Competing for Talent: Addressing the Biggest is Best Assumptions Through Small Accounting Firms' Recruiting Practices

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bills, Kenneth L.; Hayne, Christie; Stein, Sarah E.
• 署名单位: Michigan State University; Michigan State University's Broad College of Business; University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
• 刊物名称: ACCOUNTING REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4826; 1558-7967
• DOI: 10.2308/TAR-2024-0800
• 发表日期: 2026-07
• 页码: 57-85
• 关键词: small accounting firms; Recruiting; Field study; FATALISM; imitation; differentiation; big 4; job choice; audit; ORGANIZATIONS; performance; INVESTMENT; decisions; premium; IMPACT; work

摘要

Recruiting talent is a major issue for the accounting profession and is especially salient for small firms with limited resources and brand recognition. In this study, we examine the challenges small accounting firms face when recruiting from universities and the strategies they use to overcome them. Drawing on interviews with 34 stakeholders (primarily recruiting specialists and human resource managers), we develop a process model of small-firm recruiting and present evidence related to each phase: (1) targeting certain universities and students, (2) engaging in university recruiting activities, (3) extending offers, and (4) aiming to evaluate recruiting outcomes. Guided by theory, our findings reveal that small accounting firms develop organizational familiarity and image with students while navigating fatalism and balancing imitation and differentiation in their recruiting strategies. We conclude with a call to reconsider the biggest is best assumptions that dominate mainstream accounting research and provide suggestions for future research.