Attribution theory has been proposed as a means of understanding reader perceptions of the letter of recommendation. To test the hypothesis that familiarity may moderate the attributional framework of the letter, 97 managers read letter variations arrayed in a 4 (3 months, 1 year, 5 years, or 10 years familiarity) × 2 (dispositional or situational attribution framework) factorial design. Results showed that the situational framework was more effective for shorter periods of familiarity, while the dispositional framework was more effective for longer familiarity. In addition, readers perceived long familiarity (10 years) to be detrimental. Implications for writing letters of recommendation were discussed.
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