Company values guiding the recruitment of employees with a foreign background
ISSN: 1746-5265
Article publication date: 7 October 2019
Issue publication date: 28 October 2019
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the following research question is addressed: Why do business organisations recruit employees with a foreign background? This was examined in terms of the values that guide organisations and their management. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The study focused on two businesses in Finland that are pioneers in the recruitment of immigrants. A case study approach was adopted. The research data consist of interviews and documentary data. The data were analysed using content analysis in accordance with grounded theory.
Findings
Companies can act as an enabling force in the integration of immigrants into the local labour market, especially when the company’s value basis extends beyond only economic values.
Research limitations/implications
The study was conducted only in two case companies in Finland.
Practical implications
Companies have the potential to affect local people’s attitudes towards immigrants as workers. This is important because many western societies are likely to face a labour shortage in the future due to the ageing population and low birth rate.
Originality/value
Prior research has mostly investigated the topic from the viewpoints of the immigrants themselves and of policy makers. The value of this study is that it makes the employers’ viewpoint visible. The dominant theories applied in the field of immigrant recruitment are inadequate to explain employers’ behaviour because of their underlying assumption of the overwhelming importance of economic values in decision making.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research was part of the programme “Equality in Society” (WeAll project, 292883), supported by strategic research funding of the Academy of Finland (weallfinland.fi). The authors are very grateful for this support.
Citation
Lämsä, A.-M., Mattila, M., Lähdesmäki, M. and Suutari, T. (2019), "Company values guiding the recruitment of employees with a foreign background", Baltic Journal of Management, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 658-675. https://doi.org/10.1108/BJM-04-2019-0112
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited