Exploring Stereotypes and Hiring Intentions Toward People With Disabilities Among Business Administration Students: The Mediating Role of Attitudes Toward Hiring People With Disabilities

This research aims to examine the mediating role of attitudes toward hiring people with disabilities on the relationship between stereotypes of prospective employers and hiring intentions toward people with disabilities (PwD). Although employer perceptions are often cited as barriers to disability inclusion, less is known about how these evaluations take shape before individuals enter formal hiring roles. We address this gap by testing whether attitudes toward hiring PwD indirectly link stereotypes to hiring intentions among business administration students. The study included 163 individuals from Romania aged 19-33 years (M = 21.52, SD = 2.57), all of whom were business administration students preparing for future roles as employers. Our findings revealed that stereotyping is negatively related to both attitudes and hiring intentions toward PwD, while positive attitudes are associated with greater hiring intentions. Moreover, attitudes toward hiring people with disabilities had a mediating role on the relationship between stereotypes and hiring intentions. These results support the relevance of the theory of planned behavior in explaining hiring-related processes and highlight the importance of attitudes as a psychological mechanism linking stereotypes to behavioral intentions. Based on our findings, theoretical and practical implications for higher education institutions and teachers are discussed, aimed at improving the initial training framework in diversity and inclusion for future employers.