A Comparison of East and West on the effect of Age Discrimination on the Hiring Process.
Summary
Age discrimination for younger workers in the hiring process is left unexplored by academic
research. To contribute to resolving the issues that prevent young workers from being hired by
companies, we set up an experiment: participants (N=131) were asked to rate their willingness
to hire two hypothetical candidates. We employed a mixed design with culture (west vs. east)
and age attitudes as between-subject moderators, and age of the applicant (young vs. adult) as
within-subject variable. The dependent variable was the willingness to hire the hypothetical
applicants. Unexpectedly, the effect of applicant age on willingness to hire was not
significant: participants were equally willing to hire both candidates. This effect was
independent of culture or age attitudes. Our results suggest young age itself may not be an
underlying factor for discrimination. Education levels and expected company cost should be
further explored in a choice setting closer to the hiring process.