Although the various factors that predict applicant attitudes and decisions during recruitment have been explored, far less is known about the decision-making process applicants go through to develop attitudes to facilitate job choice decisions. In a field sample (Study 1), applicant initial preferences across four firms predicted the trajectory of subsequent organizational attraction toward the firms over the 5-month recruiting cycle. Further, these initial preferences significantly predicted job choice decisions at the end of the recruiting cycle. Applicants’ organizational attraction trajectories that developed during the entire recruiting process mediated this relationship. Findings in a laboratory sample (Study 2) were consistent with research on predecisional information distortion (PID). Applicants evaluated the information presented about two hypothetical recruiting companies and overly favored the company that was installed as applicants’ initial preference. Initial preferences had a significant indirect effect on job choice through total PID when the information about the two companies was equivalent and when the initially preferred company was moderately worse. However, the indirect effect was not significant when the initially preferred company was presented as severely worse. Applicants arriving at job choice decisions using biased information evaluations driven by initial preferences can adversely affect both organizations and applicants’ careers.

中文翻译：

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申请人初始偏好：与工作选择的关系

尽管已经探索了在招聘过程中预测申请人态度和决定的各种因素，但对于申请人为培养态度以促进工作选择决策而经历的决策过程知之甚少。在一个现场样本（研究 1）中，四家公司的求职者初始偏好预测了在 5 个月的招聘周期内，随后的组织对这些公司的吸引力轨迹。此外，这些初始偏好显着预测了招聘周期结束时的工作选择决策。在整个招聘过程中发展起来的应聘者的组织吸引力轨迹调节了这种关系。实验室样本中的发现（研究 2）与预先决策信息失真 (PID) 的研究一致。申请人评估了有关两家假设招聘公司的信息，并过度偏爱作为申请人最初偏好的公司。当关于两家公司的信息相同且最初偏好的公司稍差时，初始偏好通过总 PID 对工作选择有显着的间接影响。然而，当最初首选的公司被描述为严重恶化时，间接影响并不显着。申请人使用由初始偏好驱动的有偏见的信息评估来做出工作选择决策可能会对组织和申请人的职业产生不利影响。当关于两家公司的信息相同且最初偏好的公司稍差时，初始偏好通过总 PID 对工作选择有显着的间接影响。然而，当最初首选的公司被描述为严重恶化时，间接影响并不显着。申请人使用由初始偏好驱动的有偏见的信息评估来做出工作选择决策可能会对组织和申请人的职业产生不利影响。当关于两家公司的信息相同且最初偏好的公司稍差时，初始偏好通过总 PID 对工作选择有显着的间接影响。然而，当最初首选的公司被描述为严重恶化时，间接影响并不显着。申请人使用由初始偏好驱动的有偏见的信息评估来做出工作选择决策可能会对组织和申请人的职业产生不利影响。