Gender differences in the impact of leader-member exchange quality on job embeddedness and turnover intention
Abstract
This study aims to explore the gender differences in the relationships between leader-member exchange (LMX), job embeddedness, and turnover intention. Hypotheses formulation was conducted by integrating conservation of resources (COR) theory and social role theory, and data were collected from 462 respondents who were employed in various sectors in Indonesia. Data analyses included confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate the measurement model, followed by mediation-moderation analysis by using the PROCESS macro. As hypothesized, LMX showed a positive impact on job embeddedness and a negative impact on turnover intention. Job embeddedness was negatively associated with turnover intention, partially mediating the relationship between LMX quality and turnover intention. This study showed that gender moderated the relationships between LMX, job embeddedness, and turnover intention; this was particularly evident in the female participants. This study contributes to the literature on the significance of LMX quality and job embeddedness by exploring gender-specific roles, thus strengthening the existing knowledge base.
Keyword : leader-member exchange, job embeddedness, turnover intention, gender
How to Cite
Wahyudi, T. A., Hendryadi, H., Iskandar, D. A., Suryani, S., & Gustiawan, D. (2022). Gender differences in the impact of leader-member exchange quality on job embeddedness and turnover intention. Business: Theory and Practice, 23(2), 476–484. https://doi.org/10.3846/btp.2022.13422
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Dess, G. G., & Shaw, J. D. (2001). Voluntary turnover, social capital, and organizational performance. Academy of Management Review, 26(3), 446–456. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2001.4845830
Eagly, A. H., & Steffen, V. J. (1984). Gender stereotypes stem from the distribution of women and men into social roles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(4), 735–754. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.46.4.735
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Greene, J., Mero, N., & Werner, S. (2018). The negative effects of job embeddedness on performance. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 33(1), 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-02-2017-0074
Hackett, R. D., Wang, A.-C., Chen, Z., Cheng, B.-S., & Farh, J.-L. (2018). Transformational leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour: A moderated mediation model of leader-member-exchange and subordinates’ gender. Applied Psychology, 67(4), 617–644. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12146
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Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford publications.
Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology, 50(3), 337–421. https://doi.org/10.1111/1464-0597.00062
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2005). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (2nd ed.). Mcgraw-Hill.
Holtom, B. C., & Darabi, T. (2018). Job embeddedness theory as a tool for improving employee retention. In M. Coetzee, I. Potgieter, & N. Ferreira (Eds.), Psychology of retention. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98920-4_5
Huning, T. M., Hurt, K. J., & Frieder, R. E. (2020). The effect of servant leadership, perceived organizational support, job satisfaction and job embeddedness on turnover intentions. Evidence-based HRM, 8(2), 177–194. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-06-2019-0049
Ilies, R., Nahrgang, J. D., & Morgeson, F. P. (2007). Leader-member exchange and citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(1), 269–277. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.1.269
Jiang, K., Liu, D., McKay, P. F., Lee, T. W., & Mitchell, T. R. (2012). When and how is job embeddedness predictive of turnover? A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(5), 1077–1096). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028610
Jin, Y., Zhang, M., Wang, Y., & An, J. (2020). The relationship between trait mindfulness, loneliness, regulatory emotional self-efficacy, and subjective well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 154, 109650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.109650
Mascareño, J., Rietzschel, E., & Wisse, B. (2020). Leader‐Member Exchange (LMX) and innovation: A test of competing hypotheses. Creativity and Innovation Management, 29(3), 495–511. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12390
Mitchell, T. R., Holtom, B. C., Lee, T. W., Sablynski, C. J., & Erez, M. (2001). Why people stay: Using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 44(6), 1102–1121. https://doi.org/10.5465/3069391
Mobley, W. H. (1982). Some unanswered questions in turnover and withdrawal research. Academy of Management Review, 7(1), 111–116. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1982.4285493
Nunnally, B., & Bernstein, I. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
Sender, A., Rutishauser, L., & Staffelbach, B. (2018). Embeddedness across contexts: A two-country study on the additive and buffering effects of job embeddedness on employee turnover. Human Resource Management Journal, 28(2), 340–356. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12183
Shah, I. A., Csordas, T., Akram, U., Yadav, A., & Rasool, H. (2020). Multifaceted role of job embeddedness within organizations: Development of sustainable approach to reducing turnover intention. SAGE Open, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020934876
Stewart, J. L., & Wiener, K. K. K. (2021). Does supervisor gender moderate the mediation of job embeddedness between LMX and job satisfaction? Gender in Management: An International Journal, 36(4), 536–552. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-07-2019-0137
Tricahyadinata, I., Hendryadi, Suryani, Zainurossalamia Z. A., S., & Riadi, S. S. (2020). Workplace incivility, work engagement, and turnover intentions: Multi-group analysis. Cogent Psychology, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2020.1743627
Tziner, A., Shkoler, O., & Fein, E. C. (2020). Examining the effects of cultural value orientations, emotional intelligence, and motivational orientations: How do LMX mediation and gender-based moderation make a difference? Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.502903
Yang, J., Pu, B., & Guan, Z. (2019). Entrepreneurial leadership and turnover intention in startups: Mediating roles of employees’ job embeddedness, job satisfaction and affective commitment. Sustainability, 11(4), 1101. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041101
Zhang, L., Fan, C., Deng, Y., Lam, C. F., Hu, E., & Wang, L. (2019). Exploring the interpersonal determinants of job embeddedness and voluntary turnover: A conservation of resources perspective. Human Resource Management Journal, 29(3), 413–432. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12235
Amoah, V. S., Annor, F., & Asumeng, M. (2021). Psychological contract breach and teachers’ organizational commitment: Mediating roles of job embeddedness and leader-member exchange. Journal of Educational Administration, 59(5), 634–649. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-09-2020-0201
Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. Transaction Publishers.
Coetzer, A., Inma, C., Poisat, P., Redmond, J., & Standing, C. (2019). Does job embeddedness predict turnover intentions in SMEs? International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 68(2), 340–361. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-03-2018-0108
Colarelli, S. M. (1984). Methods of communication and mediating processes in realistic job previews. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69(4), 633–642. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.69.4.633
Collins, B. J., Burrus, C. J., & Meyer, R. D. (2014). Gender differences in the impact of leadership styles on subordinate embeddedness and job satisfaction. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(4), 660–671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2014.02.003
Cropanzano, R., & Mitchell, M. S. (2005). Social exchange theory: An interdisciplinary review. Journal of Management, 31(6), 874–900. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305279602
Crossley, C. D., Bennett, R. J., Jex, S. M., & Burnfield, J. L. (2007). Development of a global measure of job embeddedness and integration into a traditional model of voluntary turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(4), 1031–1042. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.4.1031
Dechawatanapaisal, D. (2018a). The moderating effects of demographic characteristics and certain psychological factors on the job embeddedness – turnover relationship among Thai health-care employees. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 26(1), 43–62. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-11-2016-1082
Dechawatanapaisal, D. (2018b). Nurses’ turnover intention: The impact of leader-member exchange, organizational identification and job embeddedness. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 74(6), 1380–1391. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13552
Dechawatanapaisal, D. (2021). Effects of leader-member exchange ambivalence on work attitudes: A moderated mediation model. Journal of Management Development, 40(1), 35–51. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-07-2020-0233
Dess, G. G., & Shaw, J. D. (2001). Voluntary turnover, social capital, and organizational performance. Academy of Management Review, 26(3), 446–456. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2001.4845830
Eagly, A. H., & Steffen, V. J. (1984). Gender stereotypes stem from the distribution of women and men into social roles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(4), 735–754. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.46.4.735
Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (2016). Social role theory of sex differences. In The Wiley Blackwell encyclopedia of gender and sexuality studies (pp. 1–3). John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118663219.wbegss183
Graen, G. B., & Uhl-Bien, M. (1995). Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. Leadership Quarterly, 6(2), 219–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/1048-9843(95)90036-5
Greene, J., Mero, N., & Werner, S. (2018). The negative effects of job embeddedness on performance. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 33(1), 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-02-2017-0074
Hackett, R. D., Wang, A.-C., Chen, Z., Cheng, B.-S., & Farh, J.-L. (2018). Transformational leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour: A moderated mediation model of leader-member-exchange and subordinates’ gender. Applied Psychology, 67(4), 617–644. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12146
Hair, J., Black, W., Babin, B., & Anderson, R. (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Prentice Hall.
Harris, K. J., Wheeler, A. R., & Kacmar, K. M. (2011). The mediating role of organizational job embeddedness in the LMX–outcomes relationships. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(2), 271–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.02.003
Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford publications.
Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology, 50(3), 337–421. https://doi.org/10.1111/1464-0597.00062
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2005). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (2nd ed.). Mcgraw-Hill.
Holtom, B. C., & Darabi, T. (2018). Job embeddedness theory as a tool for improving employee retention. In M. Coetzee, I. Potgieter, & N. Ferreira (Eds.), Psychology of retention. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98920-4_5
Huning, T. M., Hurt, K. J., & Frieder, R. E. (2020). The effect of servant leadership, perceived organizational support, job satisfaction and job embeddedness on turnover intentions. Evidence-based HRM, 8(2), 177–194. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-06-2019-0049
Ilies, R., Nahrgang, J. D., & Morgeson, F. P. (2007). Leader-member exchange and citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(1), 269–277. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.1.269
Jiang, K., Liu, D., McKay, P. F., Lee, T. W., & Mitchell, T. R. (2012). When and how is job embeddedness predictive of turnover? A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(5), 1077–1096). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028610
Jin, Y., Zhang, M., Wang, Y., & An, J. (2020). The relationship between trait mindfulness, loneliness, regulatory emotional self-efficacy, and subjective well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 154, 109650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.109650
Mascareño, J., Rietzschel, E., & Wisse, B. (2020). Leader‐Member Exchange (LMX) and innovation: A test of competing hypotheses. Creativity and Innovation Management, 29(3), 495–511. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12390
Mitchell, T. R., Holtom, B. C., Lee, T. W., Sablynski, C. J., & Erez, M. (2001). Why people stay: Using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 44(6), 1102–1121. https://doi.org/10.5465/3069391
Mobley, W. H. (1982). Some unanswered questions in turnover and withdrawal research. Academy of Management Review, 7(1), 111–116. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1982.4285493
Nunnally, B., & Bernstein, I. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
Sender, A., Rutishauser, L., & Staffelbach, B. (2018). Embeddedness across contexts: A two-country study on the additive and buffering effects of job embeddedness on employee turnover. Human Resource Management Journal, 28(2), 340–356. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12183
Shah, I. A., Csordas, T., Akram, U., Yadav, A., & Rasool, H. (2020). Multifaceted role of job embeddedness within organizations: Development of sustainable approach to reducing turnover intention. SAGE Open, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020934876
Stewart, J. L., & Wiener, K. K. K. (2021). Does supervisor gender moderate the mediation of job embeddedness between LMX and job satisfaction? Gender in Management: An International Journal, 36(4), 536–552. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-07-2019-0137
Tricahyadinata, I., Hendryadi, Suryani, Zainurossalamia Z. A., S., & Riadi, S. S. (2020). Workplace incivility, work engagement, and turnover intentions: Multi-group analysis. Cogent Psychology, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2020.1743627
Tziner, A., Shkoler, O., & Fein, E. C. (2020). Examining the effects of cultural value orientations, emotional intelligence, and motivational orientations: How do LMX mediation and gender-based moderation make a difference? Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.502903
Yang, J., Pu, B., & Guan, Z. (2019). Entrepreneurial leadership and turnover intention in startups: Mediating roles of employees’ job embeddedness, job satisfaction and affective commitment. Sustainability, 11(4), 1101. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041101
Zhang, L., Fan, C., Deng, Y., Lam, C. F., Hu, E., & Wang, L. (2019). Exploring the interpersonal determinants of job embeddedness and voluntary turnover: A conservation of resources perspective. Human Resource Management Journal, 29(3), 413–432. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12235