Science-practice Gap in E-Recruitment

Abstract

We conducted a content analysis of online job application forms used by companies listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange (i.e., Bolsa de Madrid). We collected data from 76 companies in 2005 and then again for 66 of these companies in 2009. We coded the type of information required on the application forms based on 24 categories related to potential illegal discrimination and personnel selection social context issues (i.e., fairness, intrusiveness, and privacy). Results indicated that the relative frequency of the 24 information categories has remained stable from 2005 to 2009. Moreover, averaging 2005 and 2009 results, a large percentage of companies require information that can be used for illegal discrimination and can be perceived as unfair, intrusive, and invasive of applicants' privacy such as age or date of birth (87%), nationality (61%), marital status (48%), place of birth (57%), passport number (47%), a photograph (23%), and number of children (11%). Our results document a science-practice gap in e-recruitment because scholarly research suggests that requesting these types of information leads to negative applicant reactions ranging from negative perceptions and emotions to actually initiating legal action against the recruiting firm. Our results also point to e-recruitment as an area that could be targeted as a good collaboration topic between scientists and practitioners because the resulting research has the potential to make important contributions toward bridging the science-practice gap.