To read this content please select one of the options below:

Job search on the internet and its outcome

Farrukh Suvankulov (Department of Economics, Zirve University, Gaziantep, Turkey)
Marco Chi Keung Lau (Department of Economics, Zirve University, Gaziantep, Turkey)
Frankie Ho Chi Chau (Durham Business School, Durham University, Durham, UK)

Internet Research

ISSN: 1066-2243

Article publication date: 1 June 2012

3053

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to estimate the impact of job search on the internet on the probability of re‐employment and the duration of unemployment spells.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses national panel datasets from Germany (SOEP 2003‐2007) and South Korea (KLIPS 1996‐2006) to estimate probit and Hausman‐Taylor IV models of the impact of job search on the internet on the probability of re‐employment. The study also explores duration analysis with the aim of estimating the impact of internet job search on the duration of unemployment.

Findings

In Germany and South Korea job seekers who used the internet had a 7.1 and 12.7 percentage point higher probability, respectively, of being re‐employed in the next 12 months. Furthermore, job seekers who used the internet had a shorter duration of unemployment in both Germany and South Korea.

Practical implications

Over the past decade, internet penetration rates and use of the internet in job search have risen sharply across the world. The internet has significantly changed the job application process and improved the channels of communication between employers and job seekers. The findings of the research indicate that the internet is beneficial and should be a part of job search efforts.

Originality/value

The contribution of this study is twofold. It is the first study to use panel datasets to analyze the link between internet use and job search outcomes. Therefore, the results are robust to unobserved heterogeneity problems. The study also addresses the issue of endogeneity of job search on the internet by using the Hausman‐Taylor IV model.

Keywords

Citation

Suvankulov, F., Chi Keung Lau, M. and Ho Chi Chau, F. (2012), "Job search on the internet and its outcome", Internet Research, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 298-317. https://doi.org/10.1108/10662241211235662

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Related articles