Abstract
The present study addresses the relationship between human resources management (HRM) practices and employee turnover by taking into account the influence of socioeconomic environment. Data was collected at company level with an international sample of 830 companies from 12 countries (Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Brazil, Switzerland, China, France, Italy, Poland, Germany, South Africa, and Spain). A division into four bundles of human resources (HR) practices is introduced: remunerative, communication, developmental, and well-being practices. The influence of the socioeconomic environment was factored in by including the institutional setting in terms of the level of coordination as a country-level variable. The results showed that collective turnover is related to both a country’s institutional determinants and to company HR practices. Remunerative HR practices may have a negative influence in terms of enhancing turnover, particularly within countries high in coordination. HR well-being practices are the most beneficial practices in terms of reducing employee turnover. Our study adds to our knowledge on the relation between HR practices and turnover from an international perspective. It complements the empirical knowledge on the effectiveness of HRM practices in a cross-national setting and supports the notion that the institutional context should be given more attention when studying HR effectiveness.
Highlights
Turnover has been a focus of interest for human resources (HR) professionals for a long time, and retention of especially their top talent has been and is likely to remain their priority
This study investigates the relationship between human resources management (HRM) practices and turnover in a cross-national setting, which makes the notion of HRM convergence across countries as a result of globalization an interesting notion
Developmental HRM was a second-order factor with the four practices as first-order practices indicated by the individual items
Summary
Turnover has been a focus of interest for human resources (HR) professionals for a long time, and retention of especially their top talent has been and is likely to remain their priority. It has been argued that human resources are most valuable and inimitable when people remain within an organization and develop themselves into the experienced professionals they are especially when their skills and knowledge are specific to the firm [2,3]. Collective turnover of employees can seriously undermine the competiveness of an organization and lead to underperforming in comparison to main competitors [3], diminishing customer service and lowering quality and safety [4]. Low collective turnover rate on the other hand may protect such firm-specific human capital from imitation by competitors. Acknowledging that the impact of HR practices on employee attitudes and behaviors in general is well established, as is the link
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