The Recruitment Paradox: Network Recruitment, Structural Position, and East German Market Transition

It’s Who You Know: The Role of Social Networks in a Changing Labor Market

“…In these settings, teachers used their networks not just for information, but to influence the job outcome directly. This parallels studies of the private sector, which find that the “new economy” is network driven, with significant job mobility (Castilla et al, 2013), and that in settings undergoing privatization or market transition, personal connections and networks play a larger role (Benton et al, 2015; Chua, 2011).…”

“…Changes in market institutions, such as those created by neoliberalism, privatization, or deregulation, can increase the importance of personal connections in the labor market. Studies of markets in transition, in Eastern Europe, for example, have found that as markets become more liberalized, informal recruitment and personal networks matter more for the job search (Benton et al, 2015; Chua, 2011; Gerber & Mayorova, 2010; Nee, 1989). When market institutions change, there can be more uncertainty and a lack of fully formed institutions—a period of transition that can encourage a greater reliance on informal processes, such as the use of social networks to recruit employees (Benton et al, 2015).…”

“…At the same time, alternative certification programs have expanded, creating new pathways into teaching (Redding & Smith, 2016). Increased uncertainty in educational contexts undergoing rapid institutional change, due to privatization, charter school expansion, or school closures, may encourage a reliance on informal processes in teacher recruitment (Benton et al, 2015).…”

“…Furthermore, even within traditional public school (TPS) districts, principal authority in teacher hiring has increased over the past 25 years (Engel, Cannata, & Curran, 2018). Drawing on sociological research that examines how shifts from planned to market economies alter the role of social networks in job finding (Benton, McDonald, Manzoni, & Warner, 2015; Chua, 2011), we anticipate that teachers’ social networks may become more salient in their job decisions in settings that are increasingly fragmented.…”

Social capital and job search assistance: A multilevel analysis of East Asian countries

“…Rather than assuming this to be case, the present study treats the potential value of social capital in relation to job search as an empirical question to be explored. Existing research indicates that possessing more human capital is related to a higher likelihood of using formal search methods, whereas having more social capital increases the chances of finding a job informally (Benton et al, 2015; Son and Lin, 2012; van Tubergen, 2011). For example, better educated males are more likely to find jobs through formal means, whereas women and ethnic minorities (including immigrants) are more prone to depend on their network contacts (Aguilera and Massey, 2003; Chua, 2014; van Tubergen, 2011).…”