Social networking sites and employer branding: a qualitative study of Indian organizations

As social network services recently enjoyed significant popularity, social networking sites (SNS) appear as an attractive vehicle to increase an organization’s brand effectiveness. Even though there has been a significant influence of SNS on employees’ lives, there is limited focus on their application in the HRM discipline. Building on social networking theory, this study supplements an understanding of the growing utilization of SNS, specifically for employer branding in organizations. In an in-depth study comprising 54 interviews of HR professionals representing organizations operating in India, the empirical findings suggest that firms leverage large, widespread, and high-performing SNS to foster their employer branding strategies in numerous ways. This study also describes the advantages derived from the use of SNS for employer branding in organizations and elucidates the intricacies of utilizing SNS as an employer branding strategy. In doing so, we contribute to the extant literature in two ways: (1) address the need for research on SNS in relation to employer branding and (2) highlight the importance of online or virtual means in the context of employer branding. We are also responding to the calls for research that advances more interdisciplinary discussions on ‘doing business in India’, especially approaches that consider employer branding strategies and SNS.