Purpose – Recruiters in today’s organizations, through social networks, have the opportunity to see a candidate’s overall figure, and from this, they gain a first impression of their personalities which in turn affects their decisions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the biasing role of candidates’ attractiveness – in facial and bodily terms – on perceived main personality features (i.e. core evaluations (CEs)) in selection decisions. Design/methodology/approach – An experimental study involving professional recruiters (n 1⁄4 150) was conducted. Participants were asked to rate bodily attractiveness (using the objectification construct), CEs, facial attractiveness and hiring scores of six candidates for an administrative position; then, a moderated mediation model was tested. Findings – This study suggests that recruiters’ perception of candidates’ CEs mediates the relationship between objectification (i.e. body attractiveness) and the assigned hiring score, while facial attractiveness amplifies or reduces the effect of objectification on CEs. Originality/value – The value added of this contribution lies in studying the biasing mechanism of candidates’ overall attractiveness (facial and bodily) and its effects on the perceived core personality features.

Cristofaro, M. (2018). Candidates’ Attractiveness in Selection Decisions: A Laboratory Experiment. BALTIC JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, 12(4), 390-407.

Candidates’ Attractiveness in Selection Decisions: A Laboratory Experiment

Cristofaro Matteo
2018-01-01

Abstract

Purpose – Recruiters in today’s organizations, through social networks, have the opportunity to see a candidate’s overall figure, and from this, they gain a first impression of their personalities which in turn affects their decisions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the biasing role of candidates’ attractiveness – in facial and bodily terms – on perceived main personality features (i.e. core evaluations (CEs)) in selection decisions. Design/methodology/approach – An experimental study involving professional recruiters (n 1⁄4 150) was conducted. Participants were asked to rate bodily attractiveness (using the objectification construct), CEs, facial attractiveness and hiring scores of six candidates for an administrative position; then, a moderated mediation model was tested. Findings – This study suggests that recruiters’ perception of candidates’ CEs mediates the relationship between objectification (i.e. body attractiveness) and the assigned hiring score, while facial attractiveness amplifies or reduces the effect of objectification on CEs. Originality/value – The value added of this contribution lies in studying the biasing mechanism of candidates’ overall attractiveness (facial and bodily) and its effects on the perceived core personality features.
2018
Pubblicato
Rilevanza internazionale
Articolo
Esperti anonimi
Settore SECS-P/08 - ECONOMIA E GESTIONE DELLE IMPRESE
English
Con Impact Factor ISI
Decision making, Personnel selection, Attractiveness, Cognitive bias, Core evaluations
Cristofaro, M. (2018). Candidates’ Attractiveness in Selection Decisions: A Laboratory Experiment. BALTIC JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, 12(4), 390-407.
Cristofaro, M
Articolo su rivista
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
BJOM_Cristofaro2017.pdf

solo utenti autorizzati

Licenza: Copyright dell'editore
Dimensione 352.79 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
352.79 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2108/207171
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 5
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 5
social impact