Examining relationships among corporate ethical values, commitment and turnover intentions

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship of corporate ethical values (CEV) on the work attitudes linked to the organizational behavior of employees. It primarily focusses on examining the relationship of CEV with organizational commitment (OC) and the turnover intention (TI) of employees. Design/methodology/approach – Study undertakes an explanatory analysis on a sample of 150 employees from large and medium scale Indian Information Technology Business Process Outsourcing firms. Findings – Results of the study revealed significant relationships among the variables. Strong positive association has been found between CEV and commitment, whereas, contrasting result has been found with TI of employees. CEV explained 22 percent and 23 percent of variance in commitment and TI, respectively. Moreover, the relationship of ethical values and TIs has been found to be mediated through OC. Practical implications – Study enables the managers to understand wider impact of ethics in an organization and its positive impact on employees in increasing their commitment levels. Managers should focus on the ethical aspects of conducting business to ensure that the employees are well engaged with their employer and have the least tendency to shift when given an opportunity. Originality/value – This research attempts to bridge the gap in the existing literature by explaining relationship among variables (CEV, OC and TI) in context to the South-Asian nations, and especially India.