The influence of corporate social performance on employer attractiveness in the transport and logistics industry : Insights from German junior talent

Purpose – Job markets in the transport and logistics industry are characterized by a scarcity of well-educated junior talent. Employer attractiveness is becoming more important in order to win the most talented junior staff. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how corporate social performance (CSP) profiles of logistics companies influence their attractiveness for job seekers. Design/methodology/approach – In a computerized laboratory experiment, the authors provided 95 students in their final year with job offer data that include general and CSP information about the company, and the job seeker’s potential salary. The authors manipulated how the CSP information was presented and monitored the information accessed during job seekers’ decision-making processes. The authors investigated how information presentation affected choices. Findings – The vast majority of talent acquires CSP information in the pre-decision phase of the judgment, compares this information across companies, and trades off this information with the conditions of employment. The authors find that the ease of comparability of corporate social responsibility (CSR) information, expressed by meaningful indicators of CSP, increased preference for high CSP. Research limitations/implications – The study enriches existing studies of voluntary disclosure, which argue that voluntary disclosing sustainability-related information can be a tool of impression management. Practical implications – Companies with a compelling CSP should push for a broadly accepted methodology to benchmark CSP within industry-specific sectors, such as logistics services. Social implications – Potential employees demand that companies should consider their social impact on individuals and society as a whole. To remain attractive for employees companies in transport and logistics industry have to cope with a broader scope of expectations. Originality/value – The authors provide the first analysis on the relevance of CSP information for employer attractiveness in the transport and logistics industry. This research provides insights into the relevance of CSP criteria, information provision, and comparability processes from the perspective of young job seekers.