2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

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Social influence. People are unlikely to make organizational-relevant choices in a social vacuum.
Yet, social influences were ignored in research on organizational choice for a long time. Kilduff
(1990) noticed that “decision-making research has been generally silent concerning social
influences on choices” (p. 270-271) and that “a good example of scholarly neglect of social
influences on behavior occurs in the area of organizational choice” (p. 271). In his research on
the interpersonal structure of decision making, Kilduff found the social network influenced
individuals’ choices of organizations to interview with such that pairs of students who were either
friends or who perceived each other as similar tended to make similar organizational choices,
even if they had different academic concentrations and different job preferences. Similarly, there
is a lot of evidence indicating that prospective applicants are more likely to acquire information
about job vacancies through informal networks of friends, family and acquaintances than through
official sources such as advertisements or employment offices (Granovetter, 1974; Reynolds,
1951; Rynes et al., 1991; Schwab, Rynes, & Aldag, 1987). Liden and Parsons (1986) were
among the first to suggest that parents and friends may have an important influence on job
acceptance among job applicants. They found that these reference groups had even a larger
impact on job acceptance intentions than general job affect. More recently, Turban (2001) found
that the social context was related to potential applicants’ organizational attractiveness. More
specifically, he found that perceptions of university personnel of a firm’s presence on campus and
image as an employer were positively related to college students’ attraction to that firm. Legree
et al. (2000) surveyed 2,731 young men and their parents about their attitudes and intentions
toward the military to understand factors associated with military enlistment. The results from
this study indicated that youth perceptions of parental attitudes toward the military significantly
correlated with stated enlistment propensity, which predicted actual enlistment. Surprisingly,
youth perceptions of parental attitudes were often inaccurate. With regard to applicant
withdrawal, Ryan and McFarland (1997), and Ryan et al. (2000) found that family and friend
support for pursuing a particular job had a significant relation to self-selection decisions.
Applicants who self-selected out felt their families were less supportive for their careers. In their
study, Schmitt and Ryan (1997) observed that more than 10% of applicants withdrew because
they felt that the selection process or the job interfered with family obligations or with how the
job was viewed by family members. There exists a clear parallel between these findings and
recent developments in research on career choice. The social cognitive career theory (Lent,
Brown, & Hackett, 1994), for instance, emphasizes that besides person and behavioral variables,
contextual variables such as social supports and social barriers play a key role in the career choice
process.
Employment alternatives. Applicants may withdraw from the hiring process because the job
opportunity has become less attractive to them relative to other options (Barber, 1998). Schmit
and Ryan (1997) found that a large portion of those withdrawing from the hiring process did so
because of perceived employment alternatives. In some cases, withdrawals believed they could
get a better job or already had taken another offer. In other cases, one’s current job was seen as
the better alternative. Ryan et al. (2000) also found that other alternatives were a major reason
for withdrawing. These results are consistent with findings on the role of perceived employment
alternatives in turnover behavior. Turnover experts long have argued that job opportunities may
induce even satisfied employees into surrendering their current job (e.g., March & Simon, 1958;
Mobley, Griffeth, Hand, & Meglino, 1979; Steel, 1996; Steel & Griffeth, 1989).
Need to relocate. According to Noe and Barber (1993), relocation may have negative influences
on one’s non-work life, requiring adjustments in housing, education, friendships, and activities by
the relocated individuals and their families. Research on geographic boundaries in recruitment
45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003