A conceptual framework for organizational attractiveness among Malaysian millennial jobseekers aimed at the aftermath of COVID-19

Abstract

Attracting superior talent from the job market is a crucial task for the organization. Due to the technological paradigm-shifting in the direction of Industrial revolution 4.0, tech-savvy millennials are the organization's dominant priority to gain a competitive advantage. Scholars predict that the ongoing COVID-19 is likely to change millennial's job preferences. On the other hand, in this economic climate, where young people are at an amplified risk of being jobless, organizations must play a vital role in providing jobs and attract young entry-level millennial jobseekers. Millennials have unique expectations from employers, thus selective about organizations to join. Understanding the millennial job seeker's perception is imperative for the organization to create an "attractive employer" image. However, very little is known about the factor attracting entry-level millennial jobseekers towards an organization from literature. Consequently, the present study identifies four factors, corporate social responsibility, perceived work environment, individual value, and organizational reputation, which have organizational attractiveness. The study develops a conceptual model of organizational attractiveness utilizing social identity theory and signaling theory. Further, this concept will empirically be tested and validated in the future.