Employer branding in the age of Industry 5.0: a human-centric framework for attracting Generation Z talent

Purpose This paper aims to examine how employer branding can be reconceptualised in the context of Industry 5.0 to attract and retain Generation Z talent. This study develops a five-level conceptual framework explaining how strategic orientation, organisational enablers and psychological mechanisms shape employer attractiveness and talent outcomes, distinguishing authentic from symbolic Industry 5.0 alignment. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a conceptual design, using level-based theoretical synthesis to integrate six theoretical traditions across the framework’s five levels. Five propositions are derived, each anchored to a specific lens and level, for future empirical testing. Findings The framework repositions employer branding as organisational architecture and employer attractiveness as a mediating mechanism, not terminal outcomes. Five psychological mechanisms are theorised as operating anticipatorily, before employment begins. The authentic-versus-symbolic distinction emerges as a systematic predictor of differential talent outcomes, feeding back into organisational dynamic capability. Research limitations/implications As a conceptual study, the framework requires empirical testing across organisational and institutional contexts, particularly Global South settings where its assumptions may not apply uniformly. Practical implications Employer branding effectiveness may depend on how work is designed and experienced rather than how values are communicated. Organisations may benefit from embedding Industry 5.0 principles into everyday work practices to support meaningful employment relationships and sustainable talent outcomes for Generation Z. Originality/value This paper advances a novel Industry 5.0-based employer branding framework, repositioning employer branding as a human-centric, work-design strategy and introducing anticipatory evaluation and the authentic-versus-symbolic distinction as its central theoretical contributions.