This paper investigates the role of physical attractiveness in retail managersâ??\ndecisions about hiring salespeople. Using data on attractiveness and the potential\nemployment qualifications of 30 candidates, we found that retail\nmanagers prefer to hire candidates who are more physically attractive. This\nbeauty premium can be explained by our findings on the positive correlation\nbetween candidatesâ?? attractiveness and the perceived presence of traits essential\nfor becoming a successful salesperson, such as charisma, kindness and\npersuasiveness. We also found that beauty plays a more important role for\nfemale candidates, from the earliest stage of the hiring process. No difference\nwas found between the beauty premiums in the decisions of male and female\nretail managers. When this studyâ??s results are coupled with results from previous\nstudies demonstrating that an employeeâ??s attractiveness has been found\nto influence both performance and behaviors of customers and managers, the\nmanagerial relevance of the attractiveness effect becomes apparent. Based on\nour findings, we recommend that retail managers remain vigilant about the\npotential for intentional or unintentional biases based on physical appearance\nwhen hiring employees.
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