Effectiveness of signaling a firm family identity to jobseekers: proactiveness and innovativeness profile of the applicant

Purpose This study aims to determine how the communication of a family business identity in a recruitment call influences, directly and indirectly, the response of jobseekers, and whether this response varies according to the level of proactiveness and innovative of the applicants. Design/methodology/approach An experimental design using job advertisements on a LinkedIn recruitment call in Peru and Chile was implemented. The experiment simulates a job offer for a professional that could be filled by a business graduate student. The sample consisted of 171 surveys applied to university students in full-time higher education programs. Findings The results indicate that there is a positive indirect influence of family business signaling on the intention to pursue (through perceived prestige and career development opportunity). However, signaling family ownership of a company has a negative direct influence on jobseekers’ intentions to go to the recruitment call. When it comes to jobseekers with high and low levels of innovativeness and proactiveness, the results suggest that family business identity signaling is less effective among jobseekers with higher levels of proactiveness and innovativeness. Originality/value This article contributes to the theory of the family firm by advancing the understanding of the challenges that family businesses face when attracting talent. Our results enable family businesses to strategically adapt their hiring processes to enhance their appeal in the competitive labor market.