Social influence and job choice decisions
| Date | 28 December 2012 |
| Pages | 139-156 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425451311287844 |
| Published date | 28 December 2012 |
| Author | Mukta Kulkarni,Siddharth Nithyanand |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Social influence and job choice
decisions
Mukta Kulkarni
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Bangalore, India, and
Siddharth Nithyanand
Aspiring Minds Assessment Pvt. Ltd, Udyog Vihar, India
Abstract
Purpose – Past research has largely portrayed job choice as a relatively rational and goal-directed
behavior where applicants make decisions contingent on organizational recruitment activities, or
evaluations of job and organizational attributes. Research now informs us that job choice decisions
may also be based on social comparisons and social influence. The purpose of this paper is to add to
this body of knowledge by examining reasons why social influence is a key factor in job choice
decisions of relatively young job seekers.
Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on in-depth interview data from graduating
seniors at an elite business school in India.
Findings – Respondents did not see themselves as acting based on social influence as much as they
perceived others around them to be. Reasons they noted for others’ socially influenced job choice
decisions were: peers and seniors are seen as more accessible and trustworthy than organizations;
organizations do not share all and/or objective data, driving job seekers to other sources; job seekers
are clueless and hence follow a “smart” herd; and job seekers make decisions for social status
signaling. Respondents pointed to socially influenced job choices as being rational behaviors under
certain conditions.
Research limitations/implications – Generalizability of findings may be limited to young job
seekers or to the Indian context, and the authors encourage replication. The authors also acknowledge
the importance of individual difference variables in job choice decisions, a factor not considered in the
present research.
Practical implications – Given that job seekers rally around others’ notion of an attractive job or an
organization, the paper outlines several implications for managerial practice.
Originality/value – This study,in a yet unexamined cultural context, points to the simultaneous and
combined importance of normative and informational social determinants of job c hoice, bias blind
spots in one’s own job choice perceptions and decisions, gender specific socialization influences on job
choices, and the notion of job fit in terms of fitment with expectations of important reference groups.
Keywords India, Recruitment, Jobs, Employees behaviour, Influence, Social influence, Job choice
Paper type Research p aper
Past research has largely portrayed job choice as a relatively rational and goal-directed
behavior where applicants make decisions contingent on organizational recruitment
activities (Rynes et al., 1991; Turban, 2001), other evaluations of job, and organizational
attributes (Gatewood et al., 1993), or based on a sense of fit with the job or
organizational attributes (Kristof, 1996). However, a growing body of research now
informs us that job choice decisions may also be based on social compariso ns and
social influence. This research infor ms us that individuals comp are themselves with
and follow similar others when there are fewer other sources of info rmation or
influence (Kilduff, 1990). This is because the perceived worth of the job choice decision
seems higher when many similar others attest it, and because there may be strong
norms about choosing particular employers in certain social contexts (Higgins, 2001).
Further, informal word-of-mouth from credible and strong ties such as friends and
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Employee Relations
Vol.35 No. 2, 2013
pp. 139-156
rEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/01425451311287844
139
Social influence
and job choice
family also influence perceptions of organizational attractiveness and job choice
decisions (Van Hoye and Lievens, 2007, 2009; Van Hoye and Saks, 2010).
The present interview-based study adds to this body of knowledge by examining
reasons why social influence is a key factor in job choice decisions of relatively
young job seekers. The study specifically focusses on graduating Master of Business
Administration (MBA) students. In the present study, we engage with the following
questions: do these job seekers base job choices on social influence? Why do these job
seekers echo job choices of their peer group? W hydo they seemingly follow the herd?
Who are the most important sources of influence in job choic es (e.g. parents or peers)?
To answer our research questions, we interviewed 37 graduating seniors at an elite
business school in India. This school has a strong reputation in India, is featured in
national newspapers and business magazines, and has a fairly stringent selection
process for the two-year residential MBA program. We noticed over a few years that we
have been here that students seem to make job choice decisions based on social
influence more so than intrinsic or job and organization-specific reasons. This is
despite being pursued by various organizations. Armed with knowledge of prior
research, we decided to investigate.
Following Gatewood et al. (1993) we define job choice as a series of decisions that
an applicant makes, starting with the applicant’s evaluation of information obtained
from various sources, leading to employment pursuance decisions with specific
organizations. The notion of choosing a job thus includes choosing an organization
(Kilduff, 1990). Although the link between initial preferences at the job choice stage and
final chosen job can be weak, such initial decisions can be important in setting the job
choice path (Boswell et al., 2003). Thus, understanding job choices of applicants early
in the process is important.
Job seekers’ application decisions have important consequences for both the
targeted or chosen organizations and applicants. For organizations, decisi ons
determine the size and quality of available applicant pool (Barber and Roehling,
1993) and understanding job choice decisions also allows organizations to target
recruitment practices more effectively (Boswell et al., 2003; Cable and Turban, 2001).
If recruiting strategies do not help attract a sizeable and suitable talent pool, o r if
applicants somehow self-select into target pools, subsequent sophisticated selection
processes are of minimal use (Fisher et al., 2006). For individuals, the decision involves
costs such that time spent applying to one organization cannot be spent in other
activities or in applying to other organizations (Barber and Roehling, 1993). Job choices
also have implications in terms of fitment with seekers’ job-related needs (Coleman and
Irving, 1997) and for self-selection into organizations that may serve as a substitute for
organizational socialization (Cable and Turban, 2001).
With regards career choices of educated workers such as those with MBA degrees,
early careers can especially have lasting influence on their future, and job choice
decisions hence assume special importance (Higgins, 2001 ). Further, a study of job
satisfaction and attitudinal commitment of recent MBA graduates suggested that both
feelings were contingent on why a p articular job choice decision was made.
Specifically, when job choice was made based on intrinsic job features and for internal
reasons, individuals reported more satisfaction and commitment as comp ared with
when job choice was made because of external constraints such as a concern for
family and financial considerations (O’Reilly and Caldwell, 1980). Reasons outlined
above confirm the importance of examining the effect of social influences on job
choice decisions.
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