Do emotions matter? A quantitative research in Employer branding.

Abstract: Employer branding is a key concept when managing human resources. Such management distinguishes the possibility to increase attractiveness with the use of employer brand associations when being an employer of choice. Employer brand emotions have been displaced to have fundamental role in prediction of becoming an employer of choice, as positive emotions boost employer branding.   Students are entering the business world and it is of importance to create an understanding of what variables students find as most attractive. By creating an understanding of the most essential variables in the right environment, organisations can differentiate and attract the most talented students. Hence, the purpose of this research is to describe the impact of employer brand emotions as a mediator between the relationship of employer brand associations and being an employer of choice, when investigating in a new context.  Empirical data has been gathered among student on a university level in Sweden, studying economy courses, through the data collection method of a quantitative approach. Questionnaires were sent out and 133 respondents were used to create an understanding of the impact of emotions in regard to the relationship between employer brand associations and an employer of choice.   The results indicate emotions to have a big influence on employer brand associations and moreover work content and social value to be the most fundamental employer brand associations in regard to emotions when investigating the perception of students. Therefor it is of great importance for management levels to understand the importance of the two variables when attracting Swedish students studying economy.