Originality/value
Research on decision-making style in recruitment is relatively limited. This study demonstrates the differences between maximisers and satisficers in terms of job-related information needs, and the evaluation of the source/content, when searching for a retail trade job.

Quantitative, Decision-making style, Maximiser, Organizational attractiveness, Recruitment information sources, Satisficer, Staff word-of-mouth

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Career decision-making profiles vs. styles: Convergent and incremental validity

an article by Itamar Gati, Reuma Gadassi and Rona Mashiah-Cohen (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel) published in Journal of Vocational Behavior Volume 81 Issue 1 (August 2012)

Abstract The present research investigated the convergent and incremental validity of the multidimensional model and questionnaire – the Career Decision-Making Profiles (CDMP, Gati, Landman, Davidovitch, Peretz-Asulin, & Gadassi, 2010) – by comparing it to two prevalent decision-making style models.

Study 1 compared the CDMP to the Vocational Decision Style Indicator (VDSI; Walsh, 1986) using a sample of 423 young adults.

Study 2 compared the CDMP to the General Decision-Making Style inventory (GDMS; Scott & Bruce, 1995; based on Harren, 1979) using a sample of 427 individuals.

The results of Studies 1 and 2 supported the convergent validity of the CDMP. Moreover, the results supported the advantage of the CDMP over the VDSI in predicting individuals' stages in the career decision-making process.

Highlights

► We test the convergent and incremental validity of the CDMP, Gati et al. 2010.
► Study 1 compared the CDMP to the Vocational Decision Style Indicator (N = 423) deliberating individuals.
► Study 2 compared the CDMP to the General Decision-Making Style (N = 427).
► The results of both studies supported the convergent validity of the CDMP.
► The results supported the incremental validity of the CDMP over other the VDSI.

Hazel’s comment:
Since I am not, by training or profession, a guidance practitioner I thought I needed to find further information about the systems mentioned in this article. Here is what I found:
Career Decision-Making Profiles: a large number of cites which added little to my understanding of the tool and the 39-statement questionnaire here
Vocational Decision Style Indicator: alas I failed to retrieve anything which would tell me about this tool despite using four different search engines. If you know differently please leave a comment.
General Decision-Making Style: a lot more information here from the Society for Judgment and Decision Making.

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