Purpose
This paper examines the relationship between business strategies and employees’ intention to leave (ITL), through the mediating role of high-performance work system (HPWS).
Design/methodology/approach
To test their hypotheses, the authors used self-administered questionnaires. They drew up a list of 600 organizations of different nature and structure operating in India that were listed by the Federation of Indian Chambers and Industry. They approved 192 organizations and sent the surveys to 960 executives. They aimed to receive a minimum of one response from an HR executive and two from non-HR executives from each one. In the end, they received 572 useable responses.
Findings
The study found that high-performance work systems (HPWS) mediate the relationship between business strategy and employees’ intention to leave (ITL). The two effective approaches were “quality management” and “innovation strategy”, both of which reinforced the adoption of HPWS. But a third approach, a “cost-reduction strategy”, was not shown to be positively correlated with HPWS. Another important finding was that the influence on ITL did not vary across the types, or ownership structures, of the firms.
Originality/value
The data has lessons for HR departments. First, it shows it is advantageous for firms hoping to retain more employees to invest in HPWS that are consistent with the values of their organizations. A second practical finding is that firms need to take into account the Indian context. A third lesson is HR practitioners should make strong efforts to communicate the goals of the HPWS to employees The study also shows firms adopting cost-reduction strategies should focus more on treating employees as resources.
