Social networking information and pre-employment background check: mediating effects of perceived benefit and organizational branding

Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu and Mohitul Ameen Ahmed Mustafi

International Journal of Manpower, 2021, vol. 42, issue 7, 1279-1303

Abstract: Purpose - The purpose of this empirical paper is to identify the role of social networking information (SNI) on job candidates' pre-employment background checking (PBC) process. SNI was further divided into three elements: perceived availability of information (PAI), perceived accuracy of information (PACI) and perceived reliability of information (PRI). In addition, the authors employed two mediating variables: perceived benefit (PB) and organizational branding (OB) to study the influence of each element of SNI on PBC. Design/methodology/approach - The authors used primary data collected from a valid sample of 465 using a structured questionnaire survey selected through purposive sampling. For descriptive analysis, SPSS 24 and for testing the hypothesized relationships, structural equation modeling technique (with AMOS 24) were utilized. Findings - The results indicated that only PAI had strong positive influence on PBC. The other two independent variables: PACI and PRI had insignificant positive influence on PBC. In case of mediators, OB was found to partially mediate the relationship between PAI and PBC while it did not mediate two other direct relationships. Further, PB did not mediate any relationship at all. Research limitations/implications - The paper is expected to be useful for the academicians involved in investigating the role of SNI on PBC as a lucrative research topic. Practical implications - The hiring professionals can utilize the findings of this primary research as the guidelines for formulating effective social media background checking policies. Originality/value - Using SNI for different HRM practices is comparatively new but a growing practice. However, the empirical investigation covering this area is almost absent in academia. This paper as one of the very initial attempts to reveal the role of SNI on PBC can fill that severe gap to some extent and guide future research attempts. Furthermore, the HR professionals are expected to be benefitted from the empirical results in formulating and implementing an effective media policy that will help them in utilizing the SNI in an efficient and rightful manner.

Keywords: Social networking sites; Social networking information; Pre-employment background check; Employers; Job candidates (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ijmpps:ijm-09-2020-0419

DOI: 10.1108/IJM-09-2020-0419

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Manpower is currently edited by Professor Adrian Ziderman

More articles in International Journal of Manpower from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().