Recruitment and competitive advantage: A brand equity perspective

Yu, T K Y and Cable, D (2012) Recruitment and competitive advantage: A brand equity perspective. In: The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Psychology, Volume 1. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 197-220. ISBN 9780199389049

Abstract

Leaders care about applicant reactions to their recruitment and hiring processes due to the profound effect on the organization's future composition and sustained competitive advantage. In addition to causing applicants to select into or out of the organization, recruitment experiences presocialize job seekers about what to expect from the organization (i.e., culture and values) and the job (i.e., required skills and abilities). In this chapter we take a strategic look at recruitment by applying a resource-based view. We argue that firms can use applicant reactions to recruitment and hiring processes to create and sustain competencies that are valuable, rare, and hard to imitate. Recruitment facilitates applicant self-selection because it communicates to them the unique attributes that characterize successful employees in the firm. Drawing upon ideas from person-environment fit, organizational image, and job design, our chapter covers the process and benefits of using the recruitment process to differentially attract a workforce that delivers a consistent and unique product to customers. In this way, recruitment can be a key component of the value creation process that drives a firm's competitive advantage.