Abstract
ELECTUS is an Italian multi-centre research project with the aim of reinforcing the relationship between the academic world and business. Through this project, it is possible to acquire information about entrepreneurs’ new graduate recruitment strategies. Using a CAWI survey, Lombardy companies with at least 15 employees were asked to indicate their preferences in choosing among hypothetical profiles of new graduates with different competencies. In this study, a conjoint analysis is performed to identify the features of a graduate’s profile that employers prefer for a potential candidate for the position of a customer relationship management assistant. From a methodological point of view, starting from the part-worth utilities of conjoint analysis, a new indicator of relative importance of attributes is introduced to measure the monetary value for the skills possessed by the candidates.
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Notes
The K alternatives are given by the combination of presence or absence of the \(x_{jh}\).
Following this approach all competencies are treated as single variables and all interactions are ignored, even if the approach seems reductive. In fact, a business-oriented mentality-such as that represented by practicing foreign languages and travelling-heavily depends on the field of study. Even the final mark of graduates interacts with the field of study and this interaction defines, or in any case correlates with the so called human capital.
The values are 20 for \(I_j\) and 16 for \(I^*_j\).
The values are 10 for \(I_j\) and 8 for \(I^*_j\).
The values of the correlations of the ranks obtained by the CA with the rank obtained by the direct ranking of attributes are 0.426 and 0.543 respectively for \(I_j\) and for \(I^*_j\).
For lower limit, we mean \(V_{(0.025),j}\).
For upper limit, we mean \(V_{(0.975),j}\).
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Prof. Luigi Fabbris for involving us in the ELECTUS project and for helpful advices. The authors also thank the two anonymous referees for their valuable suggestions.
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Mariani, P., Marletta, A. & Zenga, M. A New Relative Importance Index of Evaluation for Conjoint Analysis: Some Findings for CRM Assistant. Soc Indic Res 146, 135–148 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-1980-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-1980-6