Whom to Believe: Recruiting Information Source Credibility and Organizational Attractiveness

Abstract

This study uses a policy-capturing methodology to investigate how job seekers faced with conflicting recruiting information make organizational attractiveness judgments. It proposes that when considering recruiting information, the credibility of the information source, in terms of trustworthiness, expertise, integrity, and liking, will be positively related to the extent to which information from each source is used when judging the attractiveness of organizations. The results indicated that some sources are seen as more credible than others, and that this credibility is related to the use of information from that source. In addition, the dimensions of credibility most highly related to information use are different for interpersonal and institutional sources. The implications for employee recruiting research and practice are discussed.