Information Source Credibility and Job Seekers’ Intention to Apply: The Mediating Role of Brands

Abstract

In this article, we first examine the role of perceived credibility of three information sources—customer reviews, employee testimonials and corporate communication in influencing a job seeker’s intention to apply; second, we examine the mediating role of three brand application levels (i.e., product brand, employer brand and corporate brand) between the perceived credibility of information sources and a job seeker’s intention to apply. Using a standard questionnaire, data from 385 respondents were collected and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The results show that for intention to apply, the perceived credibility of employee testimonials and corporate communication was higher than the perceived credibility of customer reviews. The employer brand ‘fully’ mediates the relationship between the perceived credibility of employee testimonials and intention to apply, while the corporate brand ‘partially’ mediates the relationship between the perceived credibility of corporate communication and intention to apply. Human resource (HR) managers may thereby use employee testimonials for attracting a greater number of applications, and such recruitment communications can be complemented by corporate communication for recruitment effectiveness. Organizations looking to improve their employer brand may focus on using employee testimonials and corporate communication as their principle branding activities. This study contributes to literature related to boundary spanning benefits of strong brands.