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PR
50,1 Employer image, corporate image
and organizational attractiveness:
the moderating role of social
244 identity consciousness
Received 2 February 2019 Raghda Abulsaoud Ahmed Younis and Rasha Hammad
Revised 1 December 2019
Accepted 29 March 2020 Department of Business Administration, Faculty of commerce, Cairo University,
Giza, Egypt

Abstract
Purpose – Although researchers agreed that corporate image and employer image are important factors
affecting organizational attractiveness, understanding the role of social identity within the attracting process,
in addition to exploring the relationship between corporate image and employer image, is still a research gap.
Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of corporate and employer image on organizational
attractiveness in addition to understanding the moderating role of social identity on the relationship between
corporate image and employer brand and organizational attractiveness.
Design/methodology/approach – The study used a survey method for data collection from fourth year
students.
Findings – The findings show that both employer image and corporate image have a significant positive effect
on organizational attractiveness . In addition, it has showed that social identity consciousness plays partial role
as a moderator in the model.
Originality/value – This paper is one of the first papers that include corporate image, employer image, social
identity consciousness and organizational attractiveness in the same model . In addition, it is one of the limited
papers that considered both signal and social identity theory in attraction process.
Keywords Employer brand, Employer attractiveness, Corporate image, Social identity, Signal theory
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
Organizations adapt various strategies to survive and compete in uncertainty times. Some of
these strategies are concerned with organizational processes such as creativity, knowledge
management or diversity management (Younis, 2019). These processes are highly related to
create a distinguished competitive advantage through its human recourses and human
recourses strategies. This study is concerned with strategies related to attracting or
recruiting highly qualified candidates. Recruitment process is critical for organization
success and country’s competitiveness. First, attracting the attention of candidates in early
recruitment stage can achieve organization’s competitiveness by enhancing the
organizations’ ability to hire qualified employees and increasing the talent or knowledge
pool (Cable and Turban, 2001; Phillips and Gully, 2015). Second, attracting and acquiring
talented people with diverse knowledge, skills and behavior raise the ability of the country’s
institutions to compete locally and internationally (Silvanto and Ryan, 2018). Thus, scholars
and organizations at the present time have become more interested in identifying the factors
that distinguish the organization as a source of attraction to employers besides identifying
how this process occurs. This perspective gives prominence to broaden the branding
activities to target other stakeholder groups such as employees and potential employees
Personnel Review (Turbani and Cable, 2003; Moroko and Uncles, 2008; Rampl and Kennin, 2014).
Vol. 50 No. 1, 2021
pp. 244-263
In this regard, researchers argued that corporate image (CI) and employer image (EI) could
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0048-3486
give an explanation of the employer attractiveness phenomena (Buil et al., 2016; Kissel and
DOI 10.1108/PR-02-2019-0058 B€uttgen, 2015). The potential applicants use the available information to evaluate the
organization and take a decision whether to apply or not. Part of this information is gained Role of social
through publicity and advertisement and is highly influenced by the corporate image identity
(Chhabra and Sharma, 2014a, b). Another part is based on the employer value propositions
offered to the prospective employees and, eventually, reflects the employer image (Cable and
consciousness
Turban, 2001; Chhabra and Sharma, 2014a, b). Although researchers agreed that the images
of the employer and the corporate are important factors affecting organizational
attractiveness (OA), most studies examine the effect of both of them separately. For
example, studies tackled the relation between corporate image and employer attractiveness 245
(Belt and Paolillo, 1982; Rynes, 1989; Gatewood et al., 1993) or the relation between employer
image and employer attractiveness (Myrden and Kelloway, 2015; Van Hoye and Saks, 2011;
Kashive and Khanna, 2017). Notwithstanding these first findings, reviewing the literature
reveals a gap in studying the impact of corporate and employer images on the same model.
Furthermore, it raises the question of whether corporate image has a significant role in
shaping employer image or not.
Previous researches suggested various theoretical perspectives for understanding the
organizational attractiveness phenomenon. Ehrhart and Ziegert (2005) suggested three
metatheories. These metatheories are the environmental processing, interactionist and self-
processing metatheory. Many researchers used one or more of the theories underlining these
metatheories to interpret their results or building their argument such as social identity
theory (Ashforth and Mael, 1989) and signal theory (Rynes, 1989; Spence, 1973). However, few
studies empirically examined them (Tsai and Yang, 2010; Wei et al., 2016). Consequently,
scholars call for more research to examine the impact of person characteristics and social
identity theory on attraction which has become inevitable (Ehrhart and Ziegert, 2005; Kissel
and B€ uttgen, 2015; Tsai and Yang, 2010). In this research, we build our model based on the
social identity theory and signal theory to understand the possible mechanism whereby CI
and employer image may influence OA through testing the moderating role of social identity
consciousness on these relationships.
Against this background, this study aims to examine the following: both effects of
employer and corporate images on organizational attractiveness; the effect of corporate
image on employer image and finally, the moderating role of social identity (SI) on the
relationship between corporate image and employer’s brand and organizational
attractiveness. This paper is organized as follows: first, the theoretical background for
employer brand image, corporate image and social identity; second, the literature review and
hypotheses development; in this section, we present previous scholars’ contributions related
to our paper objectives; third, the paper’s methodology including the sampling and data
collection process and finally, the results and discussion for this research.

2. Theoretical background
2.1 Employer image
EI relates to the set of beliefs that a job seeker or a candidate holds about organizational
attributes, employment conditions, job attributes and people working with the employer
(Cable and Turban, 2001). The employer image is reflected on the individual’s impression
about a certain place, i.e. whether this place is good for employment or not. It refers to the
available knowledge regarding an organization (Cable and Turban, 2001). It is observable
that the image of the organization is referred back to the results of a good employer based on
the efforts established by an organization to be distinctive among others. The employer’s
image is the result of employer brand efforts to build a brand association that relates the
organization to a specific set of values, benefits and behaviors (Backhaus and Tikoo, 2004).
Thus, these associations constitute the image of the organization as an employer and, as a
result, this shaped image influences the employer attractiveness among job seekers (Myrden;
PR Kelloway, 2015). Organization should translate its attributes and benefits to value
50,1 propositions, which can be easily communicated to the potential employees (Backhaus and
Tikoo, 2004). Without these organizational communication efforts, the organization will not
be acknowledged.
Building employer image is considered a strategic tool for attracting and retaining
employees (Priyadarshi, 2011). One of its critical roles is reflecting the employer activities that
may positively affect applicants’ decisions regarding applying for specific vacancy
246 (Backhaus and Tikoo, 2004), usually through formal (ex. Recruitment activities and
advertising) and informal (ex. Word of mouth) communication channels. This reflecting
process promotes the “apositive employment experience” within the organization, as well as
helping the employer to establishing his position in the minds of potential employees as a
good place to work with. There are different types of information that can be shared within
the communication channels and shape employer image as follows: (1) employer information,
which refers to objective aspects of organizations, eg., company policies, procedures and
norms. (2) job information, which refers to knowledge about the attributes of a specific job. (3)
people information; it refers to the type of individuals that comprise an organization,
eg. coworkers (Cable and Turban, 2001).

2.2 Corporate image

Despite the heavy use of the term corporate image in marketing research, researchers in the
field do not agree upon the definition or the measurement of the term (Kim et al., 2012; Nguyen
and LeBlanc, 2001). Some researchers define corporate image, from the consumer perspective,
as the perceptions toward an organization reflected in the associations held in consumers’
mind (Keller, 1993) or overall impression remain in the customers’ memory as a result of
accumulative experience – thoughts, ideas, and experiences with the organization – stored in
his/her memory, converted into a positive/negative meanings, restored to reshaping image
and retrieved when the name of the corporate is mentioned (Abd- El-Salam et al., 2013).
However, recently, researchers add different stakeholder groups into the definition of
corporate image to describe it as the overall impressions remaining in the minds of the public
regarding a specific firm (Nguyen and LeBlanc, 2001) or it may be defined as an explicit
promise given by the organization to its key stakeholder community (Foster et al., 2010). The
corporate image is the perception that members of different groups link to the company and
represents all the information (perceptions, inferences and beliefs) about the corporate these
groups hold (Martenson, 2007). Therefore, (Nguyen and LeBlanc, 2001) argue that different
stakeholder groups will have various images about the organizations. As a result, it is
important for the company to keep a good image for all the stockholders such as customers
and employees.

2.3 Social identity consciousness (SIC)

2.3.1 Social identity theory. Ashforth and Mael (1989) asserted that individuals may identify
specific firms to enhance their self-esteem. Individuals may vary in their identification
according to the extent that organization membership fulfills their self-esteem and self-
consistency needs. Moreover, it depends upon the extent a relevant audience exists in
supporting their membership to this organization (Dutton et al., 1994; Scott and Lane, 2000).
Social identity consciousness relates to an individual’s concern for gaining social approval as
a result of working under specific organization affiliation (Highhouse et al., 2007). Individuals
identify specific organizations as means of expressing and recognizing themselves in the
broader community and attaining social approval or acceptance. Based on the literature
review, there are two social identity needs which may affect the individual’s choices
(Highhouse et al., 2007):
 (1) Social adjustment (SA) focuses on the concern to impressing others. These concerns Role of social
can serve maintaining self-esteem objectives by making sure one is respected by identity
others significant to him/her. This may take the form of associating one’s self with
popular or prestigious groups/community. Within the employer-choice context, SA is
consciousness
concerned with the influence the job seeker is aware of or the interest in the extent to
which association with a specific employer supports the prestige or impresses others.
(2) Value expressive (VE) is concerned with expressing good values, i.e. it is the job 247
seeker’s interest in or awareness of the extent by which association with a specific
employer support a sense of dignity or respectability.
2.3.2 The reflection of the signaling theory on employer attractiveness. In the recruitment
literature, the signaling theory has been used to explain how job seeker’s attraction
occurs. Signaling theory (Rynes, 1989; Spence, 1973) was first adopted in the economic
field; then it was widely used in several fields including HRM field. The theory indicates
that applicants are influenced by any information relating to organization’s attributes
and consider it as signals. This information may be gathered from several channels at the
individual and organizational level (Celani and Singh, 2011). Information from interviews,
calls and word-of -mouth are examples of information at the individual level. On the other
hand, information from vacancy advertising and job posts are examples of information at
the organizational level. Researches have asserted that a job seeker perceives several
recruitment-related actions and information about the employer as signals of
organizational attributes (Celani and Singh, 2011; Collins and Stevens, 2002). With the
absence of information, the job seeker may form incomplete/inaccurate image based on
signals conveyed to him/her and is acquired by his/her own interpretations (Celani and
Singh, 2011). As for signals structuring the organization image, companies should use
effective employer branding strategies in order to generate positive images “as a unique
and preferable employer” (Lievens et al., 2007) . Companies must consider the context of
the information shared to the stakeholders, the sources of information and the
creditability of each source in order to be attractive and to build a good image as an
employer (Kashive and Khanna, 2017; Slaughter et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2016; Kashive;
Khanna, 2017).
The job seeker is motivated to look for the available information about the employer or the
job vacancy in order to form accurate perceptions regarding the employer; whether it is a
good place to work at or not. The employer may reduce the perceived risk and increase
confidence to applicants by providing accurate knowledge about the organization (Wilden
et al., 2010). Thus, applicants form signals based on the available information they have. On
one hand, there are some information regarding instrumental characteristics of a job which is
directly observed, e.g. location and payments (Highhouse et al., 2007). On the other hand,
other information regarding symbolic characteristics of the job may be nonobservable by the
applicants, e.g. work culture, career development and innovativeness. Thus, young
applicants often rely on available information the organization is willing to share, and
they may rely on the perceived social identity that some of them may lack direct work
experience (Myrden and Kelloway, 2015).
Scholars indicate that some of the potential employees spend less effort into gathering
information about the potential employers, and most of these employers may share too little
employment and working conditions information (Wilden et al., 2010). Therefore, in the case
of the absence of information, job seekers rely more on social networks to reduce the
information gap. Consequently, the only effective way for creating and building a good
image is through employer branding strategy. Such strategy is utilized in order to minimize
the information ambiguity and asymmetry and to impact brand image positively
(Wilden et al., 2010).
PR 3. Literature review and model development
50,1 3.1 Employer image and employer attractiveness
Many studies investigated the impact of employer brand among current employees and
showed that employer brand is related to positive work attitudes (Priyadarshi, 2011).
Moreover, employer branding has a critical role in affecting potential employees’ behavior.
Some scholars investigated the relationship between the EI and applicant’s attraction to the
organization ( Myrden and Kelloway, 2015; Van Hoye and Saks, 2011; Kashive and Khanna,
248 2017). They revealed that symbolic and functional attributes of the brand image were related
to applicant’s attraction to the organization. In addition, a metaanalytical study showed that
employer image is considered as one of the significant predictors of organization attraction
(Chapman et al., 2005).
Besides employer image, there is some evidence that the organizational image can play a
critical role in describing the organizational attractiveness. Some scholars examined the
impact of both the corporate image and the employment image on organizational attraction
process. The studies revealed inconstant results. For example: Lemmink et al. (2003)
examined this relationship among graduate students from business school. The results
showed that both corporate and employment images have significant positive effects on
attracting potential employees. On other hand, Wehner et al. (2015) found that employer
image positively affected attractiveness; whereas, corporate image did not have any
significant influence on organization attractiveness. Moreover, the study suggested that a
well-known corporate might impact the recruitment process-related perceptions for the
potential employees more than the organizational attractiveness. Thus, if an employer has a
good image, as a seller, this perception may provide a positive signal to applicants indicating
that the employer is able to invest more in staffing activities than other employers do, but it
may not assure applying for the job. In addition, Chhabra and Sharma (2014a, b) studied the
firm attributes which attracted previous year students in business schools toward the firms.
The paper reviewed two issues as follows: the employer branding strategies issue and the
preferred channel through which firms should promote for their strategies. The study found
that among the participants, the most preferred employer attributes were brand name,
compensation and organizational culture.
There are various interpretations beyond the prior relationships. First, the job seekers rely
on various beliefs and values when making decisions about the employment choice (Rynes,
1989). These beliefs and values are generated according to the applicant’s current knowledge
about the organization (Gomes and Neves, 2011; Myrden and Kelloway, 2015). For example,
available knowledge regarding organizational traits, policies, climate and working conditions
may affect the organizational attractiveness to potential employees (Lievenes and Highhouse,
2003; Gomes and Neves, 2011). Second, a strong EB image increases job seekers’ familiarity
and eventually their existing knowledge about an employer. Thus, it creates positive signals,
impressions and attitudes toward that employer ( Collins, 2007; Lievenes and Highhouse,
2003). That is to say, potential employees interpret a strong EB image as a signal of
familiarity and creditability, which in turn, enhances the employer attractiveness (Backhaus
and Tikoo, 2004; Collins, 2007). As a result, we can expect that employer image relates
positively to organizational attractiveness as shown in Figure 1.
H1. EI has a positive impact on organizational attractiveness.

3.2 Corporate image and employer attractiveness

Many earlier marketing studies, reported in the literature, have argued that a good corporate
image can attract potential employees for recruitment. In their study, to identify the main
antecedents of corporate image, Fombrun and Shanley (1990) suggested that a good image
could generate many advantages to organizations like attracting better employees.
 Employer Image Role of social
H1
identity
H3
Organizaonal aracveness
consciousness
Corporate Image H2
H5

H4
249

Figure 1.
Social – identy consciousness The conceptual model

They argued that image could be considered as a main factor in evaluating job offers
(Fombrun and Shanley, 1990).
The relationship between organizational image and employer attractiveness has been
explored by means of a wide range of methodologies, contexts and measures. In this respect,
Belt and Paolillo (1982) used an experimental design to examine the impact of CI and the
candidate qualifications on the likelihood of reader response to recruitment advertising in
fast food industry. They proved that image had a positive significant impact on applicants’
responses to recruitment advertising. Yet, applicant qualifications did not show a significant
impact on their responses (Belt and Paolillo, 1982).
Agreeing with these results, Rynes (1989) found that general impression about an
organization is highly affecting the applicants’ attraction to apply in the prerecruitment
phase. She explained that through highlighting the lack of information applicants had in
early stage of job searching process. Rynes mentioned that organization image reflected this
general impression and suggested further research in this direction (Rynes, 1989; Gatewood
et al., 1993). After empirically testing Rynes’ argument, it was found that organization image
is highly correlated to job seekers’ attraction to an organization. They also proved that, at a
given time, the amount of information available to an applicant is heavily related to the
perception of his/her image. Aligned with these results, Lemmink et al. (2003) revealed that
both CI and employer image have independent significant positive impacts on the attraction
process. They also found that information availability and familiarity with the organization
have a direct impact on employer image and applicants’ attraction.
Exploring brand’s unit image impact on existing employees’ work behavior, Slavich et al.
(2014) used exploratory qualitative method in a fashion company to discover the relation
between HRM practices and employee’s work behavior. They found that brand unit’s image
might negatively affect the effectiveness of HR practice and, as a result, affect employees’
work-related behavior. Inconsistent with these results, Kim et al. (2012) using marketing
approach, has developed and examined a model investigating the relationship between
sustainable competitive advantage and marketing strategy and their impact on both CI and
employer image. This is besides the mediating and direct impact of corporate and employer
image on doctors’ pursuing to apply for a job opportunity in hospital industry. They found
that corporate image positively affected employer brand; however, the relationship between
CI and the pursuit to apply for a job opportunity was not significant.
In social media context, Kissel and B€ uttgen (2015) found that CI contributes significantly
to organizational attractiveness measured by 9 items scale developed from brand equity
literature including perceived quality, uniqueness, sympathy, identification and attachment.
They found also that CI mediates the relationship among self-congruity, information
gathered from social media as independent variables and organizational attractiveness as
dependent variable.
PR The review of the literature related to corporate image and employer attractiveness
50,1 revealed some important implications for research. First, the review suggested that corporate
image plays a significant role in shaping employer brand while employer brand is considered
an important drive for organizational attractiveness. Second, most of the research concerning
the relationship between CI and employer attractiveness proved a positive relation in the
models that did not include employer brand (Belt and Paolillo, 1982; Gatewood et al., 1993;
Slavich et al., 2014; Rynes, 1989). Third, the models examining both corporate image and
250 employer brand impact on employer attractiveness found contradicting results; Lemmink
et al. (2003) found that CI had a positive impact on potential employer attraction, whereas,
Kim et al. (2012) found that this relation was not significant. Consequently, this research
examines the relationship between CI and employer attractiveness simultaneously with
examining employer brand impact on employer attractiveness using structure equation
model to identify the role played by corporate image.
H2. CI has a positive impact on employer attractiveness.

3.3 Corporate image and employer brand

Researchers began investigating the question whether there is a general corporate image
consistent across various external groups or there are different images according the
relationship between those groups and the organization since early nineteenth century. Using
the Fortune 500 rating, researchers found that executives and potential job applicants did not
agree on their overall corporate image ratings, and the applicant rating to company image
were not related to market and performance indicators used by the Fortune 500. They
concluded that different stakeholders would hold different images about the firm (Fombrun
and Shanley, 1990; Gatewood et al., 1993).
A number of scholars empirically tested the relationship between employer brand and
different aspects of corporate image. In examining the relationship among the CEO image, CI
and employment brand value Ko et al. (2008) used a survey design and collected data from 398
students majoring in fashion through structured questionnaire. They found that CI
(corporate social responsibility image, product image and corporate cultural image)
significantly explained 60.8% of the variance in employer brand value (Ko et al., 2008).
Along with this result, Kim et al. (2012) using a sample of 153 medical doctors, found that
hospital image has a significant impact on employment brand equity. In examining the firm
attributes that increased organization attractiveness among previous year students in
business schools, (Chhabra and Sharma, 2014a, b) it was found that they used both semi-
structured interviews and survey results to conclude that organizational image was one of the
main organizational factors that affected the employer brand and the company that had a
positive brand image was considered as an attractive employer (Chhabra and Sharma,
2014a, b).
Besides studying corporate image, researchers have used brand personality traits to
identify intangible aspects of brand image. Lievens and Highhouse (2003) found that
personality traits like innovativeness, competence and prestige could differentiate between
banks’ employer brands. Rampl and Kennin (2014) also proved that brand personality traits
significantly affect both employer brand trust and employer brand effect of senior students
interested to work in the consulting industry (Rampl and Kennin, 2014).
Based on the prementioned findings, it became clearer that almost all the studies reviewed
in this section have found a positive relationship between CI and EB. The connection between
corporate image and employer brand is coming from the “promise” made between the
organization and the stakeholder group. In their study to explore the main characteristics of
successful employer brand, (Moroko and Uncles, 2008) found that the corporate image values
are of major concern. This is because they emphasize the character of employer branding as a
phenomenon, a process and a context. Therefore, corporate brand should be (1) known and Role of social
remarkable; (2) perceived as pertinent and resonant and (3) differentiated from competitors. identity
Agreeing with that idea, (Foster et al., 2010) argue that the CI should act as a guide for both
internal branding and EB, considering it a promise between the firm and its stakeholders
consciousness
taking into account that both CI and EI focus on prospective employees who might be also
organizations’ customers (Foster et al., 2010). Based on the above reasoning, we hypothesized
the following:
251
H3. Corporate image has a positive impact on employer image.

3.4 The moderation role of social identity in the relationship between employer image and
employer attractiveness
Firms may invest within recruitment strategies and practices. However, if there is not a good
image about the firm as an employer , or if there is not any sufficient knowledge about firm
products , policies, practices and work climate, the applicant may find the firm not attractive
enough ( Collins, 2007). The social identity and self-categorization theories were examined in
the literature in order to explain how and why applicant may be attracted to certain
organizations. They simply imply that potential employees would be more attracted to
employer with which they identify rather than to employer with which they do not identify. It
seems that highly identified individuals who have categorized themselves according to
certain employer’s identity, would maintain their positive self -esteem by joining the
employer world. Specifically, applicants may be attracted to organization with a good image
as an employer. Regarding that, it seems that the decision of the applicant to join the
organization may relate to his/her prospect social status. Considering that theory, any
individual could classify themselves into social categories according to their membership in
certain groups or communities (Ashforth and Mael, 1989). As the organization is a group of
members and the image is an evaluation process of how others perceive the organization as a
good place to work (Dutton et al., 1994), working with an employer who has a good image
increases the attraction to this organization, and the sense of self-esteem and social status
may increase this relationship as well.
To sum up, positive outcomes are associated with being part of a strong status
organization. In other words, social identity perception when founded, the organizational
attractiveness would be more sensitive to employer brand image. Scholars found relative
support for this relationship. For example, Dearmond and Crawford (2011) examined the two
dimensions named SA concern and VE concern as moderators on firm personality
perceptions (e.g. innovativeness) and firm attraction relationship. The results of this study
suggested that VE concern moderates the relationship, whereas, there was no significant
support for SA concern as a moderator in this relationship. The study suggested that
applicants who were highly concerned about honor and wholesomeness were more sensitive
to organization personality attractiveness relationship. In addition, Highhouse et al. (2007)
suggested that a job seeker’s SI concerns interact with other symbolic inferences to impact
organizational attractiveness. Their findings provided some evidence for the key role of SI
consciousness as a moderating variable in the relation between employer attributes and
employer attraction.
The interpreting of the prior relationships was guided from the integration of the
signaling and the social identity theory. These theories support our understanding of the
associations between the recruitment/ attracting activities and the applicant attraction to
certain organization. Signals from different sources such as social media or advertising
influence employer’s image evaluation. In addition, the interface of social identity guides the
applicant attraction process (Celani and Singh, 2011). Based on the above discussion, we
hypothesized the following:
PR H4. SI consciousness moderates positively the relationship between EI and OA.
50,1 H4a. SA concern moderates positively the relationship between EI and OA.
H4b. VE concerns moderates positively the relationship between EI and OA.

3.5 The moderator role of social identity on the relationship between corporate image and
252 employer attractiveness
Even though past research has revealed that applicants were more likely to be attracted to
organizations with good image, few researches only have explained why organizational
image could affect potential employees. Thence, scholars still call for future research on this
stream (Tsai and Yang, 2010; Kissel; B€ uttgen, 2015). Cable and Turban (2003) explained why
corporate image is an important factor in the job choice decision by developing and testing a
model using the brand equity perspective. In their model, they suggested that the corporate
measured by Fortune 500 evaluation affected the job seekers’ image perception about the
organization which, eventually, affected their perception of job attributes and the pride they
expect from corporate membership. This, in turn, affected their pursuit to apply for the job
opportunity. Using experimental design, the results indicated that Fortune corporate image
affected both job seekers’ image perception and their evaluation of job attributes as well as
the pride they expected from being a member in that corporation. This study also found a
direct relation between both the pride from organizational membership and job seekers’
image perception on one hand and job seekers intentions to pursue the job opportunity on the
other hand (Cable and Turban, 2003).
Tsai and Yang (2010) examined the effects of CI dimensions (e.g. service image and
product image) on organizational attractiveness and the moderator role of the individual
differences on this relationship. They conducted two studies as follows: the first was among
students while the other one was among both students and employees in the bank industry.
They found that all corporate image dimensions highly affected the applicants’
organizational attractiveness. They also found that the applicant, who surrounded society
sensitivity, highly interferes the relationship between CI and organizational attractiveness
(Tsai and Yang, 2010).
Finally, Wei Chang and Liang (2016) examined the relationship between CI and a job
seeker’s pursuit to apply for a specific organization. They further investigated the effect of
recruitment advertisement on the relationship between CI and person–organization fit. Using
a fuzzy set comparative analysis and hierarchical linear modeling, they found that CI
positively affected both the pursuit to apply and person–organization fit. Furthermore,
person–organization fit mediates the relationship between CI and pursuit of application, and
this relation was strengthened by recruitment advertisement messages.
There are several theoretical perspectives that may explain the influences of
organizational attributes on OA. Ehrhart and Ziegert (2005) suggested three metatheories
which can be used to understand the organizational attractiveness phenomenon. These meta-
theories are as follows: the environmental processing, interactionist and self-processing
metatheory. Many researchers used one or more of the theories underlining these
metatheories to interpret their results or building their argument. However, few studies as
reviewed in this section empirically examine them. We adapted the social identity theory
under the self-processing metatheory perspective to empirically examine the impact of social
identity on the relationship among CI, employer brand and OA. As stated above, social
identity theory suggested that the self-concept is controlled by the evaluation of the group(s)
with whom an individual identifies. This concept was examined in Cable and Turban (2003)
by testing the effect of organizational membership pride on the relationship between CI and
employer attractiveness. Wei, Chang and Liang (2016) used the person–organization fit to
examine the same relation. Social identity theory may offer a good explanation on Role of social
organizational membership and attractiveness (Kissel and B€ uttgen, 2015). identity
In this research, we depend on SI theory, and we suggest that applicants may gain social
approval if they perceive the employer to be famous with good image and prestige. Highhouse
consciousness
et al. (2007), drawing on social identity theory, demonstrated social identity consciousness
which can be used to explain the impact of CI on employer attractiveness. Consequently, CI can
be used to communicate the expected status or identity for the applicants in relations to others
(SA concern) as well as transmitting ethical values and moral standards (VE concern). Based 253
on the literature review, the following hypotheses were developed:
H5. SI consciousness moderates positively the relationship between CI and OA.
H5a. SA concern moderates positively the relationship between CI and OA.
H5b. VE concern moderates positively the relationship between CI and OA.

4. Data and methods

A questionnaire survey was demonstrated for data collection purpose from our field of
interest. The questionnaire was distributed among the previous year accountant and
business students in universities located in Egypt, with 382 responses. Fourth year (final
year) students were selected as they already seek information about the labor market, and
they are potential candidates. Students in English sections were selected for our research
because, we assume, the probability of their employment is high due to the quality
improvement programmes and agreements that are implemented in these universities (Adel
and Mahrous, 2018). Based on Highhouse et al.’s (2007) suggestion regarding single-industry
focus, this research focuses only on banking industry in order to make it easier for
participants to answer the survey questions on same-industry firms.
This study relies on perceptual measures in gathering all the data needed for conducting the
analysis. We designed our questionnaire into two main parts. In the first part, we asked the
applicant to choose from a list of banks well known for him/her. The second part included
the items that measure the variables. We asked the applicant to answer the questions according
to the selected bank in the first part of the questioner. The scale items in the questionnaire are
five-point Likert scales arranged from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agreed). For capturing
social identity concerns level, we used Highhouse et al. (2007) ten-item scale for measuring social
adjustment concerns and value expression concerns. Regarding employer image, we used
Lievens et al. (2007) three-items scales. Corporate image scale comprises 18 items used by Kissel
and B€ uttgen (2015) and was adopted from Fombrun and Shanley (1990). Finally, employment
image was measured using Lemmink et al.’s (2003) eight items measuring the job
characteristics and organizational benefits.

5. Data analyses and results

This study aims at measuring and explaining four main latent constructs as follows:
employer image (E_IMAGE), corporate image (C_IMAGE), organizational attractiveness
(OA) and social identity conscious (SOC_I). The social identity conscious is a second-order
factor. It has two dimensions as follows: the social adjustment concern (SOC_AD) and the
value expression concern (SOC_VC). Our analysis passes through three main steps. First,
we assigned the relevant measurement items to each latent construct for developing the
“measurement model”. Measurement model is an initial model developed in order to
conduct the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (Hair et al., 2010). The CFA is necessary for
assessing the model fit and constructs’ validity and reliability. In this initial step, items that
loaded less than score 0.5 were deleted to ensure the model validity. In our model, the item
PR (vec2) “I would not work for a company with a bad image” was deleted because it loaded less
50,1 than 0.5 on value expression concern. After deleting the item, we reloaded the analysis to
test the model fit. The findings in Figure 2 showed that all items’ loadings on their relevant
latent variables were greater than score 0.05. This supports validity for measures and the
ability to conduct the second step in the analysis process, i.e. revealing the model goodness
of fit indices.
The second step in our analysis is ensuring the validity of the overall model and the
254 constructs. The measurement model’s validity depends on the scores of goodness-of-fit
indices, reliability tests and constructs validity, especially, convergent and discriminate

Figure 2.
The measurement
model
validity. The overall model fit was indicated in Table 1. Overall findings showed that model Role of social
indices are at acceptance levels. CMIN/DF is below the accepted /preferred score 5 while GFI, identity
CFI and TLI are close to scoring 1 which can indicate good model fit (Hair et al., 2010).
Moreover, the loadings for all items on their relevant latent constructs are high > 0.5 (Figure
consciousness
2). We think that the findings are acceptable considering the relative complexity of the model
and the limited sample.
To test the construct reliability and validity, the CFA was used. The composite reliability
(CR) was computed to test the reliability of the four latent constructs, and the results indicate 255
that they are at accepted level (Malhotra, 2010). We tested the reliability of the constructs by
employing CR. The results were at acceptance levels > 0.7. Furthermore, we assessed the
constructs validity by estimating three indicators as follows: convergent validity,
discriminate validity and the factor loading for each item.
The average variance extracted (AVE) was computed to test the convergent validity .The
AVE scores among the latent variables must be more than 0.5. AVE considered a measure of
the variance shared between the latent variable and its indicators. The findings in Table 2
revealed that the AVE scores ranged from 0.504 to 0.778 which support the constructs
validity. This paper also assessed the validity by estimating the factor loadings for the
measurement items. The results indicate that the factor loading of each item exceeds the score
0.5 and is significant at the 0.001 level (Figure 2) which supports the convergent validity for
the constructs. Discriminate validity was assessed by comparing the AVE score for each
latent variable with the multiple correlations with other latent variables (Hair et al., 2010). The
results indicate that AVE for the variables is greater than its multiple correlations with the
rest of the variables (Table 2). Hence, the value of diagonal elements is greater than that of off-
diagonal elements. This result supports the discriminate validity for the variables as well.
The third step in the analysis is to test the hypotheses. We conducted the structure
equation model to test the direct and interactions effect (moderation effect) after ensuring the
model goodness of fit. Table 3 reveals the findings for the first three hypotheses. The first
hypothesis proposes that employer image relates positively to organizational attractiveness.

CMIN/DF GFI AGFI TLI NFI CFI RMSEA Table 1.

Overall model
2.203 0.850 0.823 0.913 0.866 0.922 0.056 goodness of fit

CR AVE MSV E_image OA C_image Soc_I

E_image 0.890 0.504 0.378 0.710 Table 2.

OA 0.913 0.778 0.473 0.356 0.882 The results of
C_image 0.950 0.512 0.378 0.615 0.391 0.716 confirmatory factor
Soc_I 0.785 0.647 0.473 0.212 0.688 0.303 0.804 analysis

Path Estimate Hypothesis

Employer image → organizational attractiveness 0.186*** Supported

Corporate image → organizational attractiveness 0.276* Supported Table 3.
Corporate image → employer image 0.615** Supported Path coefficients for
Note(s): ***p < 0.001, *p < 0.05 direct effects
PR The results indicate that the standardized path coefficient for employer image on
50,1 organizational attractiveness is significant (b 5 186, p < 0.05). This finding supports that
when an applicant perceives a good employer image, he/she is more attracted to the
organization as an employer and may apply for a job in the future, i.e. H1 is supported. The
second hypothesis proposes that CI positively affects organizational attractiveness. Our
findings revealed the significant and positive effect of CI on organizational attractiveness;
this means that H1 is also supported (b 5 0.276, p < 0.05). In addition, the findings show that
256 corporate image can positively affect employer image (b 5 0.615, p < 0.001). This finding
supports the validity of H3.
Regarding testing the moderation effects for social identity conscious, the two dimensions
represented in social adjustment and value expression were assigned separately to test their
interaction effects on employer image–organizational attractiveness relationship and
corporate image–organizational attractiveness relationship.
The findings in Table 4 show the significant effects for social value expression
interactions in the relationship between employer image and OA (b 5 0.181, p < 0.05). It also
supports the interaction effect in the relationship between CI and organizational
attractiveness (b 5 0.208, p < 0.001), while there is no support for the moderator role of
social adjustment concerns in both models. This means that there is a partial support for our
fourth and fifth hypotheses. A simple slope test gives further support to the moderated
relationships. Figure 3 and Figure 4 plot the interactions. The findings show that the
relationship between employer image and organizational attractiveness is stronger when
value expression concerns are high. In addition, the social value expression concerns
strengthen the relationship between CI and organizational attractiveness.

6. Discussion and implications

The main purpose of this research is to examine the effects of image (i.e. CI and employer
image) on organizational attractiveness and the role of social identity consciousness in
enhancing these relationships. This study is considered one of the first studies that involves
the role of social identity, corporate image and employer image in the same model. The study
sheds light on social identity theory and signaling theory regarding how applicants are
attracted to organizations which add to their social prestige and how they prefer to attach to
organizations that place them in special social category. The study revealed important
findings: first, employer image has a significant positive effect on employer attractiveness.
This result agreed with previous studies (Myrden and Kelloway, 2015; Van Hoye and Saks,
2011; Kashive and Khanna, 2017). This means that applicants evaluate the potential benefits
afforded by the employer in order to consider the organization as a good employer. Actually,
fresh graduates have limited knowledge about employer benefits and characteristics
compared to experienced employees. However, the applicant may consider the image as an
alternative way for evaluating the employer and taking a decision to apply for a job in this
organization.

The The independent SA VE SA concern VE concern

model variablea Concern concern interaction interaction

Model 1 0.298*** 0.412*** 0.165*** 0.059(n.s) 0.181*

Model 2 0.269*** 0.381*** 0.184*** 0.075(n.s) 0.208***
Table 4. Note(s): ***p < 0.001, *p < 0.05; aThe independent variable for model 1 is employment image, and the
The interaction effects independent variable for model 2 is corporate image
 Role of social
identity
consciousness

257

Figure 3.
The moderation slope
with employer image

Figure 4.
The moderation slope
with corporate image

Second, a noteworthy contribution of our study is examining the relationship between CI,
employer image and employer attractiveness. Although scholars have theorized that
corporate image may affect employer attractiveness (Gatewood et al., 1993; Fombrun and
Shanley, 1990; Belt and Paolillo, 1982), our study shows very interesting results. Corporate
image has a positive impact on employer attractiveness. However, it has a high significant
impact on employer image too. These results provide firm evidence on the power of
corporate image to directly increase organizational attractiveness and employer image.
Furthermore, this study demonstrates that corporate image can play a great role in building
a good employer image in case of potential applicant. It seems that corporate image can
impose positive signals to applicant about the organization as an employer (Kissel and
B€
uttgen, 2015). Apparently, the success for the organization to fulfill customer needs is a
PR sign for applicants that the organization can, in return, fulfill employee’s needs. Despite the
50,1 perception may not be true or realistic, the applicants may prefer this perspective due to
their limited work experience and limited knowledge as well. These results assure that
corporate image and employer image share some similarities, as argued by (Moroko and
Uncles, 2008). Moreover, our results contended that potential applicants can be perceived as
potential customers and affected by the image that the organization can create through
marketing activities as suggested by (Foster et al., 2010). This provides some insights about
258 the job choice decision-making process of potential applicants and addresses the
importance of brand positioning and communication effort in recruitment activities
(Buil et al., 2016).
Third, this study contributes to literature by using SI consciousness as a moderator factor
in studying the relationships among corporate image, employer image and employer
attractiveness. The study results revealed that value expression concern has a moderating
role in both corporate image–attractiveness relationship and employer image–attractiveness
relationship. These results respond to scholars’ call for more understanding to the role of
social identity theory in the recruitment process (Ehrhart and Ziegert, 2005; Kissel and
B€uttgen, 2015). The results show that only one dimension of SI consciousness work as a
moderator in the model. This dimension is value expression concern. This result is in the
same wavelength with (Dearmond and Crawford, 2011). Their study supported that value
expression concern moderates the organization personality perception–attractiveness
relationship while social adjustment concern did not work as a moderator in this
relationship. On more practical level, this result demonstrates that transmitting ethical
values and moral standards can enhance the relationship between corporate image and
employer image from one side and organizational attractiveness on the other side; however,
social adjustment concerns reflecting the applicant’s status in relation to others is not
supported as a moderator variable. Nonetheless, such results may have practical implications
for organizations as it is implying that job seekers value the organizational ethical and moral
standards. Consequently, marketing strategies should consider communicating those values
in their messages to public.
To better understand social identity concerns results, it may be useful to consider
generation Z characteristics in the work place. Generation born in the nineteenth century is
known as generation Z. In general, generation Z is more individualistic and self-directed
and has high self -control (Singh and Dangmei, 2016). The studies show that they prefer to
work with organizations with high social responsibility and play a good role in their
communities due to ethical and sustainable management education (Seto-Pamies and
Papaoikonomou, 2016). Consequently, respondents give more weight to value expression
rather than social adjustment concern. These results call for more research to understand
how generation Z characteristics and work attitude can explain the organizational
attractiveness phenomenon.
The managerial implications for this study are several. First, HR managers should share
organizational success stories and organization market performance through social media
networks history and also within the recruitment advertisement. This process is an effective
key for attracting applicants. It can also work as a signal or a message that the firm is a good
place to work at. Second, it is important for the recruiters, in their first stage, not only to share
information about work benefits and job characteristics but also information and word-of-
mouth concerning work experience from their current employees. However, it seems that
fresh applicants are searching for employer who would add to their experience and to their
curriculum vitae.
Third, another important issue is the role of social consciousness. An applicants’ behavior is
more likely affected by his/her consciousness. Conscious about placing themselves in a social
category may be influenced by considering what others say about them and about their future.
We recommend managers to consider social categorizations in their advertisement. In addition, Role of social
they should give more time to understand the applicants’ concerns, and how they can add this identity
to their messages to attract job seekers. Social media can be a good source for such information
about applicants.
consciousness
The fourth one is based on the prementioned results that VE concern has a vital role in
motivating jobseekers to apply for a specific employer. Previous research asserted that
ethical values, climate or social responsibility practices have significant positive impact on
current and potential employees (Greening and Turban, 2000; Story et al., 2016; Younis and 259
Moawad, 2019) such as, social responsibility practices which could support the HRM
department to attract high qualified candidates with ethical norms and values. Those
candidates were attracted due to their perceptions of having good working conditions
(Turban and Greening, 1997). It resembles a promise of how it is when he/she becomes an
employee. Therefore, ethical climate within the organization itself can serve as “carrying the
promise” perceived by the candidate, assuring retaining those candidates and, eventually,
ensuring recruitment process efficiency. Based on the signaling theory, employer may
embody previous social performance and current social objectives using different
communicating channels. Furthermore, organization may (1) develop ethical work-related
value propositions concerning developing what ethical values/climate the organization afford
to its employees or stakeholders. (2) market those propositions in consistency with the EB
efforts. Finally, this study supports Egypt’s sustainable vision 2030 by enhancing the
institution’s’ ability to attract talented professionals to create the foundation of human capital
and raise the institution’s sustainable competitive advantage.
This study has some limitations: first, the study was considering the fourth year
students; however, a comparison between fresh graduates and experienced workers may be
valued. The model examined in this study considers one personal variable – social identity
consciousness. Other variables related to the job and the applicant characteristics and work
attitude may be important for further examination such as the skill level required by the job
and the applicant’s self-control and self-efficacy. Studies that test the relation between
applicants’ personal characteristics and job characteristics may be important as applicants
may not be attracted to jobs that require high level of skills, and this can be affected by the
applicant’s self-efficacy. Finally, this study was applied to fourth year students only, and
it may be important to compare between potential applications and existing employee’s
employer attractiveness’ antecedents. This comparison can enrich the employer
attractiveness literature.

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263
Corresponding author
Raghda Abulsaoud Ahmed Younis can be contacted at: raghdauniv@cu.edu.eg

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