Digital Word of Mouth and Organizational Attraction: Focusing on Message Characteristics and Time

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of valence, medium, and source of digital word-of-mouth messages on organizational attraction, and to investigate if organizational attraction ratings change over time. As expected, findings showed a significant main effect of valence on company attractiveness and job pursuit intentions, such that ratings were higher for the positive than the negative message. However, there was a significant interaction between valence and medium on company attractiveness ratings, such that valence had a stronger effect on company attractiveness when the medium used was text as opposed to video. Results also indicated that evaluations of company attractiveness and job pursuit intentions became significantly less extreme (more neutral) after a 2-week period, regardless of message valence.

Appendix

Positive Message by Career Counselor Hello. My name is Laura. I am a career counselor specializing in sales jobs. I’ve been placing individuals in sales departments in small and large corporations for several years now. One company that I have been continuously impressed by is Hamilton Insurance. Job seekers whom I have placed at this company have said that working there was a very rewarding experience; the culture was supportive, and their co-workers and managers were friendly, helpful, and very proficient at their jobs. They also offered great benefits. I definitely recommend that any person who wants to work in sales apply to Hamilton Insurance.

Positive Message by Past Employee Hello. My name is Laura. I currently work in the Sales Department at Moore Grocery, Inc. Before working here, I previously worked at Hamilton Insurance as a salesperson, selling insurance to homeowners. While working there, I was continuously impressed by Hamilton Insurance. It was a very rewarding experience to work there; the culture was supportive, and my co-workers and managers were friendly, helpful, and very proficient at their jobs. They also offered great benefits. I definitely recommend that any person who wants to work in sales apply to Hamilton Insurance.

Negative Message by Career Counselor Hello. My name is Laura. I am a career counselor specializing in sales jobs. I’ve been placing individuals in sales departments in small and large corporations for several years now. One company that I have not been impressed by is Hamilton Insurance. Job seekers that I have placed at this company have said that working there was not a rewarding experience; the culture was unsupportive, and their co-workers and managers were unfriendly, unhelpful, and inept at their jobs. They also did not offer good benefits. I definitely do not recommend that any person who wants to work in sales apply to Hamilton Insurance.

Negative Message by Past Employee Hello. My name is Laura. I currently work in the Sales Department at Moore Grocery, Inc. Before working here, I previously worked at Hamilton Insurance as a salesperson, selling insurance to homeowners. While working there, I was not impressed by Hamilton Insurance. It was not a rewarding experience to work there; the culture was unsupportive, and my co-workers and managers were unfriendly, unhelpful, and inept at their jobs. They also did not offer good benefits. I definitely do not recommend that any person who wants to work in sales apply to Hamilton Insurance.

Note Participants either read the message or watched a video of the message.