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Unraveling the Big Four Enigma: Exploring Identity-Forming Communication and Retention Intentions Among Generation Z in the Big Four

Gustafsson, Clara LU and Adolfsson, Linn LU (2024) SKOM12 20241
Department of Strategic Communication
Abstract
In the competitive landscape of the modern business world, human capital stands as the cornerstone of organizational success. Retaining talented employees, particularly within Generation Z due to their high demands and aspirations, poses a great chal-lenge for organizations. This study investigates the impact of employer branding strategies on the employment intentions for retention of Generation Z employees within the “Big Four” (Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, EY) firms in Sweden. By integrating theories of employer branding and social identity theory (SIT), the study aims to understand how Generation Z employees perceive their employer’s communication efforts surrounding organizational identity and how it affects their retention inten-tions.
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In the competitive landscape of the modern business world, human capital stands as the cornerstone of organizational success. Retaining talented employees, particularly within Generation Z due to their high demands and aspirations, poses a great chal-lenge for organizations. This study investigates the impact of employer branding strategies on the employment intentions for retention of Generation Z employees within the “Big Four” (Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, EY) firms in Sweden. By integrating theories of employer branding and social identity theory (SIT), the study aims to understand how Generation Z employees perceive their employer’s communication efforts surrounding organizational identity and how it affects their retention inten-tions.
Adopting an interpretivist paradigm with a phenomenological approach, we collected our empirical material through in-depth interviews. Analyzing the results through employer branding and SIT, the findings highlight the significance of iden-tity-forming communication in influencing retention intention among Generation Z employees. More importantly, the results indicated that the Big Four organizations lack monolithic organizational identities, and that their employer brands are not per-ceived as being fully authentic, with high workloads and hierarchies being explained as the key factors. The primary identification within these organizations lay within the own work group, creating uncertainty and uneven dynamics when the groups change due to the high turnover rates. It is argued that the main reason for this is that the business models of these organizations do not aim for long-term retention, but instead rely on reputation and image. This study contributes to further understand-ings on how employer branding and SIT can be combined to increase employee re-tention. (Less)
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author
Gustafsson, Clara LU and Adolfsson, Linn LU
supervisor
organization
course
SKOM12 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
employee retention, employer branding, organizational identity, social identity theory, Generation Z, Big Four
language
English
id
9156045
date added to LUP
2024-06-14 16:18:15
date last changed
2024-06-14 16:18:15
@misc{9156045,
  abstract     = {{In the competitive landscape of the modern business world, human capital stands as the cornerstone of organizational success. Retaining talented employees, particularly within Generation Z due to their high demands and aspirations, poses a great chal-lenge for organizations. This study investigates the impact of employer branding strategies on the employment intentions for retention of Generation Z employees within the “Big Four” (Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, EY) firms in Sweden. By integrating theories of employer branding and social identity theory (SIT), the study aims to understand how Generation Z employees perceive their employer’s communication efforts surrounding organizational identity and how it affects their retention inten-tions. 
Adopting an interpretivist paradigm with a phenomenological approach, we collected our empirical material through in-depth interviews. Analyzing the results through employer branding and SIT, the findings highlight the significance of iden-tity-forming communication in influencing retention intention among Generation Z employees. More importantly, the results indicated that the Big Four organizations lack monolithic organizational identities, and that their employer brands are not per-ceived as being fully authentic, with high workloads and hierarchies being explained as the key factors. The primary identification within these organizations lay within the own work group, creating uncertainty and uneven dynamics when the groups change due to the high turnover rates. It is argued that the main reason for this is that the business models of these organizations do not aim for long-term retention, but instead rely on reputation and image. This study contributes to further understand-ings on how employer branding and SIT can be combined to increase employee re-tention.}},
  author       = {{Gustafsson, Clara and Adolfsson, Linn}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Unraveling the Big Four Enigma: Exploring Identity-Forming Communication and Retention Intentions Among Generation Z in the Big Four}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}