A Comparison of East and West on the effect of Age Discrimination on the Hiring Process.

Abstract

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.