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The IUP Journal of Organizational Behavior

Graduating Students' Job Search Intensity: The Impact of Social Support Dimensions and Employment Commitment

Article Details

Pub. Date	: October, 2021
Product Name	: The IUP Journal of Organizational Behavior
Product Type	: Article
Product Code	: IJOB141021
Author Name	: Chetna Priyadarshini
Availability	: YES
Subject/Domain	: Arts & Humanities
Download Format	: PDF Format
No. of Pages	: 13

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Abstract

This paper intends to propose a conceptual framework on the personal and contextual antecedents of job search intensity among the final year job-seeking university students in India. It focuses on three dimensions of social support, viz., emotional, financial and informational, received by the graduating students during their job search process. The paper also proposes that the social support dimensions will have a differential impact on the job search behavior exhibited by the entry level job seekers. Further, it discusses the impact of employment commitment on job seekers' search intensity. Besides, the paper proposes a conceptual model that can be used to study the mediating role of job search selfefficacy and job search clarity on the relationship between social support dimensions and job search intensity, and employment commitment and job search intensity.

Introduction

In recent years, concern over elevating youth unemployment rate in India has been raised repeatedly by the national and international bodies (ASSOCHAM, 2016). The unemployment rate of educated youth has been reported to be higher than the overall unemployment rate in both rural and urban India (Ministry of Labor and Employment Labor Bureau, 2014). The inability to find a job often leads to depression, stress, anxiety (Wanberg et al., 1999), and a sense of incompetence among others (Kulik, 2000). In particular, unemployment is reported to be taxing amongst the recent college graduates due to lack of work experience (Swanson and Tokar, 1991). Given the significance of first job in one's life and the negative consequences associated with unemployment, it is relevant to examine the factors that contribute to an effective job search behavior by the new entrants and lead to favorable employment outcomes (Kreemers et al., 2021).

Job search behavior refers to identifying the presence of job opportunities and gathering more detailed information on selected job alternatives (Barber et al., 1994; and van Hooft et al., 2021). Kanfer et al. (2001) suggested that job search is a self-regulated behavior directed towards identification of and commitment to an employment goal. Boswell