Employer branding shapes job seekers’ intent through psychological contract

Employer branding appears to sway whether job seekers apply for a position largely through a psychological mechanism known as the anticipatory psychological contract, according to a study published in Discover Psychology. The research, led by Tanvi Madaan, Ajay Suneja and Mohit Singla, tested a framework grounded in Stimulus-Organism-Response theory to trace how employer branding signals translate into application decisions before employment begins.

Data came from 237 final-year management students in North India, recruited through multistage and purposive sampling.

The results show that four of the five employer branding dimensions studied significantly predicted the formation of the anticipatory psychological contract: development value, economic value, interest value and social value. Application value was the exception, showing no significant role in shaping that contract.

The anticipatory psychological contract, in turn, significantly influenced intention to apply. It also mediated the relationship between most employer branding dimensions and application intention, with economic value and interest value showing full mediation, meaning their effect on intention operated entirely through the contract.

By contrast, application, development and social value also influenced intention to apply directly, while economic and interest value did not. The authors say this highlights a differentiated mediating role for the anticipatory psychological contract across employer branding dimensions, rather than a single uniform pathway.

The study extends recruitment literature by clarifying the psychological mechanism through which employer branding signals shape applicant decision-making during the pre-employment stage, in an increasingly competitive labour market where organisations compete to attract talented employees.

Subject of Research: How employer branding dimensions influence job seekers' intention to apply via the anticipatory psychological contract

Article Title: Anticipatory psychological contract as a mediator of employer branding dimensions and intention to apply among job seekers

Article References: Madaan, T., Suneja, A., & Singla, M. (2026). Anticipatory psychological contract as a mediator of employer branding dimensions and intention to apply among job seekers. Discover Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-026-00895-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44202-026-00895-1

Keywords: employer branding, psychological contract, intention to apply, recruitment, job seekers, PLS-SEM, artificial neural network, S-O-R theory, North India, management students, Anticipatory, psychological