Organizational Psychology

The aim of this article is to give a contextual description of personnel selection in Europe, and to highlight some typical features and recent trends in practice and research. We begin with describing the socioeconomic environment in which European personnel selection is embedded. Next, we take a closer look at the institutional settings in which personnel selection takes place and its underlying principles. Consequently we review and discuss recent empirical evidence on selection practices and methods, and interpret observed characteristics in terms of contextual differences. Looking at recent changes in the European organizational environment, we note that selection practices exhibit a certain degree of conservatism, and that selection research and theory are slow in addressing new issues. The lack of responsiveness to the changing context is attributed to a continued adherence to the ‘‘right man in the right place’’ paradigm. As an alternative paradigm we propose the ‘‘theatre model’’ of selection, which seems more suitable to tune personnel selection to current contextual demands. Finally, we present a view of the future agenda for European
selection research.