Too old to find employment? A novel approach to leverage the power of digital peer groups for older unemployed

Hanna Rebecca Broder, Maximilian Förster, Julia Klier, Mathias Klier () and Irina Sigler
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Hanna Rebecca Broder: University of Ulm, Institute of Business Analytics
Maximilian Förster: University of Ulm, Institute of Business Analytics
Julia Klier: University of Regensburg, Department of Information Systems
Mathias Klier: University of Ulm, Institute of Business Analytics
Irina Sigler: University of Ulm, Institute of Business Analytics

Information Systems and e-Business Management, 2025, vol. 23, issue 4, No 5, 999-1038

Abstract: Abstract Unemployment is a pressing societal problem world-wide. The consequences of unemployment are disproportionately more severe for older individuals. Building on literature on digital technologies in the context of unemployment and social support in digital peer groups, we design and evaluate a novel job counseling approach to leverage the power of digital peer groups to assist older unemployed individuals in regaining employment. Our approach supplements the traditional one-on-one offline counseling. It is specifically designed for older unemployed individuals, with small group sizes, moderation, and implementation through an easily accessible online messenger. We demonstrate the practical applicability of the proposed approach by instantiating it in cooperation with the German Federal Employment Agency, and we demonstrate how the approach can be used in terms of mutual social support. We evaluate the efficacy of the approach in a controlled, randomized field experiment with 987 older unemployed individuals. The results demonstrate the approach’s positive impact on reemployment chances of older unemployed individuals, by increasing their job search skills and job search intensity. Furthermore, our evaluation reveals that gender and job market situation are important contextual factors for the effectiveness of the digital peer group-based approach, warranting further recognition in research.

Keywords: Unemployment; Digital peer groups; Reemployment; Social support; Older workforce (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10257-025-00708-3

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