Conspicuous Employment

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Benjamin Berghaus

   Pages 1-15

3. Theory on Status: A Cross-Discipline Literature Review

   • Benjamin Berghaus

   Pages 17-68

4. Prestigious Employer Preference: Scale Development and Evaluation

   • Benjamin Berghaus

   Pages 69-140

5. Prestige Preference and Person–Organisation Fit

   • Benjamin Berghaus

   Pages 141-166

6. Prestige Preference and (Over-)Confidence

   • Benjamin Berghaus

   Pages 167-188

7. Discussion

   • Benjamin Berghaus

   Pages 189-201

8. Back Matter

   Pages 203-246

   PDF

This book illustrates the foundations of status research from the perspective of recruiting. The ever-increasing competitive pressure on both sides of the market has led to the growing significance of prestige in employment as an efficient yardstick of performance. At the same time, mounting student loans make the need for a prestigious education palpable. While prestige has always been important in the job market, continuously increasing competitive pressure is driving the role of prestige to new heights. This book shows how insights from consumer research on prestige-driven behavior can be helpful in gaining a better understanding of applicants' motives. Furthermore, it investigates the effect of prestige preference versus value-based, person-organization fit. Lastly, the book reports on experimental evidence that prestigious employer preference can provide a basis for risky decision-making behavior. Prestige is an increasingly powerful motivator in today’s job market – one that requires a closer look.

• Recruitment
• Employer branding
• Interpersonal differences
• Person-organization fit
• Occupational prestige
• Perceived external prestige
• War for talent

• Institute of Marketing, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland

  Benjamin Berghaus

Benjamin Berghaus is a freelancer at the intersection of research, education, and management practice. Since 2018, Benjamin works as an entrepreneur, author, lecturer, student mentor, scientific and management consultant. Together with his colleagues, he founded career-orientation-initiatives like the Swiss Student Value Survey and the Career Profiler. He teaches regularly at the MBA programme of the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and builds on international teaching experiences with leading schools like European School of Management and Technology Berlin, Germany, EM Lyon Business School, France, Hanken SSE, Finland, Rotterdam School of Management, Netherlands and the University of Liechtenstein as well as his formal university lecturing qualification at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Before his academic career, he worked in the German automotive industry as a marketing manager.

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