Power of Involvement over Rewards for Retention Likelihood in IT Professionals
Retention in the IT profession is critical for
organizations to stay competitive and operate reliably in the dynamic
business environment. Most organizations rely on compensation and
rewards as primary tools to enhance retention of employees. In this
quantitative survey-based study conducted at a large global bank, we
analyze the perceptions of 575 information technology (IT) software
professionals in India and Malaysia and find that fairness of rewards
has very little impact on retention likelihood. It is far more important
to actively involve employees in organizational activities. In
addition, our findings indicate that involvement is far more important
than information flow: the typical organizational communication to
keep employees informed.
[1] J. C. Brancheau, B. D. Janz, and J. C. Wetherbe, "Key issues in
information systems management: 1994-95 Sim Delphi results," MIS
Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 225-242, 1996.
[2] D. Joseph, K. Ng, C. Soh, and S. Ang, "Turnover of Information
Technology Professionals: A Narrative Review, Meta-Analytic
Structural Equation Modeling, and Model Development," MIS
Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 547-577, 2007.
[3] N. Khatri, C. T. Fern, and P. Budhwar, "Explaining employee turnover
in an Asian context," Human Resource Management J., vol. 11, no. 1,
pp. 54-74, 2006.
[4] S. R. Glaser, S. Zamamou, and K. Hacker, "Measuring and interpreting
organizational culture," Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 1,
pp. 173-198, 1987.
[5] B. Becker and B. Gerhart, "The Impact of Human Resource
Management on Organizational Performance: Progress and Prospects,"
Academy of Management J., vol. 39, pp. 779-801, 1996.
[6] P. M. Wright and W. Boswell, "Desegregating HRM: A Review and
Synthesis of Micro and Macro Human Resource Management
Research," J. of Management, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 247-276 , 2002.
[7] K. J. Sigler, "Challenges of employee retention," Management Research
News, vol. 22, no. 10, pp. 1 - 5, 1999.
[8] R. Forrester, "Empowerment: Rejuvenating a potent idea, " Academy of
Management Executive, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 67-80, 2000.
[9] T. R. Mitchell, B. C. Holtom, T. W. Lee, C. J. Sablynski, and M. Erez,
"Why people stay: Using job embeddedness to predict voluntary
turnover, " Academy of Management J., vol. 44, pp. 1102-1121, 2001.
[10] M. Igbaria and S. R. Siegel, "The reasons for turnover of information
systems personnel," Information and Management, vol. 23, pp. 321-330,
1992.
[11] J. E. Sheridan, "Organizational Culture and Employee Retention,"
Academy of Management J., vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 1036-1056, 1992.
[12] J. E. Moore, "One Road to Turnover: An Examination of Work
Exhaustion in Technology Professionals," MIS Quarterly, vol. 24, no. 1,
141-168, 2000.
[13] G. Paré, M. Tremblay, and P. Lalonde, "The impact of human resources
practices on IT personnel commitment, citizenship behaviors, and
turnover intentions (Published Conference Proceedings style)," in Proc.
21st International Conf. Information Systems, Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia, 2000, pp. 461-466.
[14] O. Hargie, "Auditing communication practices to improve the
management of human resources: A regional study," Health Services
Management Research, vol. 9, pp. 209-222, 1996.
[15] O. Hargie and D. Tourish, "Auditing internal communication to build
business success," Internal Communication Focus, vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 10-
14, 1996.
[16] B. Tourish, "Evaluating internal communications in local authority
leisure facilities: A case study from a leisure complex," Managing
Leisure, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 155-173, 1997.
[17] P. P. G. Clampitt, "Employee perceptions of the relationship between
communication and productivity: A field study," J. of Business
Communication, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 5-28, 1993.
[18] R. Snyder and J. Morris, "Organizational communication and
performance," J. of Applied Psychology, vol. 69, no. 3, pp. 461-465,
1984.
[19] M. W. Allen, "Communication concepts related to perceived
organizational support," Western J. of Communication, vol. 59, pp. 326-
346, 1995.
[20] J. E. Mathieu and S. R. Taylor, "Clarifying conditions and decision
points for mediational type inferences in organizational behavior," J. of
Organizational Behavior, vol. 27, no. 8, pp. 1031-1056, 2006.
[21] P. K. Blum and V. Q. Tremarco, High Potential PR Professionals Thrive
on Challenge: A Study of Employee Turnover and Retention in the
Public Relations Industry, International Communications Consultancy
Organisation and Institute for Public Relations, Gainesville, FL, 2008.
[22] D. G. Spencer, "Employee Voice and Employee Retention," The
Academy of Management J., vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 488-502, 1986.
[23] B. P. Niehoff and R. H. Moorman, "Justice as a Mediator of the
Relationship between Methods of Monitoring and Organizational
Citizenship Behavior," The Academy of Management J., vol. 36, no. 3,
pp. 527-556, 1993.
[24] P. M. Wright and W. R. Boswell, "Desegregating HRM: A Review and
Synthesis of Micro and Macro Human Resource Management
Research," J. of Management, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 247-276, 2002.
[25] R. J. Vandenberg, H. A. Richardson, and L. J. Eastman, "The Impact of
High Involvement Work Processes on Organizational Effectiveness: A
Second-Order Latent Variable Approach," Group & Organization
Management, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 300-339, 1999.
[26] B. P. Niehoff and R. H. Moorman, "Exploring the relationships between
top management behaviors and employee perceptions of fairness,"
International J. of Public Administration, vol. 19, pp. 941-961, 1996.
[27] B. L. Mak and H. Sockel, "A confirmatory factor analysis of IS
employee motivation and retention," Information & Management, vol.
38, pp. 265-276, 2001.
[28] J. B. Thatcher, L. P. Stepina, and R. J. Boyle, "Turnover of information
technology workers: Examining empirically the influence of attitudes,
job characteristics, and external markets," J. of Management Information
Systems, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 231-261, 2002.
[29] K. Kotzé and G. Roodt, "Factors that Affect the Retention of Managerial
and Specialist Staff: An Exploratory Study of an Employee Commitment
Model," J. of Human Resource Management, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 48-55,
2005.
[30] E. A. Ward, "Relation of job satisfaction and job knowledge and their
effect on intention to turnover," Psychological Reports, vol. 63, no. 2,
pp. 611-615, 1988.
[31] L. E. Blankertz and S. E. Robinson, "Who is psychosocial rehabilitation
worker?" Psychiatric Rehabilitation J., vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 3-13, 1996.
[32] A. Hytter, " Retention Strategies in France and Sweden," Irish J. of
Management, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 59-79, 2007.
[33] P. Boxall, K. Macky, and Rasmussen, E. "Labour turnover and retention
in New Zealand: The causes and consequences of leaving and staying
with employers," Asia Pacific J.of Human Resources, vol. 41, no. 2, pp.
195-214, 2003.
[34] C. Fornell and D. F. Larcker, "Evaluating Structural Equation Models
with Unoberservable Variables and Measurement Error," J. of Marketing
Research, vol. 18, pp. 39-50, 1981.
[35] P. E. Shrout and N. Bolger, "Mediation in Experimental and
Nonexperimental Studies: New Procedures and Recommendations,"
Psychological Method, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 422-445, 2002.
[36] J. P. Guthrie, "High-involvement work practices, turnover, and
productivity: Evidence from New Zealand," The Academy of
Management J., vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 180-190, 2001.
[37] T. R. Mitchell, B. C. Holtom, T. W. Lee, and T. Graske, "How to keep
your best employees: Developing an effective retention policy," The
Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 96-109, 2001.
[38] M. Hannay and M. Northam, "Low-Cost Strategies for Employee
Retention," Compensation & Benefits Review, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 65-72,
2000.
[39] P. P. Brooke Jr., D.W. Russell, and J. L. Price "Discriminant validation
of measures of job satisfaction, job involvement and organizational
commitment," J. of Applied Psychology, vol. 73, no. 2, pp. 139-145,
1988.
[40] J. J. Baroudi, "The Impact of Role Variables on IS Personnel Work
Attitudes and Intentions," MIS Quarterly, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 341-356,
1985.
[41] R. M. Steers, "Antecedents and Outcomes of Organizational
Commitment," Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 46-
56, 1977.
[1] J. C. Brancheau, B. D. Janz, and J. C. Wetherbe, "Key issues in
information systems management: 1994-95 Sim Delphi results," MIS
Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 225-242, 1996.
[2] D. Joseph, K. Ng, C. Soh, and S. Ang, "Turnover of Information
Technology Professionals: A Narrative Review, Meta-Analytic
Structural Equation Modeling, and Model Development," MIS
Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 547-577, 2007.
[3] N. Khatri, C. T. Fern, and P. Budhwar, "Explaining employee turnover
in an Asian context," Human Resource Management J., vol. 11, no. 1,
pp. 54-74, 2006.
[4] S. R. Glaser, S. Zamamou, and K. Hacker, "Measuring and interpreting
organizational culture," Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 1,
pp. 173-198, 1987.
[5] B. Becker and B. Gerhart, "The Impact of Human Resource
Management on Organizational Performance: Progress and Prospects,"
Academy of Management J., vol. 39, pp. 779-801, 1996.
[6] P. M. Wright and W. Boswell, "Desegregating HRM: A Review and
Synthesis of Micro and Macro Human Resource Management
Research," J. of Management, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 247-276 , 2002.
[7] K. J. Sigler, "Challenges of employee retention," Management Research
News, vol. 22, no. 10, pp. 1 - 5, 1999.
[8] R. Forrester, "Empowerment: Rejuvenating a potent idea, " Academy of
Management Executive, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 67-80, 2000.
[9] T. R. Mitchell, B. C. Holtom, T. W. Lee, C. J. Sablynski, and M. Erez,
"Why people stay: Using job embeddedness to predict voluntary
turnover, " Academy of Management J., vol. 44, pp. 1102-1121, 2001.
[10] M. Igbaria and S. R. Siegel, "The reasons for turnover of information
systems personnel," Information and Management, vol. 23, pp. 321-330,
1992.
[11] J. E. Sheridan, "Organizational Culture and Employee Retention,"
Academy of Management J., vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 1036-1056, 1992.
[12] J. E. Moore, "One Road to Turnover: An Examination of Work
Exhaustion in Technology Professionals," MIS Quarterly, vol. 24, no. 1,
141-168, 2000.
[13] G. Paré, M. Tremblay, and P. Lalonde, "The impact of human resources
practices on IT personnel commitment, citizenship behaviors, and
turnover intentions (Published Conference Proceedings style)," in Proc.
21st International Conf. Information Systems, Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia, 2000, pp. 461-466.
[14] O. Hargie, "Auditing communication practices to improve the
management of human resources: A regional study," Health Services
Management Research, vol. 9, pp. 209-222, 1996.
[15] O. Hargie and D. Tourish, "Auditing internal communication to build
business success," Internal Communication Focus, vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 10-
14, 1996.
[16] B. Tourish, "Evaluating internal communications in local authority
leisure facilities: A case study from a leisure complex," Managing
Leisure, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 155-173, 1997.
[17] P. P. G. Clampitt, "Employee perceptions of the relationship between
communication and productivity: A field study," J. of Business
Communication, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 5-28, 1993.
[18] R. Snyder and J. Morris, "Organizational communication and
performance," J. of Applied Psychology, vol. 69, no. 3, pp. 461-465,
1984.
[19] M. W. Allen, "Communication concepts related to perceived
organizational support," Western J. of Communication, vol. 59, pp. 326-
346, 1995.
[20] J. E. Mathieu and S. R. Taylor, "Clarifying conditions and decision
points for mediational type inferences in organizational behavior," J. of
Organizational Behavior, vol. 27, no. 8, pp. 1031-1056, 2006.
[21] P. K. Blum and V. Q. Tremarco, High Potential PR Professionals Thrive
on Challenge: A Study of Employee Turnover and Retention in the
Public Relations Industry, International Communications Consultancy
Organisation and Institute for Public Relations, Gainesville, FL, 2008.
[22] D. G. Spencer, "Employee Voice and Employee Retention," The
Academy of Management J., vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 488-502, 1986.
[23] B. P. Niehoff and R. H. Moorman, "Justice as a Mediator of the
Relationship between Methods of Monitoring and Organizational
Citizenship Behavior," The Academy of Management J., vol. 36, no. 3,
pp. 527-556, 1993.
[24] P. M. Wright and W. R. Boswell, "Desegregating HRM: A Review and
Synthesis of Micro and Macro Human Resource Management
Research," J. of Management, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 247-276, 2002.
[25] R. J. Vandenberg, H. A. Richardson, and L. J. Eastman, "The Impact of
High Involvement Work Processes on Organizational Effectiveness: A
Second-Order Latent Variable Approach," Group & Organization
Management, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 300-339, 1999.
[26] B. P. Niehoff and R. H. Moorman, "Exploring the relationships between
top management behaviors and employee perceptions of fairness,"
International J. of Public Administration, vol. 19, pp. 941-961, 1996.
[27] B. L. Mak and H. Sockel, "A confirmatory factor analysis of IS
employee motivation and retention," Information & Management, vol.
38, pp. 265-276, 2001.
[28] J. B. Thatcher, L. P. Stepina, and R. J. Boyle, "Turnover of information
technology workers: Examining empirically the influence of attitudes,
job characteristics, and external markets," J. of Management Information
Systems, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 231-261, 2002.
[29] K. Kotzé and G. Roodt, "Factors that Affect the Retention of Managerial
and Specialist Staff: An Exploratory Study of an Employee Commitment
Model," J. of Human Resource Management, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 48-55,
2005.
[30] E. A. Ward, "Relation of job satisfaction and job knowledge and their
effect on intention to turnover," Psychological Reports, vol. 63, no. 2,
pp. 611-615, 1988.
[31] L. E. Blankertz and S. E. Robinson, "Who is psychosocial rehabilitation
worker?" Psychiatric Rehabilitation J., vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 3-13, 1996.
[32] A. Hytter, " Retention Strategies in France and Sweden," Irish J. of
Management, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 59-79, 2007.
[33] P. Boxall, K. Macky, and Rasmussen, E. "Labour turnover and retention
in New Zealand: The causes and consequences of leaving and staying
with employers," Asia Pacific J.of Human Resources, vol. 41, no. 2, pp.
195-214, 2003.
[34] C. Fornell and D. F. Larcker, "Evaluating Structural Equation Models
with Unoberservable Variables and Measurement Error," J. of Marketing
Research, vol. 18, pp. 39-50, 1981.
[35] P. E. Shrout and N. Bolger, "Mediation in Experimental and
Nonexperimental Studies: New Procedures and Recommendations,"
Psychological Method, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 422-445, 2002.
[36] J. P. Guthrie, "High-involvement work practices, turnover, and
productivity: Evidence from New Zealand," The Academy of
Management J., vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 180-190, 2001.
[37] T. R. Mitchell, B. C. Holtom, T. W. Lee, and T. Graske, "How to keep
your best employees: Developing an effective retention policy," The
Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 96-109, 2001.
[38] M. Hannay and M. Northam, "Low-Cost Strategies for Employee
Retention," Compensation & Benefits Review, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 65-72,
2000.
[39] P. P. Brooke Jr., D.W. Russell, and J. L. Price "Discriminant validation
of measures of job satisfaction, job involvement and organizational
commitment," J. of Applied Psychology, vol. 73, no. 2, pp. 139-145,
1988.
[40] J. J. Baroudi, "The Impact of Role Variables on IS Personnel Work
Attitudes and Intentions," MIS Quarterly, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 341-356,
1985.
[41] R. M. Steers, "Antecedents and Outcomes of Organizational
Commitment," Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 46-
56, 1977.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:56008", author = "Humayun Rashid and Lin Zhao", title = "Power of Involvement over Rewards for Retention Likelihood in IT Professionals", abstract = "Retention in the IT profession is critical for
organizations to stay competitive and operate reliably in the dynamic
business environment. Most organizations rely on compensation and
rewards as primary tools to enhance retention of employees. In this
quantitative survey-based study conducted at a large global bank, we
analyze the perceptions of 575 information technology (IT) software
professionals in India and Malaysia and find that fairness of rewards
has very little impact on retention likelihood. It is far more important
to actively involve employees in organizational activities. In
addition, our findings indicate that involvement is far more important
than information flow: the typical organizational communication to
keep employees informed.", keywords = "fairness of rewards, information flow, informationinvolvement, retention", volume = "3", number = "12", pages = "2100-6", }
