Do employees' perceptions of HR practices in South African firms affect their subsequent turnover destinations?
Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Employee turnover is an ongoing issue in organisations because it has long been \nthought to detriment overall organisational efficiency and performance (Lee, Gerhart, Weller \n& Trevor, 2008; Takeuchi, Chen & Lepak, 2009; Trevor, 2001). Managers are only able to \nobserve and control some aspects or influencers of turnover (Dalton, Todor & Krackhardt, \n1982). Placing voluntary turnover drivers in context with human resource (HR) practices \nmight provide a means through which managers can understand the less visible aspects of \nturnover. HR practices may assist managers to reduce the controllable (evident) and less \nobservable drivers of voluntary turnover. \nMarch and Simon (1958), the seminal employee turnover theorists, suggest that the \nvoluntary turnover decision has two competing aspects – desirability of the current job and \ndesirability of alternatives. The perceived utility an employee garners from the current job \nmight define the desirability of the current job. The more desirable the current job, the \ngreater satisfaction and lower the likelihood of a quit. The potential utility the individual \ndeems available from perceived alternative opportunities might define the desirability of \nalternatives. If the potential utility of an alternative outweighs the utility garnered by the \ncurrent job, a quit seems more likely (March & Simon, 1958). \nGenerally, mainstream voluntary turnover research has placed emphasis on \nunderstanding turnover antecedents in the current organisation - the aspects that lower the \nperceived utility garnered by the current job (Kirschenbaum & Weisberg, 2002). However, \nconsiderably less research has focused on the alternative that draws the employee away \nfrom their current job (Kirschenbaum & Weisberg, 2002). The alternative to which the \nindividual moves is the turnover destination. The turnover destination contributes towards \nthe withdrawal process because the person perceived the alternative as more desirable than \nthe current job, increasing the likelihood of a quit. \nObserving organisational performance may provide an important means through \nwhich to examine the effect turnover destinations may have on withdrawal. Strategic human \nresource management (SHRM) and similar organisational development fields hold a \nparticular view on organisational performance. SHRM theorists have paid particular \nattention to the implementation of high-performance human resource (HR) practices in \norganisations. Predominantly, extensive research has been conducted on the effect highiii \nperformance HR practices might have on organisational performance and retention. SHRM \ntheorists suggest that a combination (system) of high-performance HR practices correctly \nimplemented in the firm, and aligned with organisational strategy, should bring about \nimproved organisational performance and employee retention (Arthur, 1994; Carmeli & \nSchaubroeck, 2005; Combs, Liu, Hall & Ketchen, 2006; Shaw, Gupta & Delery, 2005; \nSubramony, 2009; Youndt, Snell, Dean & Lepak, 1996; Wood, 1999). \nThe field of turnover destination research highlights the role of turnover destinations \nin the voluntary turnover process. Specifically, turnover destination theorists postulate that \nantecedents present in the current firm affect the quit decision by influencing the intensity of \nthe desire to leave, and the perception of alternative opportunities shapes the choice of \nturnover destination (Kirschenbaum & Mano-Negrin, 1999; Kirschenbaum & Weisberg, \n2002). Research in the field focuses on the influence turnover destinations might have on \nturnover intentions, moving away from the traditional focus of internal organisational \nantecedents and personal factors (Kirschenbaum & Weisberg, 2002). \nThe relationship between high-performance HR practices and turnover destinations \nhas not been extensively tested empirically, with few known studies in existence (for \nexample: Fields, Dingman, Roman & Blum, 2005). Therefore, there is opportunity for \ngreater research in the field. The developing South African economy is a suitable \nenvironment in which to measure whether high-performance HR practices affect turnover \ndestinations at the individual-level, as no known research has been conducted. The South \nAfrican economy is said to be suffering from the mass emigration of highly skilled \nindividuals, who mostly move to developed countries with less prominent societal issues \nand less restrictive labour policies, amongst other reasons (Kerr-Phillips & Thomas, 2009; \nMcDonald & Crush, 2002). A key interest for this research is the role experience of highperformance \nHR practices might play in emigration of South African white-collar workers. \nThe study explores the relationship between high-performance HR practices and \nturnover destinations by measuring met expectations and turnover intentions. The objective \nof the empirical study is to establish whether experience of high-performance HR practices \nin the current job affect the likelihood of particular turnover destinations. \nA quantitative study, using a two-part time-separated survey, was conducted on \nwhite-collar workers from three South African provinces, including Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu \niv \nNatal and the Western Cape. The first part of the survey measured respondents’ perceptions \nof the levels of actual high-performance HR practice provision in the current organisation. In \naddition, respondent expectations about the adequate level of the practices (that should \nretain them in their current jobs) were measured. The second part of the survey measured \nrespondents’ intentions to move into a predefined set of turnover destinations. \nThe final sample of 386 participants was used to analyse the impact of interactions \nbetween actual and adequate high-performance HR practices on a variety of turnover \ndestinations, using polynomial regression analysis and response surface methodology. \nOverall, the results showed that a system of high-performance HR practices exert a \nweak to moderate influence on the predefined turnover destinations. Generally, South \nAfricans with lower expectations about high-performance HR practice provision appear less \nlikely to leave a job when the employer places greater emphasis on the practices. However, \nthe likelihood of internal transfer and moving into a different organisation increases for \nindividuals who possess higher expectations about high-performance HR practice provision, \nand have experienced higher levels of actual provision. The findings also show that, for the \nmost part, the likelihood of emigration increases in employees with lower actual provision \nof high-performance HR practices, largely contradicting expectations about emigration. \nThe increase in the likelihood of internal transfers and moves to external \norganisations, despite higher actual high-performance HR practice provision, might point \ntowards over-provision of the practices, or the possibility of continuance commitment in \nSouth African employees. The findings suggest that, rather than higher emphasis of highperformance \nHR practices providing a means for emigration, broader external societal \nconditions may be motivating the emigration of skilled South Africans. \nAs the results showed that a set of high-performance HR practices may exert a weak \nto moderate influence on turnover destination selection, there are recommendations for \nmanagers and future research. Implications for managers include promoting the \nimplementation of a set of high-performance HR practices in the organisation. Researchers \nin the turnover destinations field should endeavour to measure actual turnover, rather than \nintentions in future studies.
Author: Stacy Katherine Bussio
Language: English
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: National Research Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W2286509486