Espoused Religious Values in Organizations and Their Associations with Applicant Intentions to Pursue a Job

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between an organization’s religious values, as espoused by the founder or in media messaging, and applicant intentions to pursue a job. Drawing on person-organization fit theory, we also explored interactions between an organization’s espoused religious values and characteristics of the individual applicant. We tested our predictions via two conjoint analysis experiments, one with 191 employed adults collectively making 2292 employment pursuit decisions and a second with 120 employed adults making 1080 employment pursuit decisions. Espousing religious values as a founder or in media messaging yielded lower intentions to pursue a job than when an organization espouses non-religious values. However, when there was fit based on religious values, these relationships were mitigated. The results expand our understanding of person-organization fit by demonstrating the potential influence of espousing religious values on attracting organizational members.