The purpose of this study is to understand how the application of Artificial intelligence (AI) in the candidate assessment phase of human resource recruitment may impact interviewees’ evaluations of companies.
Drawing on the perspective of outcome dependence and control theory, the authors investigated how the type of evaluator (human experts vs AI) in interviews influences individuals’ evaluation of the company. Across two experimental studies involving a total of 320 respondents, the authors tested how and why the interviewer type shapes individuals’ perceived control and evaluation of the company.
This research reveals that, compared with being evaluated by humans, individuals feel less satisfied with a company when they are evaluated by AI. This effect is mediated by the feeling of loss of control over the application process when confronted with AI. They provide further evidence of the mechanism by showing that people with an internal locus of control (LOC) (vs an external LOC) are more susceptible to the interviewer-type effect.
This research explores the impact of AI applications in the recruitment stage on candidates’ general evaluation of the company. The findings provide insights into interviewees’ perceptions of AI-driven recruitment. This study has theoretical and practical implications for the future employment of AI-guided human resource management.
