Karin Proost

Symbolic Attributes and Organizational Attractiveness: The Moderating Effects of Applicant Personality

The present study examined the moderating influence of the Big Five personality factors in the relationship between five symbolic, trait-based inferences about organizations (Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Prestige, and Ruggedness) and organizational attractiveness. Drawing on the similarity-attraction paradigm, six hypotheses were formulated, stating that the relationship between trait-based inferences and organizational attractiveness would be stronger for persons who perceive the organization as similar to them. Results of moderated regression analyses on data from a sample of 245 prospective applicants for the Belgian military revealed two significant two-way interactions, showing that Sincerity was positively related to organizational attractiveness only for individuals high on Conscientiousness, and that the relationship between Excitement and organizational attractiveness is more positive for individuals high on Openness to Experience. Practical implications, strengths and limitations, as well as directions for further research are presented.

Development and validation of a care process self-evaluation tool

Clinical pathways are used as a method of organizing care processes. Although they are used worldwide, the concept remains unclear, with little understanding of what exactly is being implemented. A recent systematic review revealed that, although a tool exists to score the instrumental qualities of clinical pathways, no tools are available to assess how the clinical pathway influences the process of care. These tools are needed for a better understanding of the impact of clinical pathways on the length of hospital stay and patient outcomes. In this study, a Care Process Self-Evaluation Tool (CPSET), based on the clinical pathway concept, for assessing the organization of the process of care has been developed and tested. Qualitative and quantitative methods, involving 885 professionals and patients, were used in the development and validation. The CPSET is a valid and reliable 29-item instrument for assessing how the process of care is organized. The CPSET has five subscales: patient-focused organization, coordination of care, communication with patients and family, cooperation with primary care and monitoring/follow-up of the care process. The CPSET can be used in the audit and accreditation of care processes and will help managers and clinicians to understand better how care processes are organized.

Coping with unmet expectations: Learning opportunities as a buffer against emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions

This study investigated the buffering role of learning opportunities in the process leading from unmet expectations to turnover intentions, via emotional exhaustion. In a sample of 420 teachers in elementary education, the results of a mediated moderation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between unmet expectations and turnover intentions, via emotional exhaustion. Learning opportunities were found to buffer for the relationship between unmet expectation and emotional exhaustion in the sense that this relationship was weaker when learning opportunities were high. Also the mediated relationship between unmet expectations and turnover intentions via emotional exhaustion was weaker when learning opportunities were high. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Work–family conflict and facilitation: The combined influence of the job demand–control model and achievement striving

This study investigated the moderating effect of achievement striving (AS) on the relationship between situational variables, defined by the Job Demand–Control model (JDC), and both work–family conflict and work–family facilitation. In a sample of 224 employees in the welfare sector, the results of two hierarchical regression analyses showed that job demands were significantly positively related and job control was significantly negatively related to work–family conflict but not to work–family facilitation. For AS, a significant positive relationship was found with both work–family conflict and work–family facilitation. Interactions between situational variables and AS were insignificant although the interaction between AS and job control on work–family facilitation was close to significance in line with the expectations. Specifically, a lower level of job control did not lower the level of WFF experienced by individuals high on AS. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Organizational justice as buffer against stressful job demands

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of organizational justice in the context of Karasek’s job demand-control model. It is suggested that employees benefit from organizational justice in order to cope with high job demands. Furthermore, it is argued that justice perceptions are a precondition for the buffering role of job control with respect to job demands. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional study on employees (n=197) in nursing houses was used. The hypotheses were tested by hierarchal regression analysis. Findings – Results showed that organizational justice buffered for the positive effect of job demands on turnover intentions and for the negative effect of job demands on job satisfaction. Furthermore, the results showed that justice serves as an important precondition for the moderating role of job control on the effect of job demands on job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Justice appeared to strengthen the role of job control as a buffer for high job demands. ...

For Love or for Money: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Value Congruence in Recruitment

Answering the call for a more theory‐driven approach in recruitment research, this article integrates insights from self‐determination theory and value congruence to account for the attractiveness of respectable organizations (projecting an image of sustainability and social responsibility) and impressive organizations (projecting an image of high profitability and prestige). We argue that respectable organizations mostly appeal to job seekers pursuing intrinsic personal values (e.g., self‐development, satisfactory social relationships), and that impressive organizations mostly appeal to those pursuing extrinsic personal values (e.g., financial success, high esteem). We tested these hypotheses in a vignette study among 188 students. Results partially supported the hypotheses. Although intrinsic personal values did not increase the attractiveness of respectable organizations, extrinsic values increased the attractiveness of impressive organizations.

Should we tell the recruiter that we value a good work-life balance?

Although both employees and organizations increasingly realize the importance of a good work–life balance, it remains unclear how recruiters react when applicants mention a desire for balance on their CV. We conducted a between-subjects experiment (N = 96) in which one group of participants received a CV of an applicant who valued work–life balance versus a CV from which this information was omitted. Based on signaling theory and gender–role congruence theory, we suggested that mentioning balance on one’s CV would lead to less favorable recruitment outcomes through a lower work ethic, especially for men. The results supported this mediation hypothesis but, contrary to expectations, showed that the mediation effect was only significant for women.

Subjective PO fit in recruitment: is it always really ‘O’? Organizational values may be industry values, depending on temporal distance

ABSTRACT Person-organization (PO) fit literature assumes that job seekers are attracted to organizations that signal values similar to their own. When trying to form an image of organizational values, job seekers are influenced by the information provided by the organization, but also by their assumptions about the organization’s industry, which may conflict with the organization-specific information. Drawing from construal level theory, this paper advances that the salience of the information provided by the organization over the industry-based assumptions depends on the job seeker’s experience of temporal distance from the organization. We argue that at a large – as opposed to a small – temporal distance (1), perceptions of industry values influence perceptions of organizational values more strongly and (2a) subjective fit with industry values is more positively related with attraction towards the organization (2b) because then subjective industry fit and subjective fit with the organization are closely related. Finally, we reason that at a large – as opposed to a small – temporal distance (3), same-industry organizations, despite being different, will be seen as more similarly attractive. Three experiments supported our hypotheses, highlighting the time-dependent influence of industry on job seekers’ perceptions of PO fit.