The role of human resource systems in job applicant decision processes

Given that organizations make choices about how to manage their human resources, information about the organization is often expressed or implied in the human resource systems that organizations implement. This study proposes that information conveyed through human resource systems affects applicant job choices, that particular systems will be more important to some people than to others, and that job acceptance will be influenced by the degree to which individual characteristics match the content of the system information presented. A policy-capturing design was used to assess the effects of human resource systems within the context of other variables that past research has shown to significantly influence job choices. Results suggested support for the importance of human resource systems in job choice decisions, and further suggested that the fit between individual characteristics and organizational settings described by these systems may be particularly important determinants of job acceptance.