Employer brand equity and organizational attractiveness of the Big Four

Abstract 0

Large auditing and consulting firms, known as the Big Four (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC) compete each year to recruit thousands of candidates, especially young graduates. In this context, their employer brand equity, i.e. the value of the employer brand in relation to the benefits that the employer is able to offer, is decisive in attracting these candidates. While the studies carried out so far have favored an internal vision by considering the advantages and disadvantages associated by employees with working in these Big Four, this research relies on employer brand equity theory to analyze what dimensions of employer brand equity influence the organizational attractiveness of these firms to potential human resources. The questionnaire-based survey carried out on 617 students at the end of specialized courses in finance/accounting makes it possible to identify that the employer brand equity of the Big Four is made up of five dimensions (Career springboard, Quality of work life, Apprenticeship, Compensation, and International) which positively influence the intention to apply and to continue the recruitment process. General attractiveness appears as a total mediating variable for two dimensions (Compensation and International) and partial for three dimensions (Career springboard, QWL, and Apprenticeship). These results make it possible to enrich the literature and to formulate recommendations for employer branding.