abstract
This study examines how diversity messages in recruitment advertisements affect the attraction of minority and majority group member applicants (here, minorities are defined as ethnic minorities, i.e., inhabitants with a migration background). Drawing on international management research, we evaluated whether the country-oforigin of the recruiting firm affects applicant attraction, and whether the effect of diversity recruitment messages is moderated by the recruiting firm's country-of-origin. To test our hypotheses, we conducted an experimental study with 387 participants and demonstrated that diversity messages contribute to minority applicants' attraction. Further, we found that minority applicants react positively if the recruiting firm is from their home country. However, the results illustrate that diversity recruitment only positively influences minority jobseekers' attractiveness towards an employer if the recruiting firm does not stem from their home country. Thus, our paper provides a contingent perspective about determinants of minority attraction.
6. Discussion and implications
This study aimed to corroborate the burgeoning research on diversity recruitment (Avery et al., 2013), and augment our understanding of how firms can enhance their organizational attractiveness (Kim, Jeon, Jung, Lu, & Jones, 2012) through diversity recruitment. In this regard, we particularly sought to contribute to our understanding of how diversity recruitment advertising shapes organizational attractiveness in different recipient groups (minority and majority jobseekers), and how it is influenced by the different characteristics of the recruitment firms (recruiting firms with the same vs. a different ethnic background as the applicant). We used an experimental design to test our predictions and the empirical findings lend support for our hypotheses.
