Others who participated in the study are Shane Douthitt and Jennifer Matthews, also of UGA and Tammy Allen of the University of South Florida. The research was presented today at the meeting of the Southern Management Association in Atlanta. Mobility is crucial for employees in many businesses and industries, and it ' s not just the employees who move. Between 1991 and 1995, some 56,000 businesses moved across state lines. Eby said having a mobile work force allows organizations to be more flexible and respond more quickly to competitive pressures.
Relocations can also be important steps in employees ' career development.
There has been anecdotal evidence of a bias in selecting candidates for job relocation, but until the current study, very little empirical evidence of it. The research reported today makes clear that managers give females and employees with working spouses fewer chances to relocate. Despite the perception that these employees would be less likely to accept a relocation, their acceptance rates for relocation were no different than rates for employees in other categories. Participants were 144 undergraduate students at the University of Georgia, who were asked to evaluate job candidates who had carefully developed fictitious application forms, external letters of recommendation, personal statements, detailed resumes and personal background information. A videotaped segment of the applicant ' s performance was also provided to increase realism.