How Passive Job Candidates Respond to Social Networking Site Screening

Employers' use of social networking sites (SNS) to screen job candidates is raising concerns about privacy, fairness, and withdrawal intention. Since passive candidates are more desirable in the global workforce market, this study proposes a mediation–moderation framework for understanding how and when passive job candidates’ perceptions of privacy violations and procedural injustice interact to predict their intent to withdraw from the selection process in the context of employee use of social networking site (SNS) screening. The valid 201 data from Taiwan, which involved Facebook users, were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results indicated that a candidate who can better control their SNS information is less likely to perceive that their privacy has been invaded during SNS screening by potential employers, thus mitigating their perception of procedural unfairness. Moreover, when SNS screening is more transparent, the candidate is less likely to perceive the selection procedure as unfair, which will reduce their intention to withdraw from the employment selection process.