28.03.2024New article about contextual and personal resources in unemployed job search

Drawing from conservation of resources (COR) theory and the equifinality principle, this articles challenges the prominent “the-more-resources-the-better” understanding by examining both the additive and interactive effects of contextual (i.e., networking behaviors and social support) and personal (i.e., job search self-efficacy) resources on job seeking. Specifically, based on COR theory’s resource gain corollary, we propose that higher levels of each resource are positively related to job search intensity and the number of interviews obtained (an additive effect). However, based on the equifinality principle that various resources can contribute to the same goal, we propose that each type of resource can compensate for low levels of the other (an interactive effect). In line with our predictions, high levels of either networking behaviors or job search self-efficacy compensate for low levels of the other resource when predicting job search intensity and the number of job interviews obtained.

Da Motta Veiga, S., Debus, M., Wilhelmy, A., Ambühl, M., Hasler, K., & Kleinmann, M. (in press). Contextual and Personal Resources in Unemployed Job Search: An Intra-Individual Perspective. Applied Psychology: An International Review.