Entrepreneurial Leadership and Turnover Intention in Startups: Mediating Roles of Employees’ Job Embeddedness, Job Satisfaction and Affective Commitment

Juan Yang,Bo Pu,Zhenzhong Guan

doi:10.3390/su11041101

Abstract

Entrepreneurial leadership is critical for the sustainable development of start-ups and plays a key role in employees’ turnover intentions. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and turnover intentions of employees within enterprises established in the last five years. This paper explored this relationship through multiple serial mediators, specifically, employee affective commitment, job embeddedness, and job satisfaction. A quantitative approach was employed on a sample of 403 participants from 62 ventures. The results demonstrated that entrepreneurial leadership can reduce employee turnover intentions, and the impact is through job embeddedness, job satisfaction, and affective commitment, in series. This study is the first try of a three-serial-mediator model for the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and turnover intentions, and it leads to a better understanding of the significance of entrepreneurial leadership.

Highlights

With the popularization of the Internet, a wave of entrepreneurship in China has burgeoned
Since the data on Entrepreneurial Leadership (EL), affective commitment, job embeddedness, job satisfaction, and turnover intention were collected from the same source, we conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using AMOS 24.0 to evaluate the possibility of same-source bias and test the discriminant validity
This research contributes to the literature by exploring the “black box” between EL and turnover intentions through a causal mechanism in which EL indirectly affects turnover intentions through job embeddedness, job satisfaction, and affective commitment in series

Summary

Introduction

With the popularization of the Internet, a wave of entrepreneurship in China has burgeoned. According to data from the report on China’s private enterprise development, 150,000 private enterprises have been established and more than 100,000 perish every year [1]. 60% of private enterprises go bankrupt within five years, 85% collapse within 10 years, and the average duration of existence is only 2.9 years. Entrepreneurship continues to evolve as a key driver of innovation and job creation [2]. The latest empirical studies show that entrepreneurial leaders who can deal with an uncertain business environment are critical for entrepreneurial success and sustainability [3]. Entrepreneurial leadership highlights the entrepreneurial behavior and capability a leader shows in reaction to dynamic changes with characteristics common to both successful leaders and entrepreneurs [4]

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Discussion

Conclusion