Attitudes Toward Cybervetting in Germany: Impact on Organizational Attractiveness Depends on Social Media Platform

Abstract

Cybervetting, assessing social media in personnel selection, is widely used. However, individuals concerned often perceive this practice negatively. We propose that attitudes toward cybervetting may depend on the platform used and the cultural context. Thus, we transfer the attitudes toward cybervetting scale to a context with strict data regulations: Germany. In an online between-subjects experiment with platform users and non-users (N = 100 working professionals and students), we examined attitudes toward cybervetting on different social media platforms (professional: LinkedIn vs. personal: Instagram) and their relationship with organizational attractiveness. We found that German participants viewed cybervetting on professional platforms with more skepticism than American participants. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed higher perceived fairness, lower invasion of privacy, and higher organizational attractiveness when cybervetting was done on professional platforms.