Recruitment and Selection in the Public Sector: Do Rules Shape Managers’ Practices?

This study investigates the effects of optimal rule control on recruitment and selection practices in public organizations. Although rules are argued to constrain organizational practices and organizational performance, there is limited knowledge about the relationship of optimal rule control to recruitment and selection practices from a managerial perspective. By conducting a study with survey responses from 1,000 public frontline managers, combined with administrative data, this article investigates how optimal rule control is associated with the formation of recruitment objectives and selections based on values and cultural fit. Findings indicate a positive relationship between optimal rule control and the formation of recruitment objectives and selections based on fit. Unexpectedly, managerial tenure does not seem to moderate the association between optimal rule control and recruitment and selection practices. The study contributes to the public human resource management literature by focusing on the influence of organizational rules on human resource practices.