The impact of LinkedIn posts on employer brand perception and the mediating effects of employer attractiveness and corporate reputation

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this study is to identify the relationship between employee-generated content (EGC) and firm-generated content (FGC) in the form of LinkedIn posts, employer brand perception, and the effect of employer's attractiveness and corporate reputation on this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThis study comprises two phases. In phase 1, the focus was on stimuli selection through an online questionnaire on favourability. In phase 2, for the main study, data were gathered through an online survey from 214 information technology (IT) employees via a survey. Multiple linear regression and mediation analyses were conducted.FindingsThe results show that EGC and FGC have a positive influence on employer brand perception, and the relationship is positively mediated by employer attractiveness and corporate reputation. These findings suggest that organizations can strategically use their own as well as employees' LinkedIn accounts, and encourage employee advocacy initiatives to attract new talent, enhance attractiveness and corporate reputation.Originality/valueThe study covers two different categories of content – employer and employee-generated – and examines both content types' influence on employer brand perception. It adds to the body of literature regarding employee branding and paves the way for further research in employee advocacy.

Diversity and inclusion in employer branding: an explorative analysis of European companies' digital communication

“…LinkedIn, in particular, is widely used in recruitment and EB efforts (Content Stadium, 2022). Joglekar and Tan (2022) demonstrated that employee-generated content and firm-generated content in the form of LinkedIn posts positively influenced employer perception, with this relationship being mediated by organizational attractiveness and corporate reputation. Their findings suggest that companies can strategically utilize LinkedIn to encourage employee advocacy initiatives, attracting new talent and enhancing organizational attractiveness and reputation.…”

Fear of being replaced: The dark side of employee ambassadorship on social media

“…The platform serves as a prominent identification point due to the constant visibility of the link between employees and their employers (Van Zoonen et al ., 2018), which automatically turns employees into ambassadors. Consequently, previous research has mainly been based on human resource (HR) management studies, which have analyzed how employee ambassadorship on LinkedIn influences the employer’s brand (Da Motta Veiga et al ., 2020; Joglekar and Tan, 2022).…”

How the interplay of social media usage and online reviews generate intention to apply for a job vacancy: an employer branding-based agenda

“…It helps in facilitating interactive information, user-created content and collaboration (Elefant, 2011). Since the proliferation of social media, organizations use SNS such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to publicize positions (Joglekar and Tan, 2022) and advertise benefits provided to the employees. They are preferred over classic printed advertisements and face-to-face interaction due to their unlimited use, shorter response time and minimal search cost (Sivertzen et al , 2013, p. 475).…”

“…More pertinent to the Indian context, the role of employer branding in building positive perceptions among job seekers is an under-researched (Khan, 2017) and a more pressing issue, particularly in an emerging economy like India (Sharma and Prasad, 2018). India, with its distinctive demographic dividend and budding economy, is an apparent choice among employers in the world to fulfill their human resource needs (Joglekar and Tan, 2022). This makes the present study of paramount importance and therefore aims to perform an empirical analysis to validate the proposed relationships.…”