Exploring employer branding dimensions for successful attraction and retention of scholars in Lebanese private higher education institutions

Abstract

In this continuously changing business environment, organizations are struggling to retain top talents. A strong employer brand helps organizations in determining and communicating their distinctive values as an employer of choice. From this perspective, the aim of the study was to explore the values that most attract academicians in Lebanese private higher education institutions and to furtherly study the relationship between employer branding dimensions and employee retention. Drawing from social exchange and reciprocity theories that were used to proceed in this quantitative study, data was purposely collected from 215 academicians from the top 4 ranked private Lebanese higher education institutions adhering to the American patterns in teaching. Results obtained the most important determinant in predicting a strong employer brand for these institutions, which is the development value, as it showed to have a significant perceived importance for academic staff, to be attracted to an employing institution. Further findings revealed that the social value, interest value, and application values have a significant relation with employee retention. As for future research it is recommended to combine quantitative with qualitative approaches, as it would contribute to higher reliability of results.