Personal characteristics and applicants’ perceptions of procedural fairness in a selection context

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine a varied set of personal characteristics (i.e. cultural values tied to Confucianism, Big Five personality attributes and test experience) for their combined ability to predict job applicants’ expected and experienced procedural fairness in the context of personnel selection. Design/methodology/approach A total of 324 applicants were surveyed as part of a process to select entry-level positions at a large IT manufacturing company in eastern China. Data were gathered in two waves, such that applicants’ personal characteristics and fairness expectations were obtained prior to their perceptions of procedural fairness, which were collected after the selection interview. Findings Confucian values, neuroticism, conscientiousness and test experience all predicted applicants’ procedural fairness expectations. Only test experience had both direct and indirect effects on procedural justice perceptions. All other effects involving personal characteristics and experience of procedural fairness were mediated by applicants’ fairness expectations. Research limitations/implications The demonstration of the impact of a varied set of personal characteristics on applicants’ perceptions of procedural fairness is consistent with theory-driven models intended to understand and predict these perceptions. The findings suggest, among other considerations, that multinational businesses cannot assume that a standardized approach to selection will be viewed in the same manner by applicants across national contexts. Originality/value The authors show, in an operational employee selection context, how a varied set of personal characteristics can usefully combine to predict applicants’ procedural fairness expectations, as well as their experience of procedural fairness.

Procedural Justice in Selection from the Lens of Psychological Contract Theory

“…These total 12 items were adopted from Selection Procedural Justice Scale (SPJS) by Bauer et al (2001) and adapted to fit with se-lection in Vietnamese context. Similar procedural has been reported in Bye and Sandal (2016), and Wang et al (2019).…”

“…The social factor involves communication with and treatment of job applicants. Previous research has adopted the structure-social (Bye and Sandal, 2016) or, systematic-interactional (Wang et al, 2019) classification to capture procedural justice in recruitment and selection settings. The current research adopts the systematic-interactional dimensions of selection procedural justice.…”

“…Pre-entry expectations are affected by a number of factors including the employees previous work experience, the information they had about the organizations, and other individual differences (De Vos, De Stobbeleir and Meganck, 2009;Tomprou and Nikolaou, 2011;Rousseau, Hansen and Tomprou, 2018). In recruitment and selection context, Wang et al (2019) found that applicants' Confucian value, personality traits such as neuroticism and conscientiousness, and test experience significantly influence fairness expectations. Regarding previous work experience, literature suggests that experienced applicants may develop different cognitive schemata that shape their expectations compared to applicants with limited work experience (Rousseau, 2001).…”

“…McCarthy et al (2017) highlighted the role of attribution processes that underlie applicants' justice expectations. Recently, Wang, Hackett, Zhang and Cui (2019) found that fairness expectations play a mediating role in the relationship between applicants' personal characteristics and experience of procedural fairness. In spite of these interests, much is not known about the relationships among employee's expectations, their actual experience, the discrepancies between expectation and experience, and the subsequent outcomes.…”

Human Resource Management Practice in Lithuania: Evidences and Challenges

“…Fairness is another important issue recently discussed in relation to selection practices. Justice in the context of employee selection refers to applicants' perceptions concerning the fairness of the systems used to select people for jobs, arising from the operational selection procedures used and the decisions arising from them (Wang et al, 2019). Personal characteristics, like Confucian values, neuroticism, conscientiousness and test experience can predict applicants' procedural fairness expectations, but only test experience has effects on procedural justice perceptions (Wang et al, 2019).…”