The Impact of Employer Branding and Social Media on Employer of Choice on Islamic Bank in Attracting Generation Z in Indonesia
Keywords:
Employer branding, Generation Z, social media, Islamic bank
Abstract
Background: Islamic banks in Indonesia face challenges in attracting Generation Z talent despite being the largest Muslim-majority country with a growing Islamic banking industry. Generation Z has different characteristics from previous generations, and Islamic banks must compete with conventional banks and other industries for the best talent. This study examines the effect of employer branding dimensions and social media on employer of choice for Islamic banks among Generation Z in Indonesia.
Method: This quantitative study surveyed 355 undergraduate Muslim students from both Islamic and general universities in East Java, Indonesia, representing Generation Z (born 1995–2010). Data were collected through online questionnaires distributed via Google Classroom. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with LISREL 8.80 was used to analyze the relationships between employer branding dimensions (work culture, ethics & CSR, salary, diversity), social media, person-organization fit, organizational attractiveness, and employer of choice.
Results: The findings reveal that only two employer branding dimensions salary and ethics & CSR positively influence person-organization fit and organizational attractiveness. Social media significantly affects person-organization fit and organizational attractiveness but does not directly influence employer of choice. Work culture and diversity show no significant effects. Person-organization fit and organizational attractiveness positively influence employer of choice.
Conclusion: Islamic banks should emphasize salary competitiveness and ethics & CSR communication while optimizing social media to build organizational attractiveness. However, social media alone is insufficient to convert attraction into application decisions. Islamic banks need comprehensive strategies beyond social media promotion to successfully attract Generation Z talent.
References
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Rampl, L. V., & Kenning, P. (2014). Employer brand trust and affect: linking brand personality to employer brand attractiveness. European Journal of Marketing, 48(1), 218–236.
Saini, G.K., Rai, P. & Chaudhary, M.K. (2014). What do best employer surveys reveal about employer branding and intention to apply? Journal of Brand Management, 21, 95–111.
Sarah, B., & Gale, F. (2018). What HR Leaders Need to Know About Generation Z. Workforce, 10.
Schlager, T., Bodderas, M., Maas, P., & Cachelin, J. L. (2011). The influence of the employer brand on employee attitudes relevant for service branding: an empirical investigation. Journal of Services Marketing, 25(7), 497–508.
Sivertzen, A., Nilsen, E. R., & Olafsen, A. H. (2013). Employer branding: employer attractiveness and the use of social media. Journal of Product & Brand Management ,22(7), 473–483.
Sullivan, J. (2004). Eight elements of a successful employment brand. ER Daily, 23, 501- 517.
Tanwar, K., & Kumar, A. (2019). Employer brand, person-organisation fit and employer of choice: Investigating the moderating effect of social media. Personnel Review.
Tanwar, K. & Prasad, A. (2017). Employer brand scale development and validation: a second-order factor approach. Personnel Review 46 (2), 389-409.
Terjesen, S., Vinnicombe, S., & Freeman, C. (2007). Attracting Generation Y graduates: organizational attributes, likehood to apply and sex differences. Career Developmental International, 12 (6), 504-522.
Theurer, C. P., Tumasjan, A., Welpe, I. M., & Lievens, F. (2016). Employer branding: A brand equity-based literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 1–25.
Tóth-kaszás, nikoletta. (2018). Is a mid-sized town enough needed to keep the young people. Management, 13(1), 33–48.
Turban, D., Forret, M. & Hendrickson, C. (1998). Applicant attraction to firms: influences of organization reputation and organizational attributes, and recruiter behaviors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 52, pp. 24-44.
Turban, D.B. (2001). Organizational attractiveness as an employer on college campuses: an examination of the ap- plicant population. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58, 293–312.
Twenge, J. M., Campbell, S. M., Hoffman, B. J., & Lance, C. E. (2010). Generational Differences in Work Values: Leisure and Extrinsic Values Increasing, Social and Intrinsic Values Decreasing. Journal of Management, 36(5), 1117–1142.
Valentic, S.A. (2019). Q&A: How generation Z is shapping the workforce. EHS Today, (October).
Warmerdam, A., Lewis, I., & Banks, T. (2015). Gen Y recruitment: understanding graduate intention to join an organization using theory of planned behavior. Education + Training, 57(5), 560-574.
Watto, M. A., Zhao, S., & Xi, M. (2018). Perceived organizational support and employee well-being Testing the mediatory role of work – family. Chinese Management Studies.
Xie, C., Bagozzi, R. P., & Meland, K. V. (2015). The impact of reputation and identity congruence on employer brand attractiveness. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 33(2), 124–146.
Ambler, T. & Barrow, S. (1996). The employer brand. Journal of Brand Management, 4 (3), 185-206.
App, S., & Büttgen, M. (2016). Lasting footprints of the employer brand: can sustainable HRM lead to brand commitment? Employee Relations, 38(5), 703–723.
Azmi, I. A. G. (2015). Islamic human resource practices and organizational performance some findings in a developing country. Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, 6(1), 2–18. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIABR-02-2012-0010
Basham, R. E., & Buchanan, F. R. (2009). A survey comparation of career motivations of social work and business students. Jornal of Social Work Education, 45(2), 187–208.
Baum, T. (2019). A changing world of work. What can we learn from the service sector about employing Millennials (and Gen Z)?. Organizational Dynamics.
Berthon, P., Ewing, M., & Hah, L. L. (2005). Captivating company: dimensions of attractiveness in employer branding. International Journal of Advertising, 24(2), 151–172.
Cable, D.M. & Turban, D.B. (2001). Establishing the dimensions, sources and value of job seekers’ employer knowledge during recruitment. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 20, 115–163.
Chhabra, N. L., & Sharma, S. (2015). Employer branding: strategy for improving employer attractiveness. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 22(1), 48–60.
Chicca, J., & Shellenbarger, T. (2018). Connecting with generation Z: Approaches in nursing education. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 13(3), 180–184.
Collins, C.J. & Stevens, C.K. (2002). The relationship between early recruitment-related activities and the application decisions of new labor-market entrants: a brand equity approach to recruitment. Journal of Applied Psychology 87 (6), 1121-1133.
Deal, J. J., Altman, D. G., & Rogelberg, S. G. (2010). Millennials at Work: What We Know and What We Need to Do (If Anything). Journal of Business and Psychology, 25(2), 191–199.
Drury, P. (2016). Employer branding: Your not-so-secret weapon in the competition for young workers. Human Resource Management International Digest, 24(3), 29–31.
Fesharaki, F., & Sehhat, S. (2018). Islamic human resource management (iHRM) enhancing organizational justice and employees’ commitment Case of a Qard al-Hasan bank in Iran. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 9(1), 204–218.
Fishman, C. (1998). The war talent, Fast Company, Vol. 16, 104-108.
Gilani, H., & Jamshed, S. (2016). An exploratory study on the impact of recruitment process outsourcing on employer branding of an organisation. Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, 9(3), 303–323.
Gomes, D., & Neves, J. (2011). Organizational attractiveness and prospective applicants’ intentions to apply. Personnel Review, 40(6), 684–699.
Highhouse, S., Lievens, F., & Sinar, E. F. (2003). Measuring attraction to organization. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 63 (6), 986-1001.
Hillebrandt, I. and Ivens, B.S. (2013). Scale develop ment in employer branding. In Baumgarth, C. and Boltz, D.-M. (eds), Impulse f¨ur die Markenpraxis und Markenforschung. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien, 65–86.
https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2019/02/08/berapa-pengguna-media-sosial-indonesia
https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/syariah/20190829214435-29-95829/jumlah-bank-syariah-diprediksi-bertambah-20-lagi-kok-bisa
https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/syariah/20190607133414-29-77037/perbankan-syariah-masih-sulit-bersaing-dengan-konvensional
https://bisnis.tempo.co/read/721104/ini-7-masalah-bank-syariah/full&view=ok
https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/syariah/20190607133414-29-77037/perbankan-syariah-masih-sulit-bersaing-dengan-konvensional
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
Igel, C., & Urquhart, V. (2016). Generation Z, meet cooperative learning. Middle School Journal, 43(4), 16–21.
Jamshed, H. G. (2016). An exploratory on the impact of recruitment process outsourcing on employer branding of an organization. Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, 9(3), 303-323.
Kuron, L. K., Lyons, S. T., Schweitzer, L., & Ng, E. S. (2015). Millennial’s work values: differences across th school to work transition. Personal Review, 44 (6), 991-1009.
Lemmink, J., Schuijf, A. & Streukens, S. (2003). The role of corporate image and company employment image in explaining application intentions. Journal of Economic Psychology, 24, 1-15.
Lievens, F., & Highhouse, S. (2003). The relation of instrumental a symbolic attribute to a company's attractiveness as an employer. Personnel Psychology, 75-102.
Maloni, M., Hiatt, M. S., & Campbell, S. (2019). Understanding the work values of Gen Z business students. The International Journal of Management Education, 17(3), 1-13.
Miraja, B. A., Persada, S. F., Prasetyo, Y. T., Belgiawan, P. F., & Redi, A. A. N. P. (2019). Applying protection motivation theory to understand generation Z students intention to comply with educational software anti piracy law. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 14(18), 39–53.
Peres, P., & Mequita, A. (2019). Characteristics and learning Needs of Generation Z, 464–474.
Purwanto, D. (2019). “Tiga Masalah Terbesar di Bank Syariah", https://money.kompas.com/read/2012/08/13/15282835/Tiga.Masalah.Terbesar.di.Bank.Syariah.
Rampl, L. V., & Kenning, P. (2014). Employer brand trust and affect: linking brand personality to employer brand attractiveness. European Journal of Marketing, 48(1), 218–236.
Saini, G.K., Rai, P. & Chaudhary, M.K. (2014). What do best employer surveys reveal about employer branding and intention to apply? Journal of Brand Management, 21, 95–111.
Sarah, B., & Gale, F. (2018). What HR Leaders Need to Know About Generation Z. Workforce, 10.
Schlager, T., Bodderas, M., Maas, P., & Cachelin, J. L. (2011). The influence of the employer brand on employee attitudes relevant for service branding: an empirical investigation. Journal of Services Marketing, 25(7), 497–508.
Sivertzen, A., Nilsen, E. R., & Olafsen, A. H. (2013). Employer branding: employer attractiveness and the use of social media. Journal of Product & Brand Management ,22(7), 473–483.
Sullivan, J. (2004). Eight elements of a successful employment brand. ER Daily, 23, 501- 517.
Tanwar, K., & Kumar, A. (2019). Employer brand, person-organisation fit and employer of choice: Investigating the moderating effect of social media. Personnel Review.
Tanwar, K. & Prasad, A. (2017). Employer brand scale development and validation: a second-order factor approach. Personnel Review 46 (2), 389-409.
Terjesen, S., Vinnicombe, S., & Freeman, C. (2007). Attracting Generation Y graduates: organizational attributes, likehood to apply and sex differences. Career Developmental International, 12 (6), 504-522.
Theurer, C. P., Tumasjan, A., Welpe, I. M., & Lievens, F. (2016). Employer branding: A brand equity-based literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 1–25.
Tóth-kaszás, nikoletta. (2018). Is a mid-sized town enough needed to keep the young people. Management, 13(1), 33–48.
Turban, D., Forret, M. & Hendrickson, C. (1998). Applicant attraction to firms: influences of organization reputation and organizational attributes, and recruiter behaviors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 52, pp. 24-44.
Turban, D.B. (2001). Organizational attractiveness as an employer on college campuses: an examination of the ap- plicant population. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58, 293–312.
Twenge, J. M., Campbell, S. M., Hoffman, B. J., & Lance, C. E. (2010). Generational Differences in Work Values: Leisure and Extrinsic Values Increasing, Social and Intrinsic Values Decreasing. Journal of Management, 36(5), 1117–1142.
Valentic, S.A. (2019). Q&A: How generation Z is shapping the workforce. EHS Today, (October).
Warmerdam, A., Lewis, I., & Banks, T. (2015). Gen Y recruitment: understanding graduate intention to join an organization using theory of planned behavior. Education + Training, 57(5), 560-574.
Watto, M. A., Zhao, S., & Xi, M. (2018). Perceived organizational support and employee well-being Testing the mediatory role of work – family. Chinese Management Studies.
Xie, C., Bagozzi, R. P., & Meland, K. V. (2015). The impact of reputation and identity congruence on employer brand attractiveness. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 33(2), 124–146.
Published
2026-06-21
How to Cite
Mattawappe, A., & Saputra Alam, R. (2026). The Impact of Employer Branding and Social Media on Employer of Choice on Islamic Bank in Attracting Generation Z in Indonesia. Sharia Economic and Management Business Journal (SEMBJ), 7(2), 494-506. https://doi.org/10.62159/sembj.v7i2.2268
Section
Articles
Copyright (c) 2026 Anwar Mattawappe, Ryan Saputra Alam
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