The limits of institutional isomorphism in the design of e-recruitment websites: a comparative analysis of the USA and Spain

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to run a comparative analysis of the recruitment websites of the largest national companies of two different countries, Spain (companies within the IBEX 35 stock market index) and the USA (companies within the Dow Jones stock market index). Using an e-recruiting taxonomy of best practices with 27 attributes, we test the extent to which the selection of specific functionalities reflects different types of isomorphic relations due to socio-economic, technological or cultural forces. Our results show that (i) there is a high level of homogeneity within the two groups as regards the selection of e-recruitment attributes included in their websites and (ii) there are significant differences between DJIA and IBEX 35 e-recruitment attributes, showing low levels of alikeness among their websites. Results are discussed in terms of the institutional forces that may drive companies toward isomorphism in the design of their e-recruitment attributes and content.

Keywords:

• content analysis
• e-HRM
• e-recruiting
• isomorphism
• website functionalities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

^1. The biggest companies in the USA and Spain, respectively, whose prices provide the reference for the national stock markets.