Embeddedness across contexts: A two‐country study on the additive and buffering effects of job embeddedness on employee turnover

• Author: Anna Sender,Lea Rutishauser,Bruno Staffelbach
• Published date: 01 April 2018
• Date: 01 April 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12183

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Embeddedness across contexts: A two‐country

study on the additive and buffering effects of job

embeddedness on employee turnover

Anna Sender |Lea Rutishauser |Bruno Staffelbach

Center for Human Resource Management

(CEHRM), University of Lucerne, Switzerland

Correspondence

Anna Sender, Center for Human Resource

Management (CEHRM), Frohburgstrasse 3,

P.O. Box 4466, Lucerne 6002, Switzerland.

Email: anna.sender@unilu.ch

Funding information

Comission for Technology and Innovation CTI,

Grant/Award Number: 14056.2 PFES‐ES

Abstract

Despite the growing body of literature on the effects of job

embeddedness on turnover, there are few studies on how job

embeddedness operates in different countries. This study, based

on the Conservation of Resources theory, addresses this research

gap by investigating both the additive and the buffering effects of

on‐the‐job and off‐the‐job embeddedness using employee data

from China (n= 373) and Switzerland (n= 268). Results showed that

on‐the‐job embeddedness reduced the likelihood of turnover more

strongly in Switzerland than in China (additive effect). Additionally,

in China, the unsolicited job offer–turnover relationship was stron-

ger when employees had lower levels of off‐the‐job embeddedness

(buffering effect). This research contributes to the understanding of

the relative role of on‐the‐job and off‐the‐job embeddedness for

turnover in different countries.

KEYWORDS

Conservation of Resources theory, employeeturnover, job

embeddedness,unsolicited job offers

1|INTRODUCTION

High employee turnover increases costs and may be detrimental to organisational performance (Dess & Shaw, 2001;

Glebbeek & Bax, 2004; Holtom, Mitchell, Lee, & Inderrieden, 2005; Koys, 2001). Consequently, a large body of

research has focused on exploring antecedents of employee turnover. For example, empirical research has demon-

strated that job embeddedness, that is, “a net or a web in which the employee can become stuck”(Mitchell, Holtom,

Lee, Sablynski, & Erez, 2001, p. 1104), reduces the likelihood of turnover, after controlling for other salient predictors

such as job satisfaction, organisational commitment, or job alternatives (additive effects of job embeddedness; Jiang,

Liu, McKay, Lee, & Mitchell, 2012; Mitchell et al., 2001). Moreover, embedded employees react less strongly to

negative events, such as being passed over for promotion or the lack of a pay rise (buffering effects of job

embeddedness; Burton, Holtom, Sablynski, Mitchell, & Lee, 2010).

This study has been realised using support from the Commission for Technology and Innovation CTI, Switzerland (14056.2 PFES‐ES).

Received: 1 February 2016 Revised: 7 September 2017 Accepted: 11 November 2017

DOI: 10.1111/1748-8583.12183

340 © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Hum Resour Manag J. 2018;28:340–356.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrmj

The results of a meta‐analytic study on the effects of job embeddedness on employee turnover by Jiang et al.

(2012) indicate that effect sizes vary across contexts. However, comparative studies on additive effects of job

embeddedness across contexts are rare (for exceptions, see Mallol, Holtom, & Lee, 2007; Ramesh & Gelfand, 2010;

Tanova & Holtom, 2008). Furthermore, only a few studies have examined the moderating role of job embeddedness,

and these studies were only conducted in one country (e.g., Burton et al., 2010; Mignonac, 2008; Swider, Boswell, &

Zimmerman, 2011). As Jiang et al. (2012) concluded, “researchers are yet to understand the situations where the

effects of job embeddedness on turnover are augmented or attenuated”(p. 1084).

In this study, using the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989), we explore both the additive and

buffering effects of on‐the‐job and off‐the‐job embeddedness in China and Switzerland. We contribute to the turnover

literature in three ways. First, we contribute to theoretical and empirical developments in the COR theory. Although

COR theory is viewed as a general motivational theory, most research has focused on its applications in stress and

burnout literature, leaving other areas (such as employee turnover) less explored (Harris, Wheeler, & Kacmar, 2011).

Additionally, given the limited research on the role of context within COR theory literature (Halbesleben, Neveu,

Paustian‐Underdahl, & Westman, 2014), this study advances the understanding of how national context may influence

the value of resources and thus turnover decisions. Second, given the limited comparative research on job

embeddedness, we aim to contribute to the understanding of the additive and buffering effects of job embeddedness

in different national contexts. Third, we investigate the buffering effects of job embeddedness in the relationship

between unsolicited job offers and voluntary turnover. Unsolicited job offers are unexpected and thus may drive turn-

over among those employees who would not normally have initiated a job search themselves, as they are generally

satisfied with their jobs or assume a lack of alternatives. Therefore, this study addresses the call for investigation as

to what it takes to retain employees who have received unexpected job offers (Lee, Gerhart, Weller, & Trevor, 2008).

2|ADDITIVE EFFECTS OF JOB EMBEDDEDNESS

Job embeddedness is composed of three dimensions: links, fit, and sacrifice; these are related both to the organisation

(on‐the‐job embeddedness) and to the community (off‐the‐job embeddedness; Jiang et al., 2012; Mitchell et al., 2001;

Zhang, Fried, & Griffeth, 2012). On‐the‐job links are both formal and informal connections to other people in the orga-

nisation. Individuals whose family members live nearby and who have a large circle of friends in the community are

more off‐the‐job embedded in terms of links through living in thatcommunity. The fit dimension of job embeddedness

is the individual's compatibility with the organisation (e.g., fit to organisational culture) and community (e.g., fit to

neighbourhood; Mitchell et al., 2001). The sacrifice dimension of job embeddedness covers psychological and material

costs associated with leaving, such as relatively lucrative health care or retirement benefits in the organisation and

leisure opportunities in the community (Mitchell et al., 2001).

Since the initial conceptualisation of job embeddedness by Mitchell et al. (2001), job embeddedness literature has

grown both theoretically and empirically (Ng & Feldman, 2007; Ramesh & Gelfand, 2010). More recently, Kiazad,

Holtom, Hom, and Newman (2015) introduced the COR‐based job embeddedness model, which advances the under-

standing of the effects of job embeddedness using COR theory (Kiazad, Seibert, & Kraimer, 2014). In line with COR

theory, individuals are motivated to acquire, protect, and retain their resources (Hobfoll, 1989), that is, “anything per-

ceived by the individual to help attain his or her goals”(Halbesleben et al., 2014, p. 1338). The first principle of COR

theory, the primacy of resource loss, postulates that the loss of resources is more salient in terms of its effects than

the gain of resources (Hobfoll, 2001). The second principle of COR theory indicates that individuals need to invest

resources to protect their current resources and to gain future resources (Hobfoll, 2001).

The COR‐based job embeddedness model postulates that job embeddedness constitutes a resource for individ-

uals, as it may be instrumental in goal attainment, such as career progression or income growth (Halbesleben et al.,

2014; Kiazad et al., 2015). Moreover, job embeddedness may be viewed as a cumulative resource (resource caravan),

with greater value when bundled than in parts (Wheeler, Harris, & Sablynski, 2012). Given that employees protect

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