Employer Branding

I am interested in which factors make organizations attractive to applicants. In previous research, I framed this issue into the broader framework of person-organization fit. Currently, I incorporate marketing principles in this domain. Constructs from marketing theory are relevant to this domain because applicants’ job search and decision-making processes share a lot of parallels with consumers' product choice in high involvement purchase decisions. Accordingly, the marketing literature can serve as a conceptual lens for structuring the field of recruiting and organizational attractiveness.

The instrumental-symbolic framework is one of the marketing principles that I introduced to this domain. This implies that potential applicants are attracted to an organization as an employer not only on the basis of instrumental job and organizational attributes (e.g., pay, location, task diversity) but also on the basis of symbolic attributes (e.g., the organization is seen as innovative and prestigious). Various studies have been conducted in different settings (i.e., the bank industry and the Army) and countries (Belgium, Turkey, etc.) to test this framework. Generally, these studies provided good support for the basic premises underlying the instrumental-symbolic framework.

Some of my more recent research has examined how applicants' beliefs about employer image can be changed (e.g., via word-of-mouse, employee testimonials, grapevine information or publicity) and on how machine-learning models can shed light on third-party and company controlled employment information.

Overview Articles

The following articles below give an overview of the broad field of employer image and employer branding.

Lievens, F., & Chapman, D. (2019). Recruitment and selection (pp 123-150). In A. Wilkinson, T. Bacon, S. Snell, & D. Lepak (Eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Human Resource Management. Los Angeles: Sage.

Saini, G., Mukta, S., & Lievens, F. (2022). Employer and internal branding research: A bibliometric analysis of 25 years. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 31, 1196-1221.

Lievens, F., Mukta, S., & Saini, G., (2023). Third-party employer branding. In: E. Murillo & C. King. (Eds.). A research agenda for brand management (pp. 239-256). Edward Elgar Publishing.

Dineen, B.R., Van Hoye, G., Lievens, F., & Mechem Rosokha, L. (2019). Third party employment branding: What are its signaling dimensions, mechanisms, and sources? In M.R. Buckley, A.R. Wheeler, J.E. Baur, & J.R.B. Halbesleben (Eds.), Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management (pp. 173-226). Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing.

Theurer, C.P., Tumasjan, A., Welpe, I., & Lievens, F. (2018). Employer branding: A brand equity-based literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20, 155-179.

Lievens, F., & Slaughter, J.E. (2016). Employer image and employer branding: What we know and what we need to know. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 3, 407-440.

Lievens, F. (2017). Organizational image/reputation. In. S. Rogelberg & C.L. Reeve (Eds.) The Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (pp. 1116-118) 2nd edition. Sage.

Lievens, F. & Chapman, D.S. (2009). Recruitment and selection (pp. 133-154). In A. Wilkinson, T. Redman, S. Snell, N. Bacon (Eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Human Resource Management. London: Sage.

Measures

Together with Scott Highhouse, I developed two measures that have been used a lot in the recruitment and employer branding domain.

Highhouse, S., Lievens F., & Sinar, E. (2003). Measuring organizational attraction. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 63, 986-1001.
If you want to use this measure, click here to start downloading it.

Lievens F., & Highhouse, S. (2003). The relation of instrumental and symbolic attributes to a company’s attractiveness as an employer. Personnel Psychology, 56, 75-102.
If you want to use the measure of symbolic employer image attributes, click here to start downloading it.

Instrumental-Symbolic Framework

The original article that introduced the instrumental-symbolic framework is
Lievens F., & Highhouse, S. (2003). The relation of instrumental and symbolic attributes to a company’s attractiveness as an employer. Personnel Psychology, 56, 75-102.

The following two articles use content analysis to shed light on which kind of instrumental and symbolic information companies post on their webpages and former employees post on employer review websites

Theurer, C.P., Schäpers, P., Tumasjan, A., Welpe, I.M., & Lievens, F. (2022). What you see is what you get? Measuring companies’ projected employer image attributes via companies’ employment webpages. Human Resource Management, 61, 525-541.

Höllig, C.E., Tumasjan, A., & Lievens, F. (in press). What drives employers’ favorability ratings on employer review platforms? The role of symbolic, personal, and emotional content. International Journal of Selection and Assessment.

Articles that tested key axioms underlying the instrumental-symbolic framework in different samples, settings, and countries include:

Van Hoye, Lievens, F., Weijters, B., & Cromheecke, S. (2022). Employer image within and across industries: Moving beyond assessing points-of-relevance to identifying points-of-difference. Human Resource Management, 61, 525-541.

Lievens, F., Van Hoye, G., & Schreurs, B. (2005). Examining the relationship between employer knowledge dimensions and organizational attractiveness: An application in a military context. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 78, 553-572.

Lievens, F., Van Hoye, G., & Anseel, F. (2007). Organizational identity and employer image: Towards a unifying framework. British Journal of Management, 18, S45-S59.

Lievens, F. (2007). Employer branding in the Belgian Army: The importance of instrumental and symbolic beliefs for potential applicants, actual applicants, and military employees. Human Resource Management, 46, 51-69.

Van Hoye, G., Bas, T., Cromheecke, S., & Lievens, F. (2013). The instrumental and symbolic dimensions of organizations’ image as an employer: A large-scale field study on employer branding in Turkey. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 62, 543-557.

Van Hoye, G., Lievens, F., De Soete, B., Libbrecht, N., Schollaert, E., & Baligant, D. (2014). The image of psychology programs: The value of the instrumental–symbolic framework. Journal of Psychology, 148, 457-475.

Lievens, F. (2006). Organizational Image/reputation. In. S. Rogelberg & C.L. Reeve (Eds.) The Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (pp.568-570). Sage.

Social Information Sources

The following studies explored how applicants' beliefs about employer image can be altered (e.g., via word-of-mouth, employee testimonials, grapevine information).

Van Hoye, G., Lievens, F., Weijters, B., & Stockman, S. (2016). Social influences in recruitment: When is word-of-mouth most effective? International Journal of Selection of Assessment, 24, 42-53.

Van Hoye, G., & Lievens, F. (2009). Tapping the grapevine: A closer look at word-of-mouth as a recruitment source. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 341-352.

Van Hoye, G., & Lievens, F. (2007). Social influences on organizational attractiveness: Investigating if and when word-of-mouth matters. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 2024-2047.

Van Hoye, G., & Lievens, F. (2007). Investigating web-based recruitment sources: Employee testimonials versus word-of-mouse. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 15, 372-382.

Van Hoye, G., & Lievens, F. (2005). Recruitment-related information sources and organizational attractiveness: Can something be done about negative publicity? International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 13, 179-187.

Cromheecke, S., Van Hoye, G., Lievens, F. (2013). Changing things up in recruitment: Effects of a ‘strange’ recruitment medium on applicant pool quantity and quality. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 86, 410-416.

Misc

Most of the following studies deal with job search:

Ng, C. X., Song, Z., & Lievens, F. (in press). Human capital effects in the job search process for new labor market entrants: A double-edged sword? Journal of Vocational Behavior.

Van Hoye, G., Van Hooft, E., Stremersch, J., & Lievens, F. (2019). Specific job search self-efficacy beliefs and behaviours of unemployed ethnic minority women. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 27, 9-20.

Van Hoye, G., Saks, A. M., Lievens, F., & Weijters, B. (2015). Development and test of an integrative model of job search behaviour. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 24, 544-559.

Lievens, F., Van Hoye, G., & Zacher, H. (2012). The recruiting and hiring of older workers (pp.380-391). In J. Hedge & W.C. Borman (Eds.) The Work and Aging Handbook. Oxford University Press.

Van Hoye, G., van Hooft, E. A. J., & Lievens, F. (2009). Networking as a job search behaviour: A social network perspective. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 82, 661-682.

Lievens F., Decaesteker C., Coetsier, P., & Geirnaert J. (2001). Organizational attractiveness for prospective applicants: A person-organization fit perspective. Applied Psychology: An international review, 50, 30-51.

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