Relationship Between Regional Commitment And Intent To Leave: The Mediating Role Of Intent To Relocate

In the age of economy of knowledge in 21st century,human as the the most important carrier of knowledge is becoming more and more important to the survival and development of companies.At the same time,the globalization of information promotes the sharing and dissemination of knowledge,which makes the mobilization of human resources more convenient and faster.Meanwhile economic integration not only strengthens the links among companies,but also makes the competition more intense especially for the competition for talents.Consequently,retaining and utilizing human resources play an increasingly important role as a competitive advantage for organizations' survival and success.The attraction and retention of skilled employees are critical issues for organizations and practitioners.Various antecedents have been advanced to explain and predict employees' voluntary turnover.Among these factors work commitment has emerged as an important determinant of turnover,especially employees' commitment to their organizations and occupations have proven to be two vital antecedents of intent to leave.While work commitment itself is a multi-faceted concept,other forms of commitment remain less explored.As increased globalization accentuate the need to investigate multiple commitment forms.Given that emotional bonds that people create with their places of residence,investigations of commitment in their living place are vital for understanding the psychology of employees' turnover behavior.In view of this,we introduce the concepts of regional commitment which refers to the identity and attachment of individual to the region,and positive attitude to pay efforts for regional development and intent to relocate which refers to individuals' willingness to stay and live in an area in the study of intent to leave.Through an empirical study,this study tries to find out the influence of regional commitment on intent to leave,and to examine the mediating effect of intent to relocate on the relationship between regional commitment and intent to leave.It has important practical and theoretical significance for the research of commitment and intent to leave.In the present study,we examine the relative importance of organizational commitment,occupational commitment and regional commitment on intent to leave and intent to relocate.In addition,we examine the mediating role of intent to relocate on the relationships between occupational commitment,organizational commitment,regional commitment and intent to leave.We test our hypotheses using data from 312 employees in Mainland China.The results show that occupational commitment,organizational commitment,and regional commitment have direct,significant,negative associations with intent to leave;occupational commitment,organizational commitment,and regional commitment have direct,significant,negative associations with intent to relocate,and intent to relocate mediates the relationship between occupational commitment;regional commitment and intent to leave.Based on the results,organizations should pay attention to enhance employees' organizational commitment.At the same time,organizations should meet the requirements of employees' career development,improve their attitude and affection to their career.Organizations should also strive to raise employees' regional commitment to reduce employees' intent to leave.Last,organizations can select and recruit employees who have a high level of regional commitment in the recruitment process.