Affective and normative forces between HCHRM and turnover intention in China

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the affective and normative mechanisms linking high-commitment human resource management (HCHRM) to employee turnover intention. Accordingly, the authors hypothesize that positive affect and group job satisfaction mediate the relationship between HCHRM and turnover intention.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a sample of 471 employees and their supervisors from 53 assembly lines in China, the hypotheses were tested with hierarchical linear modeling.

Findings

The results suggested that both positive affect and group job satisfaction significantly mediated the negative relationship between HCHRM and turnover intention. Moreover, the indirect effect of HCHRM on turnover intention via group job satisfaction was larger than that via positive affect.

Practical implications

In the Chinese context, HCHRM practices are effective in reducing turnover intention of the first-line employees on assembly lines. Organizations should show concerns for front-line workers’ positive affect and group job satisfaction to reduce their turnover intention.

Originality/value

The present research contributes to the extant literatures by uncovering the affective and normative mechanisms of the HCHRM-turnover intention association.

Citation

Lu, X., Tu, Y., Li, Y. and Ho, C.-C. (2016), "Affective and normative forces between HCHRM and turnover intention in China", Employee Relations, Vol. 38 No. 5, pp. 741-754. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-09-2015-0181