Examining antecedents of retail employees' propensity to leave
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
ISSN: 0959-0552
Article publication date: 4 February 2021
Issue publication date: 8 June 2021
Abstract
Purpose
In this study, the authors examine the impacts of two facets of retail employees' cognitive support and affective commitment on emotional labor-related outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the study hypotheses, 521 retail service employees participated in the survey. By using the structural equation modeling, the results show that employees' perceived organizational support directly and positively employees' affective organizational commitment and emotional exhaustion.
Findings
By using the structural equation modeling, the results show that employees' perceived organizational support directly and positively influence employees' affective organizational commitment and emotional exhaustion. The extent of employees' affective organizational commitment directly and negatively influences emotional labor and exhaustion. Furthermore, employees' emotional exhaustion exerts an influence on retail employees' propensity to leave.
Research limitations/implications
Drawing on social exchange and conservation of resources theories, this study contributes to emotional labor research and practices by examining factors that potentially influences employees' propensity to leave. For future studies, researchers can expand the proposed framework of the current study to other retailing settings.
Practical implications
Findings of the study suggest that retail organizations need to manage employees' support and commitment concerning to understand emotional labor.
Originality/value
The current study found that employees' affective commitment influences key emotional labor constructs including emotional labor and emotional exhaustion. Employees who have a high level of identification, involvement and emotional attachment toward the organization, they are less likely to feel of overload and inefficiency. Given the importance of emotional labor in the retailing setting, the proposed model and findings of this study contribute the existing knowledge of retail employees' behavior.
Keywords
Citation
Park, J., Ahn, J., Hyun, H. and Rutherford, B.N. (2021), "Examining antecedents of retail employees' propensity to leave", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 49 No. 6, pp. 795-812. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-02-2019-0035
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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