Ethnocultural identity and hiring decisions: The role of social desirability and employer bias

Louise Devos, Kristen du Bois, Stijn Baert () and Louis Lippens
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Louise Devos: Ghent University
Kristen du Bois: EDHEC Business School
Stijn Baert: Ghent University
Louis Lippens: Ghent University

No 18372, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: This study examines how professional recruiters evaluate fictitious job applicants with profiles that systematically vary in signals that form ethnocultural identity rather than isolated minority markers. Using a preregistered factorial survey experiment true to recruiters’ organisational context, we assess how greater perceived distance from the ethnocultural majority is associated with hiring intentions. Structural equation modelling shows that lower perceived ethnocultural alignment is strongly and negatively associated with the likelihood of a candidate being considered for a job interview. This bias is also reflected in the extent to which recruiters identify with a candidate, as well as in taste-based expectations and competence assessments related to communication, efficiency, and leadership. Methodologically, we reinforce the credibility of the experimental findings by explicitly addressing socially desirable responses using three complementary approaches. Across all specifications, perceived alignment with the ethnocultural majority emerges as a robust and consistent correlate of hiring intentions.

Keywords: factorial survey experiment; social desirability; identity; hiring; discrimination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C83 J61 J71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp, nep-lma and nep-mid
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18372

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