Fairness Reactions to Personnel Selection Techniques in Morocco

Hamza AOUAM; Bouchra BELMOUFFEQ

Authors

Hamza AOUAM The Faculty of Law, Economic and Social Sciences of Ain Sebaa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7309-2725
Bouchra BELMOUFFEQ The Faculty of Law, Economic and Social Sciences of Ain Sebaa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6365-6232

Keywords:

selection methods; candidates; favorability; fairness perceptions; procedural justice; organizational outcomes; Morocco

Abstract

Candidate reactions represent a pressing contemporary subject, with heightened expectations for favorable treatment from companies during recruitment. Negative encounters adversely affect employer branding and candidate attraction. Thus, meticulously cultivating the candidate experience is imperative. This research examines the responses of candidates to various hiring methods in Morocco. A total of 244 job seekers rated the favorability and fairness of selection methods, including interviews, resumes, work-sample tests, biographical information blanks, written ability tests, personal references, personality tests, honesty tests, graphology, and personal contacts. Moroccan job seekers completed an online questionnaire, and data were analyzed using IBM SPSS. The snowball sampling method was employed, with participants initially identified on LinkedIn. Our primary objective is to assess the prevalence of the ten selection procedures used in Morocco and examine candidates' favorability towards these approaches. Within-subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) evaluated differences in candidates' responses to the selection methods. Applicants expressed the most positive responses towards résumés, work-sample tests, interviews, and personality tests, while graphology, references, and biographical information were the least favorable. Regarding procedural justice, applicants rated frequency of use, predictive validity, opportunity to perform, employer's rights, and face validity most positively, while interpersonal warmth and invasion of privacy were least valued. However, this study faced several limitations. The cross-sectional design hindered robust causal inferences, and reliance on single-item measures for procedural fairness and organizational outcomes limited our findings' depth. Generalizing results to the broader Moroccan population requires caution due to potential regional and sectoral variations. While snowball sampling increased the sample size, it precluded response rate calculation. Practical implications and future research perspectives are also highlighted.

References

Ababneh, K. I., & Chhinzer, N. (2014). Job Applicant reactions to selection methods in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). International Management Review, 10(2), 32. http:// americanscholarspress.us/journals/IMR/pdf/IMR-2-2014/v10n2-art4.pdf

Al-Alawi, A.I., & Alkhodari, H. J. (2016). Cross-cultural differences in managing businesses: applying Hofstede cultural analysis in Germany, Canada, South Korea and Morocco. International Business Management, 95, 40855-40861.

Allen, J., Jimmieson, N. L., Bordia, P., & Irmer, B. E. (2007). Uncertainty during organizational change: Managing perceptions through communication. Journal of Change Management, 7(2),187–210.

Anderson, N. (2003). Applicant and recruiter reactions to new technology in selection: A critical review and agenda for future research. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 11(2-3), 121–136. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2389.00235

Anderson, N., Ahmed, S., & Costa, A. C. (2012). Applicant reactions in Saudi Arabia: Organizational attractiveness and core-self-evaluation. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 20(2), 197–208. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2389. 2012.00592.x

Anderson, N., Salgado, J. F., & Hülsheger, U. R. (2010). Applicant reactions in selection: Comprehensive meta-analysis into reaction generalization versus situational specificity. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 18(3), 291–304. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2389.2010.00512.x

Anderson, N., & Witvliet, C. (2008). Fairness reactions to personnel selection methods: An international comparison between the Netherlands, the United States, France, Spain, Portugal, and Singapore. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 16(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2389.2008.00404.x

Bauer, T. N., Truxillo, D. M., Sanchez, R. J., Craig, J. M., Ferrara, P., & Campion, M. A. (2001). applicant reactions to selection: development of the selection procedural justice scale (SPJS). Personnel Psychology, 54(2), 387–419. https://doi.org/10.1111/ j.1744-6570.2001.tb00097.x

Bertolino, M., & Steiner, D. D. (2007). Fairness reactions to selection methods: An italian study. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 15(2), 197–205. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2389.2007.00381.x

Bilgiç, R., & Acarlar, G. (2010). Fairness perceptions of selection instruments used in turkey. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 18(2), 208–214. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2389.2010.00502.x

Brender-Ilan, Y., & Sheaffer, Z. (2015). Do immigrants have different procedural justice perceptions of personnel selection methods? The case of native Israelis and immigrants from the former Soviet Union. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 23(1), 27–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12092

Chapman, D., & Webster, J. (2006). Toward an integrated model of applicant reactions and job choice. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17(6), 1032–1057. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190600696572

De Jong, A., & Visser, D. (2000). Black and white employees’ fairness perceptions of personnel selection techniques. South African Journal of Psychology, 30(4), 17–24.

https://doi.org/10.1177/008124630003000403

Jonsdottir, J. H., & Hafsteinson, L. G. (2008). Sanngirni atta aeferea sem notaear eru vie starfsmannaval: Viebroge islendinga: Fairness reactions to personnel selection methods in Iceland. Journal of Psychology, 13, 109–125.

Harris, M. M., & Fink, L. S. (1987). A field study of applicant reactions to employment opportunities: does the recruiter make a difference? Personnel Psychology, 40(4), 765–784. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1987.tb00623.x

Hassan, Q., Abid, G., Ahmad, J., Ali, M., Khan, A. H., & Zafar, R. (2020). Applicants reaction towards the personnel selection methods in Pakistan. Cogent Business & Management, 7(1), 1816418. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1816418

Hausknecht, J. P., Day, D. V., & Thomas, S. C. (2004). Applicant reactions to selection procedures: An updated model and meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 57(3), 639-683. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2004.00003.x

Hoang, T. G., Truxillo, D. M., Erdogan, B., & Bauer, T. N. (2012). Cross-cultural examination of applicant reactions to selection methods: United States and Vietnam. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 20(2), 209–219. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2389.2012.00593.x

Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing cultures: The Hofstede model in context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1014

Ispas, D., Ilie, A., Iliescu, D., Johnson, R. E., & Harris, M. M. (2010). Fairness reactions to selection methods: A Romanian study. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 18(1), 102–110. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2389.2010.00492.x

Gilliland, S. W. (1993). The perceived fairness of selection systems: An organizational justice perspective. Academy of Management Review, 18(4), 694–734. https:// doi.org/10.5465/amr.1993.9402210155

Gilliland, S. W. (1994). Effects of procedural and distributive justice on reactions to a selection system. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(5), 691–701. https://doi.org/ 10.1037/0021-9010.79.5.691

Konradt, U., Warszta, T., & Ellwart, T. (2013). Fairness perceptions in web-based selection: Impact on applicants’ pursuit intentions, recommendation intentions, and intentions to reapply. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 21(2), 155–169. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12026

Lievens, F. (2007). Employer branding in the Belgian army: The importance of instrumental and symbolic beliefs for potential applicants, actual applicants, and military employees. Human Resource Management, 46(1), 51-69. https://doi.org/ 10.1002/hrm.20145

Liu, X., Potočnik, K., & Anderson, N. (2016). Applicant reactions to selection methods in China. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 24(3), 296–303. https:// doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12148

Marcus, B. (2003). Attitudes towards personnel selection methods: A partial replication and extension in a German sample. Applied Psychology, 52(4), 515–532. https://doi.org/10.1111/1464-0597.00149

Maroc Diplomatique. (2024). The Labor Market: A First Quarter of 2024. Marked by Drought. https://maroc-diplomatique.net/le-marche-du-travail-un-premier-trimestre-2024-sous-le-signe-de-la-secheresse/

McCarthy, J. M., Bauer, T. N., Truxillo, D. M., Anderson, N. R., Costa, A. C., & Ahmed, S. M. (2017). Applicant perspectives during selection: A review addressing “so what?”, “what’s new?”, and “where to next?” Journal of Management, 43(6), 1693-1725. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316681846

Miles, S. J., & Mc Camey, R. (2018). The candidate experience: Is it damaging your employer brand? Business Horizons, 61(5), 755–764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2018. 05.007

Moscoso, S., & Salgado, J. F. (2004). Fairness Reactions to personnel selection techniques in Spain and Portugal. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 12(1–2), 187–196. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0965-075x.2004.00273.x

Nikolaou, I., & Judge, T. A. (2007). Fairness reactions to personnel selection techniques in Greece: The role of core self-evaluations. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 15(2), 206–219. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2389.2007.00382.x

Phillips, J. M., & Gully, S. M. (2002). Fairness reactions to personnel selection techniques in Singapore and the United States. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(8), 1186–1205. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190210149475

Ployhart, R. E., & Ryan, A. M. (1998). Applicants’ reactions to the fairness of selection procedures: The effects of positive rule violations and time of measurement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(1), 3–16. https://doi.org/ 10.1037/0021-9010.83.1.3

Rynes, S. L., & Connerley, M. L. (1993). Applicant reactions to alternative selection procedures. Journal of Business and Psychology, 7(3), 261–277. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/bf01015754

Seitz, R., Truxillo, D. M., & Bauer, T. N. (2001, April). Test familiarization: Effects on reactions to written and video tests [Paper presentation]. The Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, San Diego, CA.

Snyder, J., & Shahani-Denning, C. (2012). Fairness reactions to personnel selection methods: A look at professionals in Mumbai, India. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 20(3), 297–307. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2389.2012. 00601.x

Steiner, D. D., & Gilliland, S. W. (1996). Fairness reactions to personnel selection techniques in France and the United States. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(2), 134–141. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.81.2.134

Stinglhamber, F., Vandenberghe, C., & Brancart, S. (1999). Les réactions des candidats envers les techniques de sélection du personnel : une étude dans un contexte francophone. Le Travail Humain, 62(4), 347–361.

Sumanth, J. J., & Cable, D. M. (2011). Status and organizational entry: How organizational and individual status affect justice perceptions of hiring systems. Personnel Psychology, 64(4), 963–1000. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01233.x

The World Factbook. (2024). Morocco-Country Summary. CIA GOV. https://www.cia.gov/ the-world-factbook/countries/morocco/summaries/

Wikipedia. (2024). Demographics of Morocco. Wikipedia. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/ D%C3%A9mographie_du_Maroc#cite_note-1

Zibarras, L. (2018). Applicant perceptions and reactions to selection. In F. Patterson & L. Zibarras (Eds.), Selection and Recruitment in the Healthcare Professions (pp. 193–221). Springer International Publishing.

Fairness Reactions to Personnel Selection Techniques in Morocco

Authors

Keywords:

Abstract

References

Downloads

Published

How to Cite

Issue

Section

License

Information