The Moderating Effect of Employment Opportunity on the Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Intention to Quit: The Perception of the IT Outsourcing Professionals in China

Abstract

In China, the employee attrition rate was 8.3% in 2001 and reached 11.3% in 2004 while some firms observed turnover rates as high as 30% [1]. The rate of China’s nationwide employee turnover increased every single year over the past decade with the employee turnover rate in 2011 reaching 26.3% [2]. Empirical research supports the notion that employee turnover significantly impacts organizational performance [3]. Since outsourcing has major implications for revenue, personnel stability in IT outsourcing firms has drawn increasing attention from the industry. If the IT outsourcing industry in China wants to maintain its high growth rate, it must not only identify the factors that impact turnover but also determine how they impact it. This will help improve human resource management practices and ultimately improve turnover rates. The majority of international research is on outsourcing decision-making and outsourcing management from the client’s perspective, with little research conducted in relation to offshore service providers from developing countries [4]. A considerable amount of literature has been published on job retention and resignation decisions of employees. There is a need for IT outsourcing firms and their clients to know the attitude of China’s IT professionals towards turnover intent, job satisfaction and employment opportunity. This study surveyed IT outsourcing professionals about turnover factors from their perspective as employees. It examined the moderating effect of employment opportunity on the relationship between job satisfaction and intention to quit. The purpose was to provide insights for decision makers to formulate better employee retention strategies. The study population was limited to IT outsourcing professionals working in China. The study involved randomly inviting 5,000 IT outsourcing professionals from IT outsourcing-related public websites and databases in China to participate in an on-line anonymous questionnaire survey.