Recruiting For a Better Tomorrow: How Sustainable Practices Are Shaping the Future of Talent Acquisition

Demographic change and the lack of young qualified applicants positions the recruitment process as a core component of an organization and increasingly forces companies to evaluate their attractiveness as employers. A shift in interests among young, qualified applicants raises the question of whether the integration of sustainable values into the business model, strategy, and brand of small and medium sized companies (SMEs) can increase its attractiveness as an employer (Holt, Marques, & Way, 2012). The literature shows that the effects of sustainability on organizational determinants are still in need of further research. Previous studies observe a positive relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and organizational attraction but fail to consider the complex nature of the decision process of applicants by only considering the isolated effect of CSR (Albinger & Freeman, 2000). Furthermore, various studies find different character traits among age groups (Cennamo & Gardner, 2008). This study tests the effects of generational groups on different factors of organizational attraction so companies can e.g. more accurately design their job advertisement. Keywords: CSR, recruiting, policy capturing, generational theory