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Online reviews about employers can "significantly" impact the opinions of thousands of current and potential employees, and how organisations respond can turn "threat management" into an employer branding strategy, new research shows.

In studying employer responsiveness to online reviews, German researchers Christoph E. Höllig, Endrit Ademi, and Andranik Tumasjan found employers that respond to reviews from current and former employees send "a signal of care".

Noting that responses to negative reviews "may serve as a valuable means of repairing a damaged reputation", the researchers say they also "serve a purpose beyond threat management".

By signalling that they care about employees, employers can indirectly control online reviews, they found...