The impact of human resource management practices on intention to leave of employees in the service industry in India: the mediating role of organizational commitment

TLDR

Prior HRM turnover studies have largely focused on the HR manager’s perspective. The study investigates how eight HRM practices affect employees’ intention to leave and whether organizational commitment mediates this relationship, using an employee‑centred perspective. Data were collected via an internet survey of 183 service‑sector employees in India and analyzed with multiple and hierarchical linear regression. HRM practices reduce employees’ intention to leave, a relationship partially mediated by organizational commitment, underscoring the need for HR to prioritize employee perceptions and create a friendly work environment.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a bundle of eight human resource management practices on intention to leave, and to examine the mediating effect of organizational commitment on the relationship between the HRM practices and intention to leave of employees of a service organization in India. Most of the prior HRM practices–employee turnover studies have been from the HR manager's point of view. This study took a different approach and studied this relationship from an employee's point of view. Internet survey questionnaires were used to collect the data from 183 employees working in a service company in India. Multiple linear regression and hierarchical linear regression analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses. The study found not only that the HRM practices lower employee intentions to leave, but also that this relationship is partially mediated by organizational commitment. The results of the study not only supported that organizations should focus on employee perceptions of the organizations' HRM practices but also indicated that human resources should go beyond establishing policies and procedures to providing an employee-friendly work environment (Biswas and Varma 2007).