Examining the relationships between HR practices, organizational job embeddedness, job satisfaction, and quit intention

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to extend job embeddedness research by investigating employees’ perception of human resource (HR) practices as the predictors of organizational job embeddedness, and its mediating role between HR practices and quit intention. It also assesses the moderating effect of job satisfaction on the job embeddedness-turnover relationship. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey from 1,028 accountants in various disciplines from one of the largest corporations in Thailand, including its numerous subsidiaries and joint ventures. Hypotheses were tested and analyzed by means of a confirmatory factor analysis, multiple regressions, and a bootstrapping procedure. The results reveal that all HR practices except training are positively related to organizational job embeddedness. Analysis also provides support for the mediating effects on quit intention of two HR practices, namely rewards and career development, through organizational job embeddedness. In addition, the interaction effect shows that the negative relationship between organizational job embeddedness and quit intention reduces when job satisfaction is high. The current research took place among accountants. Replicating the study in a variety of business sectors, professions, or cultures would be useful for the generalizability of the findings. Several HR strategies and tactics can help improve employee loyalty. Particularly effective are attractive rewards that reflect work values, and a promising career roadmap. Organizations might need to consider work conditions that sustain job satisfaction for turnover prevention in the short-term, and continuously manage long-term retention through embeddedness. This study extends current research by investigating the relationships of so far untested theorized antecedents that clarify how employees become embedded in the workplace in order to keep them from quitting.