Intraorganizational career advancement and voluntary turnover in a multinational bank in Taiwan

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how various aspects of intraorganizational career advancement – current career attainments, recent pace of upward mobility, and future prospect of career advancement – affect voluntary turnover, drawing empirical evidence from a multinational corporation (MNC) in Taiwan's cultural and labor market environment.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical study was based on statistical analyses of personnel records of 303 employees in a multinational bank in Taiwan. A discrete‐time logistic model was used to analyse voluntary turnover events.FindingsResults showed that salary increase and job status generally reduced voluntary turnover. A ceiling position on the job ladder induced turnover and also moderated the relationship between corporate title duration and turnover and that between age and turnover.Research limitations/implicationsBecause the empirical evidence was based on data collected from one MNC in Taiwan's distinct research context, this may limit the generalizability of some findings in the study.Originality/valueWhereas much of the literature on turnover has focused on psychological models, this study adopts an objective career perspective and highlights the significance of intraorganizational career advancement in affecting voluntary turnover. It also deepens one's understanding of career development and choices in a Chinese cultural environment.