Employer Branding for Successful Recruitment and Retention of Talented Academic Staff in Thai ...

203 Pages·2016·4.85 MB·English

Employer Branding for Successful Recruitment and Retention
of Talented Academic Staff in Thai Universities

Karun Kidrakarn

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

School of Management and Information Systems
Faculty of Business and Law
Abstract
Employer branding may be communicated in a variety of ways, but today it is an
organisation’s website that is commonly used to convey the desired image. A website is
commonly recognised as the first port of call for any potential employee. It should,
therefore, be the first channel of communication undertaken by an employer branding
strategy. This thesis reports on research investigating the use of websites by Thai
universities and examines how a well-designed website can be used to efficiently
communicate the employer brand as it is related to attracting and retaining talented
academic staff in Thai universities.
This research used mixed-methods approach. Both qualitative and quantitative research
methods were applied to achieve the aim of this study. Qualitative research methods
were used to assess how well websites of selected Thai universities meet basic good
website design standards and how effectively they communicate their employer brand.
Quantitative research methods were used to examine the relationship between the
quality of university’s website design and university image in relation to staff attraction
and retention.
This research found that more highly qualified academics may hold greater expectations
in relation to website quality. Newly recruited talented academics were found to tend to
use university websites as their first resource to search for the information they acquired
before applying for a position. The findings revealed that university ranking did
influence potential applicants’ perceptions. For applying for a job in lower ranked
universities, applicants may require more detailed information than when applying to
top ranked universities about which much information was commonly already known.
In addition, Thai universities needed to note that current use of university websites by
potential overseas staff was low. To improve the university brand and create a positive
image to attract high quality international staff, therefore, Thai universities had to
improve their websites in particular addressing issues that made their websites more
accessible and usable by people from other cultures and language bases.
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Declaration
“I, Karun Kidrakarn, declare that the DBA thesis entitled “Employer Branding for Successful
Recruitment and Retention of Talented Academic Staff in Thai Universities”is no more than
65,000 words in length including quotes and exclusive of tables, figures, appendices,
bibliography, references and footnotes. This thesis contains no material that has been submitted
previously, in whole or in part, for the award of any other academic degree or diploma. Expect
where otherwise indicated, this thesis is my own work”

March, 2013
Signature
Date

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Acknowledgements
The pursuit of a DBA is a great journey of my life. A hundred pages may be not enough for me
to explain how hard it is and what I need to sacrifice for the best outcome. To complete this
thesis, it requires enormous support and direction of key individuals. I am indebted to many
people who have contributed to the success of this thesis and helped me throughout this
journey.
Writing a thesis is more difficult than someone can imagine, especially for non-English speaker
like me. This thesis would not have been possible without supervision, contribution, help and
support from my supervisor, Dr Beverley Lloyd-Walker. I cannot find words to express my
gratitude to my supervisor for her encouragement and belief in me. This sustained me
throughout the research journey and writing process. Without her, this thesis would have
remained a dream. If she could understand Thai, I really would like to thank her in Thai “Grab
kob pra koon mark mark krub” which means “I truly give my deepest gratitude to you”.
I also gratefully acknowledge my parents, Associate Professor Dr Pachoen Kidrakarn and Mrs.
Jintana Kidrakarn, who gave me the best encouragement possible, support and helped me with
anything and at anytime I needed it. I also extend my deep appreciation to my associate
supervisor, Dr Arthur Tatnall for his intellectual guidance and support. I also would like to give
my deep gratitude to Dr Rod Turner for his guidance and counselling in statistical analysis.
Without his invaluable advice, this thesis would not be completed. I owe my special thank to
Dr Songsak Phusee-orn for his guidance and help. His statistical book and advice in using
SPSS that he gave to me is priceless and very helpful to guide me to succeed data analysis. My
special thanks are extended to my best friend, Natchaphan Winyawong (North), for the
assistance provided me with valuable.
I am heartily thankful to my wife, Duangrat Tandamrong (Anne), for her love, patience,
encouragement and support. All of these things she gave me are the most important part
pushing me to achieve this research.
Lastly, I offer my best regards and blessings to everyone who supported me in any respect
during the completion of this thesis.

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Table of Contents
Abstract ............................................................................................................................. ii
Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... v
List of Figures .................................................................................................................. ix
List of Tables .................................................................................................................... x
Chapter 1 ........................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Background of the research .................................................................................... 2
1.3 Aims of the research ............................................................................................... 3
1.4 Research questions .................................................................................................. 5
1.5 Contribution to knowledge ..................................................................................... 4
1.6 Statement of significance ........................................................................................ 5
1.7 Research methodology ............................................................................................ 6
1.7.1 Population and Sample ..................................................................................... 6
1.7.2 Questionnaire survey ........................................................................................ 7
1.7.3 Interviews ......................................................................................................... 8
1.8 Outline of the thesis ................................................................................................ 8
1.9 Summary ................................................................................................................. 9
Chapter 2 ......................................................................................................................... 10
Literature Review ........................................................................................................... 10
2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 10
2.2 The Thai university system ................................................................................... 10
2.2.1 The relationship between the Thai government and Thai HEIs ..................... 13
2.2.2 Globalisation and international standards in Thai HEIs ................................. 15
2.2.3 Comparison of PhD-qualified staff in Thai and developed country universities
................................................................................................................................. 16
2.3 Brand identity and image ...................................................................................... 17
2.3.1 University image ............................................................................................ 18
2.4 Employer branding ................................................................................................ 20
2.4.1 Communicating employer brand image ......................................................... 22
2.5 Online Recruitment ............................................................................................... 24
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2.5.1 Attraction global talent ................................................................................... 25
2.5.2 Disadvantages of using online recruitment .................................................... 26
2.6 Using the Internet for successful internal communication ................................... 27
2.7 Components of effective websites ........................................................................ 28
2.8 Website quality ..................................................................................................... 30
2.8.1 Appearance quality ......................................................................................... 31
2.8.2 Technical quality of website .......................................................................... 37
2.8.3 Information quality ......................................................................................... 42
2.9 Attraction and recruitment .................................................................................... 45
2.9.1 Attraction via employer branding and websites ............................................. 46
2.9.2 Attraction via other mechanisms .................................................................... 48
2.10 Factors affecting recruitment and retention ........................................................ 53
2.11 Retention ............................................................................................................. 59
2.12 Summary ............................................................................................................. 62
Chapter 3 ......................................................................................................................... 64
Research Methodology ................................................................................................... 64
3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 64
3.2 The research process ............................................................................................. 64
3.3 Literature review ....................................................................................................... 66
3.4 Conceptual framework .......................................................................................... 66
Website Design ....................................................................................................... 67
Brand Identity and Image ........................................................................................ 68
3.5 Research design .................................................................................................... 70
3.6 Development of Instruments ................................................................................. 72
3.6.1 Questionnaire Design ..................................................................................... 72
Section 1: Participant’s background information .................................................... 74
Section 2: ranking of university website components ............................................. 74
3.6.2 The designing semi-structure interview format ............................................. 75
3.6.3 Sample size ..................................................................................................... 76
3.7 Ethics Approval .................................................................................................... 77
3.8 Data gathering procedures .................................................................................... 78
3.8.1 Quantitative data collection procedure ........................................................... 78
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3.8.2 Qualitative data collection procedure ............................................................. 79
3.9 Data analysis methods ........................................................................................... 80
3.9.1 Quantitative data analysis techniques ............................................................ 80
3.9.2 Qualitative data analysis techniques .............................................................. 82
3.10 Summary ............................................................................................................. 82
Chapter 4 ......................................................................................................................... 84
Data Analysis and Research Results .............................................................................. 84
4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 84
SECTION ONE: ......................................................................................................... 84
4.2 Demographic Profile of Respondents ................................................................... 84
4.3 Use of university’s website by recently recruited academic staff ......................... 86
SECTION TWO: ........................................................................................................ 90
4.4 Data preparation .................................................................................................... 90
4.4.1 Coding data .................................................................................................... 90
4.4.2 Data screening ................................................................................................ 91
4.4.3 Missing data ................................................................................................... 91
4.4.4 Normality test ................................................................................................. 91
4.4.5 Scale Reliability test ....................................................................................... 92
SECTION THREE: ..................................................................................................... 93
4.5 Website components of well-designed university’s website ................................ 93
4.5.1 Website components and level of qualification ............................................. 93
4.5.2 Website components and academic title levels .............................................. 97
4.5.3 Website components and nationality .............................................................. 98
4.5.4 Website components and length of employment ........................................... 99
4.5.6 Website components and information gained from university’s website .... 101
4.5.7 Website components and ranked university groups ..................................... 103
4.6 Factor analysis results ......................................................................................... 104
SECTION FOUR: ..................................................................................................... 109
4.7 Results of the semi-structured interview ............................................................. 109
4.7.1 Staff attraction .............................................................................................. 110
(1) Web appearance ......................................................................................... 112
(2) Content of website ...................................................................................... 117
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4.7.2 Staff retention ............................................................................................... 120
(1) Communication .......................................................................................... 120
(2) Presenting staff achievements .................................................................... 123
4.8 Summary ............................................................................................................. 125
Chapter 5 ....................................................................................................................... 126
Discussion of Research Results .................................................................................... 126
5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 126
5.2 Major findings of this research ........................................................................... 126
5.3 Overview of the research hypotheses ................................................................. 130
5.4 Quality of Thai university website ...................................................................... 131
5.4.1 Appearance quality of website ..................................................................... 131
5.4.2 Technical quality of website ........................................................................ 134
5.4.3 Information quality of website ..................................................................... 137
Providing total rewards on the website ................................................................. 137
5.4.4 Other essential website components ............................................................ 138
5.5 Use of Thai university websites by potential employees and current employees140
5.5.1 Online recruitment ........................................................................................ 140
5.5.2 University ranking and attraction ................................................................. 141
5.5.3 Length of employment ................................................................................. 143
5.5.4 Attracting talented staff ................................................................................ 145
5.5.5 Attracting global talented staff ..................................................................... 146
5.6 The role of Thai university websites in retention of quality staff ....................... 148
5.6.1 Having a discussion forum ........................................................................... 148
5.6.2 Presenting staff achievements ...................................................................... 149
5.7 Research contributions ........................................................................................ 149
5.8 Limitations of this research and implications for further research ................ Error!
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5.9 Summary ............................................................................................................. 154
5.10 Overall thesis summary ..................................................................................... 154
List of References ..................................................................................................... 156

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ix
List of Figures

Figure I :Proportion of academic staff in Thai HEIs (OHEC 2010d) ............................ 17

Figure II: The Research Process ..................................................................................... 65

Figure III: Study conceptual framework ........................................................................ 67

Figure IV: Overview of the Methods Research Design ................................................. 71

Figure V: Scree plot of Initial Factor Solution for university’s website components .. 106

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