Should retail trade companies avoid recruiting maximisers?

Abstract

Purpose -Investigates differences in characteristics, job outcome experiences and attitudes of maximiser and satisficer decision-making style groups working in the retail trade.Design/methodology/approach -Survey conducted using the Amazon Mechanical Turk panel of 140 US participants who have accepted a retail job offer in the past six months. Investigated participants' decision-making style, plus experiences and attitudes toward their present job and the (retail) job information sources used. Findings -The results show that compared to satisficers, maximisers exert more effort when searching job information, have higher uncertainty avoidance and need for cognition, and experience more post-decisional regret. In this sample, any significant differences between maximisers and satisficers in relation to job satisfaction, company commitment, and intention to quit their present job are restricted to certain groups. For recruitment information sources, while satisficers rely on their families and friends for information, maximisers are more likely to obtain job-related information from other sources such as online discussion forums.Practical implications -Though some studies suggest that maximisers are unhappy with their choices, this research recommends that retail trade companies should not exclude maximisers from their recruitment pools. Retailers should enhance their candidate pools with both maximisers and satisficers by managing different recruitment information sources, especially with a view to providing realistic expectations.Originality/value -Research of decision-making style in recruitment is relatively limited. This research illustrates the differences of attitudes between maximisers and satisficers towards their present retail job, and also demonstrates the preferences of maximisers and satisficers in recruitment information sources.

The effect of prior knowledge and decision-making style on the online purchase decision-making process: A typology of consumer shopping behaviour

“…In line with the literature [20,55,72,102], we have shown that maximizers perform more intensive decision making processes compared to satisficers. In order to make a purchase decision, they consider a larger number of alternatives and compare them all against a larger set of criteria.…”

An exploratory study of jobseekers’ decision-making styles, recruitment information sources and organisational attractiveness

“…They put a lot of effort into searching, checking and comparing job information, tending to adopt a central processing route, which leads them to cautiously weigh and evaluate the information (Petty and Cacioppo, 1984). From a risk-aversion viewpoint (Pratt, 1964), compared to satisficers, maximisers have a significantly higher level of uncertainty avoidance (Liu et al, 2015). Maximisers work hard to lower the risk of making a bad decision by comparing all information and options (Polman, 2012).…”

Providing more or less detailed information in job advertisements—Does it matter?

“…Maximizers consider more information and evaluation criteria, so a message with added detail is more likely to help them understand the positive perspectives of the position or company. From a risk‐aversion viewpoint (Pratt, ), as highlighted earlier, compared to satisficers, maximizers have a significantly higher level of uncertainty avoidance (Liu et al, ). They work hard to lower the risk of making a bad decision by comparing all information and options (Polman, ); therefore, they more cautiously weigh the information content (Cacioppo, Petty, & Morris, ).…”

“…Maximizers hold high standards and have more criteria regarding the outcomes of the decisions they make, but they also find it challenging to make a decision. Liu, Keeling, and Papamichail () showed that maximizers always aim to get the best result and have a significantly higher need for uncertainty avoidance, which leads them to put a greater deal of effort and resources into searching for more in‐depth and diverse information together with a greater number of searches regarding the analysis of information before making a decision.…”

“…However, based on their experience and education, the efficacy with which individuals apply each approach will vary. Therefore, studies show that people generally come to rely on and apply one approach more consistently than the other along with any other associated cognitive strategies and habits (Karimi et al, ; Liu et al, ; Liu, Keeling, & Papamichail, ; Schwartz et al, ). The maximizer/satisficer dichotomy has been verified throughout a range of contexts, including online purchase decisions, product information evaluation, and human resource management (Karimi et al, ; Liu et al, ; Ma & Roese, ; Nenkov, Morrin, Schwartz, Ward, & Hull, ; Schwartz & Ward, ; Schwartz et al, ; Sparks, Ehrlinger, & Eibach, ; Turner, Rim, Betz, & Nygren, ).…”