Branded Employee Behaviour as a Double-Edged Sword: How Perceptions of Service Employees Impact Job Seekers' Application Intentions

Nancy V. Wünderlich; Anja Iseke; Hürrem Becker-Özcamlica

doi:10.15358/2511-8676-2020-4-205

Contents
- Chapter Expand | CollapseAuthorsPage
- 185–185 Titelei/Inhaltsverzeichnis 185–185
- 186–186 Editorial 186–186
- 187–204 Research Articles 187–204
  - Digital Disruption in Retailing and Beyond Heiner Evanschitzky, Boris Bartikowski, Tim Baines, Markus Blut, Christian Brock, Kristina Kleinlercher, Parikshit Naik, Olivia Petit, Thomas Rudolph, Charles Spence, Carlos Velasco, Nancy V. Wünderlich Heiner Evanschitzky, Boris Bartikowski, Tim Baines, Markus Blut, Christian Brock, Kristina Kleinlercher, Parikshit Naik, Olivia Petit, Thomas Rudolph, Charles Spence, Carlos Velasco, Nancy V. Wünderlich
- 205–215 Research Articles 205–215
  - Branded Employee Behaviour as a Double-Edged Sword: How Perceptions of Service Employees Impact Job Seekers' Application Intentions Nancy V. Wünderlich, Anja Iseke, Hürrem Becker-Özcamlica Nancy V. Wünderlich, Anja Iseke, Hürrem Becker-Özcamlica
- 216–236 Research Artikels 216–236
  - Stereotypes in Services - A Systematic Literature Review to Move from Scattered Insights to Generalizable Knowledge Hannes Fleischer Hannes Fleischer
- 237–254 Research Articles 237–254
  - Not Without my Fellow Patient! - The Influence of Fellow Patients in Hospitals on Patient Satisfaction and Self-rated Health Saskia Hantel, Martin Benkenstein Saskia Hantel, Martin Benkenstein
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SMR - Journal of Service Management Research , page 205 - 215

Branded Employee Behaviour as a Double-Edged Sword: How Perceptions of Service Employees Impact Job Seekers' Application Intentions

Autoren

Nancy V. Wünderlich Anja Iseke Hürrem Becker-Özcamlica

DOI
- doi.org/10.15358/2511-8676-2020-4-205
- ISSN: 2511-8676
- ISSN online: 2942-3392
Zusammenfassung

Prior brand experiences affect job seekers’ application decisions, as they recall service encounters with brands which they have experienced as customers. As brand representatives, service employees play a critical role in these recollections. Their behaviour might inform job seekers’ understanding of the employer brand, thereby affecting their application decision. The impact of the service employee’s behaviour might be even more impactful if this behaviour is branded, meaning that the employee’s appearance and manner are representative of the brand values. In this paper, we analyse whether and how branded service employee behaviour affects job seekers’ application intentions. We argue that branded service employee behaviour provides two opposing signals: it contributes to consistent evaluations of the brand, leading to more brand trustworthiness and enhancing job seekers’ application intentions. However, it may also be perceived as inauthentic, reducing job seekers’ application intentions. Findings from a scenario experiment provide evidence of both effects.

Abstract

Prior brand experiences affect job seekers’ application decisions, as they recall service encounters with brands which they have experienced as customers. As brand representatives, service employees play a critical role in these recollections. Their behaviour might inform job seekers’ understanding of the employer brand, thereby affecting their application decision. The impact of the service employee’s behaviour might be even more impactful if this behaviour is branded, meaning that the employee’s appearance and manner are representative of the brand values. In this paper, we analyse whether and how branded service employee behaviour affects job seekers’ application intentions. We argue that branded service employee behaviour provides two opposing signals: it contributes to consistent evaluations of the brand, leading to more brand trustworthiness and enhancing job seekers’ application intentions. However, it may also be perceived as inauthentic, reducing job seekers’ application intentions. Findings from a scenario experiment provide evidence of both effects.
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