Employer branding is a widely adopted strategy by organizations seeking to attract and retain talented employees. While the benefits of investments in employer branding are well-documented, less attention has been paid to the heightened expectations regarding organizations’ future actions that arise from high levels of employer brand equity. This study builds on an expectation-based perspective of employer brand equity to examine how different levels of employer brand equity (high vs. low) influence individuals’ reactions to rejection letters (prototypical vs. appreciative) in terms of changes in organizational attractiveness. Using a three-wave quasi-experimental vignette study, we investigate how employer brand equity and rejection letters shift organizational attractiveness throughout a fictitious application process. Results from a repeated-measures ANOVA reveal that an appreciative rejection letter fully mitigates the typically negative effects of rejection on organizational attractiveness for organizations with high employer brand equity. Conversely, using a prototypical rejection letter for organizations with high employer brand equity, leads to a significant decline in organizational attractiveness, quickly eroding previously built employer brand equity. These findings underscore the importance of managing the expectations generated by employer brand equity and provide actionable insights for both research and practice.
