EXPERIENCED HIRING VERSUS COLLEGE RECRUITING: PRACTICES AND EMERGING TRENDS

Counterproductive Academic Behaviors and Academic Performance: A Meta-Analysis and a Path Analysis Model

Counterproductive academic behaviors (CAB) are a complex phenomenon that affects academic institutions in multiple geographical areas with different cultures, values, and social norms. The high incidence of CAB causes problems of critical importance that transcend the educational domain. The current study aims to contribute to the knowledge of the CAB consequences by focusing on its impact on academic performance (AP). For this purpose, a meta-analysis was conducted in order to examine the relationship between CAB, its facets, and AP. The results show that overall CAB and students' performance are negatively related with a true effect size of ρ = −0.40 (K = 231, N = 127,269). Particularly, absenteeism appeared to be the facet most strongly related to AP (ρ = −0.48, K = 117, N = 69,453). A meta-analytic path analysis model was carried out in order to test the predictive validity of CAB, students' personality characteristics, and intelligence on AP. Results show that conscientiousness and cognitive intelligence have a negative relationship with CAB (β = −0.28 and β = −0.20, respectively), and that conscientiousness, openness to experience, intelligence, and CAB can explain 58% of AP true variance. Meta-analyses of moderator variables and hierarchical meta-analyses are also presented. The implications for research and practice are discussed at the end.

Survival and Growth in Innovative Technology Entrepreneurship: A Mixed-Methods Investigation

Innovative technology enterprises are recognized internationally as an important pillar in modern economic activity. This paper presents the findings from a research combining qualitative and quantitative methods, with the specific goal of identifying and verifying the characteristics that affect their survival and growth. Results from an in-depth longitudinal qualitative case study, that examines a mature and constantly growing (in its 10-year operation) technologically innovative enterprise, reveal that a number of characteristics pertaining to both the profile of the entrepreneurial team, as well as of the employees, significantly affect company survival and growth in this context. Moreover, we recognize and analyze three stages in its evolution: an initial “evolutionary” growth (infancy and youth), followed by a “revolutionary” (crisis), and a second “evolutionary” (maturity) stage. Our findings are further corroborated and enriched through a survey with N = 27 entrepreneurs in innovative technology startups. We contribute to existing literature on innovative technology entrepreneurship, by identifying characteristics that entrepreneurs and employees should bear, towards its survival and growth. Moreover, a practical application of the life cycle approach is described for technologically innovative companies. Finally, a specific prescription that can help guide future theoretical and practical endeavors in innovative technology entrepreneurship is also provided accordingly.

Towards Sustainability in University Education. Improving University Graduates Chances of Employability by Participation in a High Achievement Academic Program

This piece of research focusses on the sustainable development goal (SDG) number four of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: quality education. The main objective of this research was to determine whether introducing a High Achievement Academic Program (ARA Groups) at a Spanish public university could enhance its graduates’ employability. According to the existing scientific literature, some variables related to the students’ accomplishments during college are good predictors of future employability: academic performance, participation in international exchanges, and participation in traineeships. In the empirical part of this research, our objective was to compare, using descriptive and bivariate statistical analysis, the behavior of the students of the ARA Groups and the regular ones, regarding a set of variables related to the above-mentioned predictors of employability. The outcomes allow us to conclude that ARA students performed academically better and that they participated more in international exchanges. Participation in business internships did not present significant differences, although ARA students scored higher in the employers’ assessment of the internship. Our results suggest that graduates of this program will be more sought-after by companies, and therefore it contributes positively to one of the key objectives of quality higher education, which is employability, and hence to sustainable development.

Exploring Digital Competence Requirements for Junior Financial Analysts in the UK Banking Industry

Although young adults familiar with digital technology join the workforce and bring in more advanced digital competences, the demand for digital competences in many industries increases even faster. In this study, we place the focus on the banking industry in the United Kingdom and aim for exploring those digital competences that are required for junior financial analysts. For this purpose, we apply a qualitative research approach which consists of two steps. First, we analyze job advertisements and code the identified competences by using the DigComp 2.0 framework. Second, we conduct interviews to validate and discuss our findings from the previous step. Our analysis reveals that the most important required competence categories are information and data literacy, followed by digital content creation. This paper contributes to the research field of digital competences and provides relevant insights for, amongst others, applicants, HR professionals, and training and education providers.

Prevalence and Correlates of Academic Dishonesty: Towards a Sustainable University

Academic dishonesty (AD) is a problem that affects all higher education institutions. It hurts their reputation, undermines integrity programs, and sidelines sustainability efforts. To understand its negative impact, the empirical study of AD is a critical issue. Up to now, the majority of research on AD has taken place in the North American context. The current research analyzes the prevalence of AD in a non-American university and, focusing on individual differences, examines some of its causes and consequences. The results prove that: (1) AD is a problem that occurs frequently among students; (2) three dimensions of the big five personality model correlate with AD. These are conscientiousness (ρ = −0.49, p < 0.01), extraversion (ρ = 0.39, p < 0.01), and agreeableness (ρ = −0.14, p < 0.01); (3) AD is associated to students’ GPA (Grade Point Average) (ρ = −0.34, p < 0.01) and contextual performance (ρ = −0.50, p < 0.01); (4) personality accounts for 30% of AD variance (R = 0.55, p < 0.01); and (5) AD and some of the studied individual differences explain 38% and 41% of GPA and contextual performance variance (R = 0.62, p < 0.01 and R = 0.64, p < 0.01). Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Recruitment Strategies

People's skill sets rather than technology drive the growth and success of software organizations, where ideas and information form the basis for profit generation and wealth accumulation. This article is an attempt to establish the significance of recruitment strategies, especially in the Indian software industry. The size of an organization, among various other factors, plays an important role in determining the type and shape of a strategy, including human resource strategies. This article aims to examine the different strategies of recruitment by software organizations on the basis of size (in terms of number of employees) with the help of a survey. The findings corroborate the proposition that recruitment strategies of such organizations vary with their size and that such strategies are focussed to meet short-term requirements.

The Work-Oriented Midcareer Development Model: An Extension of Super's Maintenance Stage

The work-oriented midcareer development model for middle income workers in the United States is presented to respond to changing employment dynamics. The model replaces organizationally determined internal labor markets with an individually directed career development structure. It directs workers to define their work, identify its future requirements, and select a developmental direction in an extension of Super's career maintenance stage. Three levels of midcareer development are also proposed: job oriented, work maintenance, and work growth. This new structure allows midcareer individuals to maintain or grow their employment security, income, and career satisfaction in an environment of increasing mobility and salary compression. Suggestions for applications to career counseling clients and implications for future research are discussed.

Can good impression and feedback-seeking behavior help Chinese graduates get a job?

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of feedback seeking (FBS) and impression management (IM) on candidates’ evaluative performance and final hiring decision in a recruiting assessment center (AC) by a multinational corporation (MNC) in China.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors adopted a mixed-methods design. The authors first surveyed 234 candidates and 12 recruiting managers as assessors in four Chinese cities in one year. The authors then collected 23 candidates’ qualitative data in the forms of online blogs, diaries or letters sharing their recruitment experiences from 2005 to 2014.

Findings

– The quantitative results showed that both candidates’ FBS and IM behaviors were positively related to their evaluative performance, yet with no significant effects on hiring decision. However, the interaction of FBS and IM significantly reduced the likelihood of a positive evaluative performance and hiring decision. Qualitative findings showed that IM was adopted by the candidates, and encouraged by the firm in the initial period of AC. Implicit FBS behavior was also found in the qualitative data.

Practical implications

– The results offer important practical implications. For applicants, success in job search depends on one’s overall ability and capacity, while proper FBS and initial IM may be helpful to get in the race. At the firm level, MNCs need to adopt innovative strategies to win the “war for talent” in campus recruiting to cope with the deficiency in the educational focus.

Originality/value

– The authors adopted a mixed-methods approach to examining the dynamics of AC process in campus recruiting processes. This study is among the first examining the interactions of FBS and IM in the selection research.

The portability of career‐long work experience

Purpose

The aims of this paper are to expand understanding on the portability of work experience and to understand how an employee's level of propensity to trust interplays with perceived value of previous career‐long work experience to affect on‐the‐job performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 127 new employees of three newly opened locations of a national full‐service restaurant chain were surveyed during the orientation phase of their jobs. This was followed up three‐four weeks later by job performance ratings from supervisors.

Findings

The higher the perceived value of previous work experience the stronger the relationship between industry work experience and job performance. Also, the higher the perceived value of previous work experience the weaker the relationship between propensity to trust and job performance.

Research limitations/implications

Because this study concentrated on a single firm in a single industry, generalizability to other industries may suffer.

Practical implications

Employees that seek to find value in their current jobs may be more valuable in their future jobs. Also, employees who lack valuable prior work experiences will need to rely more on their propensity to trust other employees if they want to perform well at their new jobs.

Originality/value

The study explains the reasoning behind prior inconsistencies in the work experience‐job performance literature by introducing the concept of perceived value of previous work experience and explaining how this relates to propensity to trust in a newcomer relationship.

Reactions to diversity in recruitment advertising--are differences black and white?

The portrayal of racial diversity in corporate recruitment advertisements has become increasingly common. Despite widespread sentiment that ad diversity attracts a broader scope of applicants, empirical research on this topic is sparse. Consequently, the present study manipulated ad diversity at 2 hierarchical levels to assess its impact on organizational attractiveness for 273 Black and White university students. In contrast to the predictions of relational demography, White viewers exhibited no effect for ad diversity. Black viewers were attracted by ad diversity but only when it extended to supervisorylevel positions. More importantly, the effect of race on reactions to ad diversity was contingent on the viewer's openness to racial diversity (other-group orientation).

College grade point average as a personnel selection device: ethnic group differences and potential adverse impact

College grade point average (GPA) is often used in a variety of ways in personnel selection. Unfortunately, there is little empirical research literature in human resource management that informs researchers or practitioners about the magnitude of ethnic group differences and any potential adverse impact implications when using cumulative GPA for selection. Data from a medium-sized university in the Southeast (N = 7,498) indicate that the standardized average Black-White difference for cumulative GPA in the senior year is d = 0.78. The authors also conducted analyses at 3 GPA screens (3.00, 3.25, and 3.50) to demonstrate that employers (or educators) might face adverse impact at all 3 levels if GPA continues to be implemented as part of a selection system. Implications and future research are discussed.