Using the Internet to recruit employees: Comparing the effects of usability expectations and objective technological characteristics on Internet recruitment outcomes

Research shows that technological characteristics influence important outcomes of Internet recruitment, such as organizational attractiveness perceptions. This is thought to be the result of more positive perceptions about the technology. However, few studies acknowledge the role of pre-use cognitions on post-use technology perceptions and recruitment outcomes. In this study, we argue that objective technological characteristics do indeed influence organizational attractiveness perceptions by making technology perceptions more positive. However, we also argue that pre-use expectations have a stronger indirect effect on organizational attractiveness perceptions because they make the technology seem even more usable. Bootstrapped indirect effects results from 354 role-playing job seekers show that both objective technological characteristics and usability expectations relate to attractiveness perceptions indirectly through post-use technology perceptions. However, the indirect effect of expectations was significantly more positive than the effect of objective technological characteristics. Our results show that job seekers' expectations play a significant role in determining subsequent recruitment outcomes. These findings support contingency theories of media/technology use and suggest that organizations may want to consider the applicant pool's pre-use technology beliefs when designing recruitment strategies.