Coping with Favoritism in Recruitment and Selection: A Communal Perspective

Jasper Hotho (), Dana Minbaeva (), Maral Muratbekova-Touron () and Larissa Rabbiosi ()
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Jasper Hotho: Copenhagen Business School
Dana Minbaeva: Copenhagen Business School
Maral Muratbekova-Touron: ESCP Europe
Larissa Rabbiosi: Copenhagen Business School

Journal of Business Ethics, 2020, vol. 165, issue 4, No 6, 659-679

Abstract: Abstract We examine how recruiting managers cope with communal norms and expectations of favoritism during recruitment and selection processes. Combining insights from institutional theory and network research, we develop a communal perspective on favoritism that presents favoritism as a social expectation to be managed. We subsequently hypothesize that the communal ties between job applicants and managers affect the strategies that managers employ to cope with this expectation. We test these ideas using a factorial survey of the effects of clan ties on recruitment and selection processes in Kazakhstan. The results confirm communal ties as antecedents to the strategies managers use to cope with communal favoritism. Surprisingly, the results also show that these coping strategies are relatively decoupled from managers’ recruitment decisions. The findings contribute to favoritism research by drawing attention to the mitigating work of managers in societies in which favoritism is common.

Keywords: Business ethics; Communities; Favoritism; Human resource management; Institutional logics; Recruitment and selection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-018-4094-9

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