Employer Attractiveness of Family Businesses in the IT-industry: the Effect of Personality Traits and the Moderating Role of Ownership Communication

Purpose - Employing a qualified workforce is a crucial topic for organizational success. Research on employer branding in family businesses has not come to a clear conclusion of which family business characteristics might be attractive for which potential employees. Aim(s) - This paper focuses on family businesses in the IT industry to analyze whether they might or might not profit from the communication of family involvement. Design/methodology/approach - To answer the research question, an online survey was conducted. The participants were divided into two groups, whereby one group was manipulated by the communication of the ownership. Findings - The results show that family businesses are associated with greater security but fewer development opportunities. In addition, certain personality traits of job applicants influence the perception of organizational attractiveness. However, the communication of ownership had no significant influence on employer attractiveness. Similarly, the varying importance of job security and development opportunities among applicants cannot be clearly explained by personality traits. Limitation of the Study - The final sample size was relatively small. In addition, in reality the applicants would be provided with more and more detailed information about the company. The representativeness and generalizability of the survey must therefore be questioned. Practical implications – As the results show a positive correlation between perceived job security, opportunities for further development and attractiveness, it might be valuable for family businesses to support and communicate job security and opportunities for further development for raising increased attractiveness. Originality/value - The attempt is made to give companies, especially family businesses, a better understanding of the effect of communicating the ownership relationship on potential applicants.