Job Market Signaling in Public Administration

verfasst von: Nico Gießmann

Verlag: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden

Buchreihe : BestMasters

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Über dieses Buch

The public sector urgently needs more personnel and must actively engage with the labor market to distinguish itself from the private sector. Scholars recommend developing a strong “public service brand” and using sector-specific motives to attract individuals who prefer public sector employment. However, public-specific signaling often fails to attract a diverse range of applicants. This book examines the signaling strategies in public and private job advertisements and explores how the public sector can emulate private sector appeal while balancing personnel policy trade-offs involved with this manipulation. A linguistic analysis of 5,000 public and private job advertisements was performed to reveal significant sectoral differences in word choice and content emphasis. Further, a preregistered online survey experiment measured the intention to apply to job advertisements with varying signaling intensities. Therefore, this book enhances the understanding of recruitment messaging and strategies to bridge public-private sector differences.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction

Abstract

The gradual increase in retirement rates, particularly among the baby boomer generation, coupled with a changing labor market that favors workers, has necessitated the adoption of new strategies for recruitment. In this thesis, we investigate the influence of sectoral differences between public and private sector job advertisements (job ads) on intention to apply based on sector preferences of job applicants. We aim to identify new strategies for the public sector to attract its target group more effectively and succeed in the “war for talent.”

Nico Gießmann

Chapter 2. Related Literature

Abstract

The differences (or similarities) between the public and private sectors have been the subject of interest in organizational studies since the early 1970s (Rainey et al., 1976). We focused on the implications of these sectoral differences for applicant selection behaviors in our literature review. Therefore, we searched for meta-analyses and individual aspects that were needed for our research design and for discussing our results.

Nico Gießmann

Chapter 3. Theory

Abstract

Spence (1973) introduced the fundamentals for understanding the job market in his job market signaling theory, which characterizes information asymmetry in the job market. The principal-agent problem in the job market arises when employers (principals) cannot observe the abilities of applicants (agents) perfectly before hiring. Moreover, applicants are imperfectly informed regarding the qualities of a job and work environment.

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Chapter 4. Research Design

Abstract

We divided our research project into two methodological phases to make it more manageable to operationalize the research hypotheses. First, our objective is to identify significant differences in word use between public and private job ads (H2a). These sector signals enable the quantification and manipulation of signaling. The second step involved an online survey experiment to demonstrate the feasibility of our proposed theoretical model (H1) and hypotheses H2b to H4.

Nico Gießmann

Chapter 5. Results

Abstract

A total of 12,419 unique terms could be identified from job ads from both sectors. Of these, 4,250 terms could be determined as shared vocabulary. As Fig. 5.1 shows, the shared vocabulary leans slightly towards the private sector, suggesting that the private sector employs more commonly used language.

Nico Gießmann

Chapter 6. Discussion

Abstract

Our results show that even established motives of fit and motivation are limited when it comes to real-world application. The binding of motivational factors with signaling theory is valuable to understanding and reducing this research gap Korac et al. 2018. Our discussion is intended to identify certain factors that affect this matter.

Nico Gießmann

Chapter 7. Conclusion

Abstract

Today’s labor market is extremely competitive, and the public sector faces a shortage of qualified candidates due to increasing rates of retirement. Therefore, it is essential that the public sector refines its recruitment strategies. Using a signaling approach, our thesis provides new insights on what signals can be identified in public sector job ads and how they differ from those in the private sector as well as to what extend those signals impact intention to apply among job applicants.

Nico Gießmann

Backmatter

Titel: Job Market Signaling in Public Administration
verfasst von: Nico Gießmann
Verlag: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-658-46151-5
Print ISBN: 978-3-658-46150-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-46151-5