Master Thesis

Human Resource Studies

The influence of high commitment HR system on

turnover intention at the individual level:
a critical view

Student: Mentor:
T.P.M. Nipius S.E. Beijer
424165
 Abstract
Most of the research on the use of high commitment HR systems is done at organisational
level and aims at positive outcomes. This research tries to critically research the influence of
using a high commitment HR system on turnover intention at the individual level. More
specifically, this study uses the perceptions of employees and adds a negative outcome, being
increased turnover intention through an increased workload. This negative outcomes
represents the negative perspective on high commitment HR system and counterbalances the
positive perspective, where the use of a high commitment HR system leads to decreased
turnover intention through an increased affective commitment.
This research used questionnaires to gather data in multiple organisations, working in
various sectors. The data was processed using multiple regression analysis. Furthermore, a
Sobel (1982) test was used to check for the possible effects of the mediating variables.
The results only support the positive perspective on high commitment HR system. For
exploratory purposes, also the influence of the individual HR practices on the mediating and
dependent variables was measured. The results on these effects support the additive character
of a high commitment HR system and pleas for using a bundle, rather than individual
practices.
Despite not finding any significant results for the negative perspective, researchers and
(HR) managers should not ignore a possible negative effect of using a high commitment HR
system. HRM might be a wolf in sheep‟s clothing and should therefore always be critically
observed.

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 Acknowledgments
I would like to specially thank my parents for giving me the opportunity, freedom and
support to successfully complete my master‟s program.
Furthermore I want to thank my girlfriend, mentor and classmates for giving me the mental
support and counselling when needed.

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

Winston Churchill (1874-1965). British Prime Minister during World War II

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Index
1.Introduction 4
2. Theory 8
2.1 Concepts 8
2.1.1 Turnover intention 8
2.1.2 Affective commitment 8
2.1.3 Workload 8
2.1.4 High commitment HR system 9
2.2 The direct effect of a high commitment HR system on turnover intention 10
2.3 The positive perspective 10
2.4 The negative perspective 12
3. Method 15
3.1 Research set-up and respondents 15
3.2 Procedure 16
3.3 Instruments 17
3.4 Control variables 18
3.5 Intraclass correlation 18
3.6 Statistical analyses 19
4. Results 21
4.1 Individual HR practices 25
5. Conclusion and discussion 27
5.1 The positive perspective 27
5.2 The negative perspective 28
5.3 Individual HR practices 29
5.4 Strengths and limitations 30
5.5 Directions for future research 31
5.6 Implications 32
6. Literature 34
7. Appendices 42
7.1 Appendix I: Participating companies 42
7.2 Appendix II: Unrotated factor loadings 44
7.3 Appendix III: Scales in the questionnaire used in this research 47

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1. Introduction

Employees are one of the most important sources of competitive advantage (Barney &
Wright, 1998; Guest, 1997). Motivating employees and keeping them committed to the
organisation, are two of the most critical challenges organisations face today (Ferris,
Hochwarter, Buckley, Harrell-Cook & Frink, 1999). The enhancement of employee
motivation and commitment through the use of HR practices is widely acknowledged (Datta,
Guthrie & Wright, 2005; Huselid, 1995). Recent research argues that high performance work
practices (HPWP) and in particular high commitment HR practices affect such organisational
outcomes by shaping employee behaviours and attitudes (Arthur, 1994; Huselid, 1995;
Whitener, 2001). These behaviours and attitudes in turn have influence on the turnover
intentions employees have (Griffeth, Hom & Gaertner, 2000).
Yet, one of the flaws in research on HR practices is that the bulk of studies is based on
managerial reports (Grant & Shields, 2002). This type of research does not allow for an
examination of the ways in which individual employees may experience or react differently to
HR practices (Gerhart, Wright & McMahan, 2000). Based on the upcoming tendency largely
developed by Bowen and Ostroff (2004) to take on a multi-level approach to understand
HRM, Wright and Nishii (2006) developed a process model of HRM in which employees
perceive HR practices subjectively and may react differently to those practices (Nishii &
Wright, 2008; Wright & Nishii, 2006). Perceived HR practices exist objectively, but must be
perceived subjectively by each employee. Based on perceived HR practices, employees will
react in one way or another and process the information in a way that guides their actions
(Nishii, Lepak & Schneider, 2008).
The aforementioned studies talk about single HR practices, but when a set of high
commitment HR practices is bundled, literature speaks of a high commitment HR system.
When a bundle of high commitment HR practices are used together they attain synergistic
benefits through an interactive and mutually reinforcing impact (Huselid, 1995). Because of
these synergistic influences, this research particularly focuses on high commitment HR
systems rather than loose practices. As mentioned earlier, this research focuses on the
individual level and how employees perceive the use of a high commitment HR system.
Therefore, when high commitment HR system is mentioned, it is about how the individual
employee experiences the high commitment HR system.
Linking the significance of high commitment HR systems, commitment and the upcoming
trend of research on the individual level, this research will focus on the relation between high
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commitment HR systems and commitment at the individual level. In particular, this research
proposes a positive effect of a high commitment HR system on the affective commitment of
employees. Affective commitment is a type of organisational commitment developed by
Meyer and Allen (1997) and argues that employees emotionally attach to the organisation and
identify themselves with the organisation. This positive influence of a high commitment HR
system on affective commitment in turn may lead to lower turnover intentions. Turnover
intention is defined as the voluntary choice of an employee to leave an organisation
(Dougherty, Bluedorn & Keon, 1985).
It sounds plausible to assume that emotionally attached employees aren‟t planning on
leaving the organisation. The meta-analysis of Griffeth, Hom & Gaertner (2000) confirms this
assumption and poses that affective commitment is one of the best predictors of turnover
intention. Turnover intention subsequently has been recognised as the immediate precursor of
actual turnover (Tett & Meyer, 1993). There are many reasons for organisations to prevent
employees from leaving the organisation, ranging from direct costs through the selection,
recruitment and training of new employees (Dalton, Todor & Krackhardt, 1982) to indirect
costs caused by reduced morale and the loss of social capital (Des & Shaw, 2001).
Summarizing the above, high commitment HR practices positively affect affective
commitment which in turn leads to lower turnover intention.
However, where the above -like most research- focuses on positive results of HR systems,
one could argue that these systems might also lead to negative outcomes. Ramsay, Scholarios
and Harley (2000) state that although high commitment HR systems lead to higher
organisational commitment, some critics argue that they also lead to negative outcomes such
as workload. They base their proposition on the neo-Fordist labour process approach
(Aglietta, 1979; Prechel, 1994) which “sees the fundamental aim of new management
techniques as being to enhance workplace performance, but it eschews the assumption that
this will go hand in hand with positive employee outcomes.” (Ramsay, et al., 2000, p. 505).
The approach Ramsay et al. (2000) posit, states that managers are constantly driven to find
ways to make employees work harder, longer and/or more efficient in order to maximize
labour input. To be precise, the labour process critique holds that, while the use of a high
commitment HR system may be beneficial for employees, this system may also cause work
intensification. Following the work of Ramsay et al. (2000), several authors argue that high
commitment HR systems may lead to an increased workload employees experience (Danford,
Richardson, Stewart, Tailby & Upchurch, 2005, Kumar, 2000).

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 Where decreased turnover intention through increased affective commitment would be a
positive outcome, the negative outcome of increased workload might lead to higher turnover
intentions. Employees, who experience that they have too much work to do or do not have the
skills to successfully fulfil their job, might have higher intentions to leave the organisation
(Jolma, 1990). Thus, the negative result of increased workload might lead to increased
turnover intention.
In summary, this article distinguishes two different perspectives. On the one hand a
positive perspective where high commitment HR systems lead to lower turnover intentions
through an increased affective commitment. On the other hand a negative perspective where
high commitment HR systems lead to increased turnover intentions through an increased
workload. These two perspectives are consistent with the optimistic and negative perspectives
Peccei (2004) distinguishes. These perspectives will be further explained in the theoretical
part of this study.
As mentioned before, nearly all research on the linkages between HR practices and
performance is related to positive outcomes such as satisfaction, motivation and retention.
The literature review by Boselie, Dietz and Boon (2005) endorses this assumption. By adding
the contradicting result of workload, as argued by the neo-Fordist labour process approach,
this research becomes of great scientific interest. It has to be said that there are empirical
studies that also add negative outcomes of high performance work systems. Kroon, van de
Voorde and van Veldhoven (2009) add the negative outcome of burnout to their research. The
big difference compared to this study is the level of analysis. The research by Kroon et al.
(2009) uses high performance work system as an organizational level construct, where this
study sees high performance work system as an individual level construct. Also, the negative
outcome of workload itself is interesting and an addition to the current literature. The
empirical literature on negative outcomes of high performance work systems predominantly
focuses on burnout (Kroon et al., 2009), job stress (Hochschild, 1997) and need for recovery
(Sonnentag & Zijlstra, 2006). This research thus sees an increased workload as being a
negative outcome of high performance work systems, therewith significantly adding value to
the literature on high performance work systems. Furthermore, this research shifts the focus
from the managerial perspective to that of the employee. As Gibb (2001) argues, this change
of perspectives has several benefits. One benefit is that it can help to counteract the effects of
„managerialism‟ in the evaluation of HR systems. Managerialism is defined as adopting a
managerial perspective or worldview on defining and understanding HR and the value of HR

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(Gibb, 2001). Another benefit is that research focused on the employees‟ view can be a lever
for re-introducing the „human dimension‟ to the study of HRM.
Hence, the aim of this research is to investigate how employees at the individual level
perceive the use of a high commitment HR system and how this will eventually influence
turnover intentions through its influence on affective commitment and/or workload. The
research question will be as follows: To what extent do affective commitment and/or workload
mediate the relationship between a high commitment HR system and turnover intentions?
The structure of this research is as followed. First, the used concepts and their relations
will be discussed in the theoretical section. Then the method section will be presented
followed by the results and discussion.

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2. Theory

This chapter will first define the used concepts, followed by the theoretical foundation for
the two posited hypothesis. These two explanations will be divided in an equal amount of
paragraphs since this research posits two different perspectives on the use of high
commitment HR systems.

2.1 Concepts

2.1.1 Turnover intention

Turnover intention is defined as the voluntary choice of an employee to leave an

organisation (Dougherty, Bluedorn & Keon, 1985). The reasons for leaving the organisation
can range from negative work conditions to new career opportunities. There is a broad
consensus in the literature that turnover intention is the immediate precursor of actual
turnover (Tett & Meyer, 1993).

2.1.2 Affective commitment

Commitment can be divided into 3 categories, namely affective, normative and

continuance commitment (Allen & Meyer, 1996). Affective commitment is the affective or
emotional commitment towards the organisation, which leads to identification with the
organisation and feeling pleased being member of the organisation. Because later research by
Meyer and Allen (1997) argues that affective commitment is constantly related to outcomes
such as turnover intention, this research will focus only on this type of commitment.

2.1.3 Workload

Workload may be of two different types. The first is that of quantitative workload, where
employees perceive that they have too much work to do, too many different things to do, or
insufficient time to complete the assigned task (Glazer & Beehr, 2005). Alternatively, Glazer
and Beehr (2005) define qualitative workload as the condition where employees feel they
haven‟t got the ability to complete their jobs or that they don‟t have enough time to complete
their tasks regardless of how much time they have.

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 In other words, workload can be defined as a stressor when the employee feels that he or
she has too many responsibilities or tasks in a defined period (Cardenas, Major & Bernas,
2004).

2.1.4 High commitment HR system

In recent years, the concept of high performance work systems gained a lot of influence in
the field of HR studies (Ramsay et al., 2000). A high performance work system is a bundle of
HR practices which attains synergistic benefits through an interactive and mutually
reinforcing impact (Huselid, 1995). Within the field of high performance work systems, some
authors emphasize high involvement HR systems while others emphasize high commitment
HR systems. High involvement HR systems concentrate on the improved possibilities for
employees to take initiative, arising from their empowerment to take decisions (Lawler,
1986). High commitment HR systems focus on the reduction of turnover and costs through
the reduction of control and monitoring. Important matter regarding the distinction between
high involvement and high commitment HR systems is the nebulosity this distinction carries
with it. As Evans and Davis (2005) posit, there is no real consensus on which HR practices
belong to which HR system. Nevertheless, many studies regarding HR systems make the
distinction and argue that HR practices associated with a high commitment HR system are
more related to affective commitment. Therefore, making the distinction sounds plausible.
Based on the above, focusing on a high commitment HR system is more relevant for this
research (Lawler, 1986).
Based on research by several authors (Appelbaum, Bailey, Berg & Kalleberg, 2000; Kroon
et al., 2009; Pfeffer, 1998), this study suggests five HR practices as being „high commitment
HR practices‟. These practices are the most frequent and clearly specified, and comprise
selectivity in hiring, employee development and career opportunities, rewards, performance
evaluation and participation and communication. When bundled, these practices form a high
commitment HR system.
Selectivity in hiring is the recruitment of exceptional talented people in order to achieve
„human capital advantage‟ (Boxall, 1996). Pfeffer (1994) argues that selectivity in hiring also
has a symbolic function towards newly recruited employees. Employee development and
career opportunities refer to keeping the knowledge, skills and abilities of employees up-to-
date to ensure quality and better performance. (Huselid, 1995). Reward is defined as the
material and non-material rewards employees get in turn for their added value to the
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organisation (Bartol & Srivastava, 2002). Performance evaluation should form the basis for
the aforementioned practices of reward, development and career opportunities (Fletcher,
2001; Huselid, 1995). The last practice of participation and communication is deemed to
affect employees by providing them tools to monitor their tasks (Huselid, 1995).

2.2 The direct effect of a high commitment HR system on turnover intention

The use of a high commitment HR system enhances employee retention (Allen, Short &
Griffeth, 2003; Huselid, 1995; Shaw, Delery, Jenkins & Gupta, 1998). Using a high
commitment HR system in the benefit of employees, should obligate them to reciprocate in a
positive way. Employees should experience that the organisation they work at, values their
contributions and cares about their well-being. This in turn will lead to lower turnover
intentions (Eisenberger, Fasalo & Davis-Lamastro, 1990). A high commitment HR system
might also lead to a positive work climate, which in turn might result in lower turnover
intentions (Way, 2002). Based on these empirical findings, it can be said that employees
perceive the use of a high commitment HR system as being beneficial in multiple ways and
therefore lowers their turnover intention.
However, the direct relationship between high commitment HR system and turnover
intention may be mediated by other factors. This research posits two different perspectives on
the relationship between a high commitment HR system and turnover intention. One positive
perspective with affective commitment as the mediating variable. The other perspective being
negative, with workload as the mediating variable.

2.3 The positive perspective

The path leading from a high commitment HR system to turnover intentions through
affective commitment can be seen as the optimistic perspective on the impact of HRM on the
employee well-being. Central to this view is the believe that HRM has a positive influence on
employees. The use of a high commitment HR system leads to a more interesting work
environment and increased empowerment. This in turn will result in more satisfied workers
and more commitment from the employees (Peccei, 2004).
The theoretical foundation for the relationship between high commitment HR systems and
affective commitment can be found in the social exchange theory (Blau, 1964; Homans,

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1961). This theory originally explained the stimulus responsible for the attitudes and
behaviours that individuals share. Several decades later, Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison
and Sowa (1986) extended this theory by suggesting that the theory of social exchange also
explains the relationship between individuals and organisations. Employees form general
perceptions of the treatment they receive. Thus, if employees perceive the support by an
organisation as positive, they would be more willing to respond in positive work attitudes and
behaviours. This will then result in a higher level of affective commitment from the employee
(Nasurdin, Hemdi & Guat, 2008).
Empirical research into the relationship between high commitment HR system and
affective commitment is scarce, but is abundant per practice. Therefore all practices will be
explicated separately. Selectivity in hiring may lead to employees having an higher sense of
appreciation and commitment they receive from the organisation. This in turn may lead to the
desire by employees to repay the organisation for this investment (Eisenberger, Fasolo &
Davis-Lamastro (1990). Empirical research by Caldwell, Chatman and O‟Reilly (1990)
support this prediction. Employee development and career opportunities should lead to
employees perceiving training investments by the organisation as symbols of continued future
employment. The resulting feeling of security and progress should lead to more commitment
(Strober, 1990). Empirical research (Maurer & Tarulli, 1994; Tsaur & Lin, 2004) support this
prediction. The concept of reward should be seen by employees as a form of support. In
return, they should show commitment to the organisation (Fioroto, Bozeman, Young &
Meurs, 2007). Empirical research by Florkowski and Schuster (1992) support this prediction.
If performance evaluation is perceived as being fair by the employees, they should show a
higher level of commitment to the organisation. This prediction is supported by empirical
research by Folger and Cropanzano (1998). The final concept of participation and
communication is supposed to increase commitment by engendering the perception that the
organisation values contributions by employees (Guest, 1992). Empirical research by
Kalleberg, Knoke, Marsden and Spaeth (1996) support this prediction.
Summarized, the use of high commitment HR practices may lead to an increased affective
commitment among employees. Since this research examines the use of a high commitment
HR system instead of individual practices, it sounds plausible that the bundle of the
abovementioned practices also lead to an increased affective commitment through their
synergistic benefits (Huselid, 1995).

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 Committed employees are more likely to stay with the organisation and strive for the
mission, goals and objectives of the organisation they work for (Meyer, Paunonen, Gellatley,
Goffin & Jackson, 1989; Mowday, Porter & Steers, 1982). In the particular case of affective
commitment, employees stay because they feel emotionally bonded with the organisation and
can identify with it. They feel devotion, belongingness and stability (Meyer, Allen & Smith,
1993).
The relationship between affective commitment and turnover intention has been
thoroughly researched and validated in previous work (Iverson & Buttigieg, 1999; Mowday,
Porter & Steers, 1982). The meta-analysis by Griffeth, Hom & Gaertner (2000) draws the
conclusion that affective commitment is one of the best predictors of turnover intention.
Affective commitment is negatively associated to turnover intentions (Meyer, Stanley,
Herscovitch & Topolnytsky, 2002), which means that an increased affective commitment
leads to a decreased turnover intention.

Literature on the mediating role of affective commitment in the relationship between high
commitment HR system and turnover intention is limited (SamGnanakkan, 2010). One of the
few empirical researches on this matter however finds a mediating role of affective
commitment on the relationship between high commitment HR system and turnover intention
(Paré & Tremblay, 2007). If employees perceive that the HR system is implemented for their
well-being, they will be more affectively committed to the organisation. This sense of
belonging and identification will lead to employees being less intended to leave the
organisation.

All of the above leads to the following hypothesis:

H1: The more an employee perceives that a high commitment HR system is used, the
higher the employee feels affectively committed to the organisation, which in turn has a
negative effect on the turnover intention the employee has.

2.4 The negative perspective

As mentioned before, some authors (e.g., Appelbaum et al., 2004) argue that a high
commitment HR system has a positive outcome for employees, whereas other authors like
Ramsay et al. (2000), argue that a high commitment HR system might also have negative
12
outcomes such as increased workload. Peccei (2004) adopts these arguments and melted them
into the pessimistic perspective on the impact of HRM on employee well-being. The use of a
high commitment HR system enhances work intensification (Delbridge, Turnbull &
Wilkinson, 1992; Fucini & Fucini, 1990). In combination with an increased surveillance
(Barker, 1993) employees have less control, have to work harder and experience greater
pressure. As Peccei (2004) expressed in a great way, HRM acts as an “ideological
smokescreen” (p. 5). In sum, only employers and not employees benefit from the
implementation of a high commitment HR system.
Although empirical research on the relation between high commitment HR system and
workload is scarce, some studies support the prediction that high commitment HR system
relates to workload. For example, Kumar (2000) concludes that increased workload is one of
the negative results employees experience from the use of a high commitment HR system.
Research by Danford, Richardson, Stewart, Tailby and Upchurch (2004) confirms these
findings.

Employees with an increased workload may experience an increased turnover intention.

The empirical research on this relationship is scarce and mainly focused on intended nurse
turnover. These articles however do find a positive relationship between workload and
turnover intention (Alexander, Lichtenstein, Oh & Ullman, 1998; Jolma, 1990; Zeytinoglu,
Denton, Davies, Baumann, Blythe & Boos, 2007).

The mediating effect of workload on the relationship between high commitment HR

system and turnover intention is not thoroughly investigated. Therefore unfortunately there is
no empirical foundation for the mediating effect of workload. Although the theoretical
foundation is scarce for the negative perspective on the use of a high commitment HR system,
several authors (Grant & Shields, 2002; Legge, 1995; Ramsay et al., 2000) plea for having a
critical view on the influences a high commitment HR system has on individual employees.
Therefore, the abovementioned findings lead to the following hypothesis:

H2: The more an employee perceives that a high commitment HR system is used, the more
workload the employee experiences, which in turn has a positive effect on the turnover
intention the employee has.

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 All hypotheses leads to the following conceptual model:

Affective
Positive
commitment
perspective + -

High commitment HR - Turnover intention

system

Negative
perspective + +

Workload
Figure 1. Conceptual model

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3. Method

3.1 Research set-up and respondents

This study is quantitative and cross-sectional, since the collection of data was conducted at
a single point in time (Baker, 1999). Data were collected by means of questionnaires. Ten
students from Tilburg University handed out the questionnaires to managers and their
employees. Because this research is done at the individual level, only the questionnaires filled
in by the employees were used.
The managers and their employees had to work at the same unit. All units consisted of at
least five participating employees and one manager. In order to ensure total anonymity, the
questionnaires were returned in closed envelopes. In the aggregate 534 employees
participated. They were located in 74 units across 40 organisations. Appendix I shows more
details about the type and size of the organisations.
Before attending the different scales used in this research, some demographic variables
will be explicated. The gender of the participants is almost equally divided, with males having
a small majority (50.3%). The average age of the respondents is 38.1 years (σ = 11.1). The
average hours worked per week is 34.0 (σ = 9.1). The employees work on average 6.2 years
(σ = 6,9) in the unit and 9.9 (σ = 9.8) years in the organisation. The demographic
characteristics are summed up in table 1.

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Table 1: Demographic charateristics of the respondents (N = 534)

Variable Gender Mean SD Minimum Maximum

Age Men 40.9 11.3 19.0 63.0
(in years) Women 35.3 10.3 18.0 63.0
Total 38.1 11.1 18.0 63.0
Weekly work hours Men 38.0 7.3 3.0 60.0
(in hours) Women 30.0 9.0 8.0 60.0
Total 34.0 9.1 3.0 60.0
Organisational tenure Men 12.0 10.8 0.0 42.0
(in years) Women 7.7 8.0 0.0 36.0
Total 9.9 9.8 0.0 42.0
Departmental tenure Men 7.3 7.9 0.2 38.0
(in years) Women 5.2 5.6 0.0 29.0
Total 6.2 6.9 0.0 38.0

3.2 Procedure

In order to reduce the large amount of variables exploratory factor analysis was used. By
doing so groups are created among the inter-correlations of a set of variables (Pallant, 2005).
The data in this research is suitable for factor analysis since the number of cases is large
enough. Furthermore, the strength of the inter-correlations among the items is good enough
for factor analysis. The number of factors for each scale is determined by the use of Cattell‟s
scree test (Cattell, 1966). Appendix II shows the unrotated factor loadings of the scale items
of the components. All the used scales had one component showing strong loadings.
Furthermore, the reliability of the scales was checked for. Therefore the corrected item-
total correlations must be higher than 0.30 and the Cronbach‟s alpha if item deleted should be
lower than the Cronbach‟s alpha of the scale. All scales had Cronbach alpha (α) scores higher
than 0.7, which confirms a sufficient internal consistency of the scales. Furthermore, content
validity was indicated through the use of references to previous research.

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 3.3 Instruments

Turnover intention
Turnover intention was measured using the scale developed by Colarelli (1984). The scale
consists of three items. Content validity of this scale was ensured by the literature from
Wayne, Randel and Stevens (2006). An example of an item is: “I frequently think of quitting
my job”. The items were measured using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly
disagree to 5 = strongly disagree. Some of the items had to be reversed.

High commitment HR system

The scale of high commitment HR system consisted of 29 items, divided into five HR
practices: selectivity in hiring (4 items), employee development and career opportunities (7
items), reward (5 items), performance evaluation (5 items) and participation and
communication (8 items). The content validity of the used items was affirmed by the literature
from Kroon et al. (2009). Kroon et al. (2009) founded their scale on the scales from Boselie
(2002), de Kok, Uhlaner and Thurik (2002) and Den Hartog and Verburg (2004). In order to
assess the employee perceptions instead of the line manager ratings, the authors reworded the
items. They measure to what extent employee agree that certain practices are used by the
organisation they work for. An example of an item is: “My department offers the opportunity
to develop skills further.” The perceptions by the respondents were based on a 5-point Likert
scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree.

Workload
Workload was measured using a shortened version of the original VBBA scale on
workload by Van Veldhoven and Meijman (1994). The scale consisted of six items and an
example of an item is: “Do you have problems with the pressure of work?”. The perceptions
by the respondents were based on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = always to 4 = never.
Content validity was confirmed by the literature (Van Veldhoven & Meyman, 1994) from
which the scale was derived.

Affective commitment
Affective commitment was measured using three items derived from the scale developed
by Allen and Meyer (1990). An example of an item is: “I feel like a part of the family in this
organisation”. The perceptions by the respondents were based on a 5-point Likert scale
17
ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. Content validity was confirmed by
the literature by Meyer & Allen (1990).

3.4 Control variables

The model controlled for the variables of contract type (part-time versus fulltime),
educational level (low, medium and high), age (in years) and gender (male or female). The
choice of these variables is determined by the possible effect they have on affective
commitment (Kroon et al., 2009), workload (Zeytinoglu et al., 2007) and turnover intention
(Pfeffer, 1983).

3.5 Intraclass correlation

Since all the variables were measured using individual employees within the same units, it
is likely that their perceptions regarding the use of a HR system and the effects on affective
commitment, workload and turnover intention are relatively similar (Bliese, 2000). Therefore
it is important to take intraclass (ICC1) correlation into account (James, 1982) When data may
be considered interval level, ICC1 can be used to measure inter-rater variability for two or
more raters. ICC1 can be conceptualized as the ratio between-groups variance to total
variance and is defined as the amount of variance in individual scores that can be explained
by the unit (Bliese, 2000).
ICC1 scores can vary between 0 and 1, respectively explaining 0 per cent and 100 per cent
of the variance. The ICC1 score for high commitment HR system is 0.368, which means that
36.8 per cent of the variance is explained by unit membership. For affective commitment,
workload and turnover intention these scores respectively were 23.8 per cent, 16.7 per cent
and 10.9 per cent.
The ICC1 scores are all quite high, which could plea for aggregation. However, there is no
consensus on which ICC1 scores are problematic for performing research on individual level.
Furthermore, the most important reason for not aggregating the data is theoretical in nature.
This research focuses on how employees perceive the use of a high commitment HR system.
Because perceptions occur within individuals, high commitment HR system is an individual
level construct in this research (Shih, Chiang & Hsu, in Werner, In press). Although
performing multilevel analysis would be better, the use of it is unfortunately not possible in
this study.

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 Thus, this research is done at the individual level. However, the results from the ICC1
calculations should be taken into account. Therefore, this issue will be further discussed in the
discussion chapter.

3.6 Statistical analyses

The collected data was processed into SPSS 18.0. In order to confirm or reject the
hypotheses, hierarchical multiple regression analysis and path analysis were used. This type
of analysis does require some demands to be met (Pallant, 2005).
First of all, this technique requires a big simple in order to generalize. This requirement
was met because of the sample of 534 respondents. Additionally, singularity was checked for,
since high commitment HR system is a combination of other independent variables.
Furthermore, attention was give to possible outliers, since multiple regression is very sensitive
to them. Finally, the distribution of scores was checked by looking at normality, linearity and
homoscedasticity using the residuals scatterplots generated by SPSS (Pallent, 2005).
After the regression analysis, path analysis was used to check to what extent the hypothesis
could be confirmed or rejected. A path model is a diagram that relates the independent,
intermediary and dependent variables. A path coefficient is a standardized regression
coefficient (beta) showing the direct effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable
in the path model. In this research, a three-variable compound path is used. The high
commitment HR system influences affective commitment and workload, which in turn
influences the turnover intentions employees might have.
The next step was to measure the mediating effect of affective commitment and workload.
This was done by following four steps as set forth by Baron and Kenny (1986). In each step,
the independent, mediating and dependent variable is included. The first step is to check
whether the independent variable of high commitment HR system has a an effect on the
dependent variable of turnover intention. In the second step, the independent variable of high
commitment HR system is used as a predictor for the mediating variables of affective
commitment and workload. The third step is to control the effect of the two mediating
variables of affective commitment and workload on the dependent variable of turnover
intention. In the fourth step, the remaining effect of the independent variable should decline or
disappear when the mediating variables are included in the measurement. If all the steps are
met, there is full mediation. If only the first three steps are met, then there is partial mediation
(Baron & Kenny, 1986).
19
 The final step in the statistical analysis was to perform a Sobel (1982) test. The Sobel
(1982) test determines the significance of the indirect effect of the mediating variables by
testing the hypothesis of no difference between the total effect and the direct effect (Preacher
& Hayes, 2004).

20
4. Results

Before performing the regression analysis, the Pearson correlation coefficients were
conducted. These coefficients determine the direction and strengths of the relationships
between the variables. The Pearson coefficients scores can be found in table 2, along with the
means and standard deviations. None of the independent variables have a correlation equal to
or greater than 0.7. This indicates that there is no question of multicollinearity. This important
requirement was met, along with the other requirements for successfully performing multiple
regression analysis.

Table 2: Means (M), standard deviations (SD) and Pearson correlation coefficients (N = 534)

Variable M SD HR Turnover Workload Affective

System intention commitment
Gender 1.50 0.50 -0.02 0.03 -0.01 0.09
Age 38.09 11.12 -0.02 -0.13*** 0.06 -0.08
Educational level 3.49 0.98 0.02 0.16*** 0.09** 0.00
** ***
Weekly work 33.99 9.10 0.11 -0.06 0.18 -0.04
hours
Tenure in unit 6.21 6.89 -0.05 -0.07 0.08 -0.13***
Contract type 1.26 0.63 -0.08 0.17*** -0.21*** -0.01
*** *** ***
Affective 3.57 0.68 0.41 -0.29 -0.09
commitment
Workload 2.07 0.48 0.08 0.53
Turnover 1.95 0.81 -0.28***
intention
High 3.28 0.54
commitment HR
system
***
. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level
**
.Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level
*
.Correlation is significant at the 0.10 level

Using the standardized beta coefficients, the different variables were compared. As Baron
and Kenny (1986) set out, the first step is to check whether the independent variable of high
commitment HR system has an effect on the dependent variable of turnover intention. The
results of the regression analysis shows a negative relationship between these variables (β = -
0.267, t = -6.106, p < 0.01). Thus, the first step by Baron & Kenny (1986) is met.
21
 The second step by Baron and Kenny (1986) is to use the independent variable of high
commitment HR system as a predictor for the mediating variables of affective commitment
and workload. In the case of workload, high commitment HR system does not have a
significant relation with this variable (β = 0.059, t = 1.297, p = 0.195). The results do support
the positive path of the conceptual model, the relationship between high commitment HR
system and affective commitment (β = 0.414, t = 9.774, p < 0.01). So, the second step is
partially met, since only the relation between high commitment HR system and affective
commitment is significant (p < 0.01).
The third step includes examining the relationship between the two mediating variables of
workload and affective commitment and the independent variable of turnover intention. The
effect of workload on turnover intention was not significant (β = -0.068, t = -1.547, p =
0.123). The effect of affective commitment on turnover intention however was significant (β
= 0.211, t = 4.450, p < 0.01). Like with the second step, this third step is partially met, since
only the relation between affective commitment and turnover intention is significant (p <
0.01).
In the fourth step, the remaining effect of the independent variable of high commitment
HR system should decline or disappear when the mediating variables of workload and
affective commitment are included in the measurement. When the mediating variables of
workload and affective commitment are controlled for in the regression analysis, the score on
the effect of high commitment HR system on turnover intention decreases, but still exists (β =
0.184, t = 3.893, p < 0.01). This results in the last step of Baron and Kenny (1986) not being
met, which in turn leads to the conclusion that there is partial mediation. Since step two only
shows positive results for the positive perspective through the mediating variable of affective
commitment, the partial mediation only accounts for this path.
The results of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis are summarized in table 3 and
also entered in figure 2. Also listed in table 3, are the R2 scores. The R2 scores tell how much
of the variance in the dependent variable is explained by the model (Pallant, 2005).

22
 Table 3: Results of the hiearchical multiple regression analysis (N = 534)

Independent variable Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4

(Turnover (Workload) (Affective (Turnover
intention) commitment) intention)
**
1. Gender -0.007 0.003 0.090 0.012
2. Age -0.074 0.000 -0.048 -0.084
3. Educational level 0.154*** 0.097** -0.020 0.143***
4. Contract type 0.121* -0.205*** 0.004 0.135***
5. High commitment HR system -0.267*** 0.059 0.414*** -0.184***
6. Workload 0.068
7. Affective commitment -0.211***
R2 0.128 0.056 0.183 0.172
F 13.514 5.452 20.468 13.614
(0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000)
***
. Significant at the 0.01 level
**
. Significant at the 0.05 level
*
. Significant at the 0.10 level

Affective
0.414*** commitment -0.211***

High commitment -0.184***

Turnover intention
HR system

0.059 0.068

Workload

***
. Significant at the 0.01 level
**
. Significant at the 0.05 level
*
. Significant at the 0.10 level

Figure 2: Results of the multiple regression analysis entered in the conceptual model

23
 Regarding the control variables, the contract type (β = -0.135, t = -2.913, p < 0.01) and
educational level (β = -0.143, t = -3.320, p < 0.01) were of significant influence on the
turnover intentions employees had. Both variables had a negative effect on the turnover
intention, meaning that higher educated employees and fulltime employees had lower
intentions in leaving the organisation than lower educated employees and part-time
employees.

Because hypothesis 2 could not be tested due nonsignificant scores, the Sobel (1982) test
was only performed on hypothesis 1. The Sobel (1982) test determines the significance of the
indirect effect of the mediator by testing the hypothesis of no difference between the total
effect and the direct effect (Preacher & Hayes, 2004). The test uses the unstandardized beta
coefficients and standard deviations of the relationships from regression analysis with the
independent variable predicting the mediator and regression analysis with the independent
variable and the mediating variables predicting the dependent variable.
As elaborated earlier, only the positive perspective of the model showed significant results.
Therefore the Sobel (1982) test was solely performed for the path from high commitment HR
system to turnover intention, through the mediation of affective commitment. The
unstandardized beta coefficients for this path were 0.519 (a) and 0.251 (b). The standard
deviations respectively were 0.053 (SDa) and 0.056 (SDb). The results of the Sobel (1982) test
show that affective commitment significantly mediates the relationship between high
commitment HR system and turnover intention (z = 4.076, p < 0.001). Therefore hypothesis 1
is confirmed.

Affective

a (SDa)
commitment
b (SDb)
0.519 (0.053) 0.251 (0.056)

High commitment
Turnover intention
HR system

Figure 3: Sobel (1982) test

24
 4.1 Individual HR practices

As elaborated in the introduction and theoretical chapter of this study, the choice for a high
commitment HR system rather than individual HR practices, is a deliberate one. For
explorative purposes, this research also investigates the influence of the individual HR
practices on the mediating and dependent variables.
Because the results showed no effect of a high commitment HR system on workload, first
the effects of the individual practices on workload is tested. As expected, none of the
individual HR practices showed any significant correlations with workload. This outcome is
strengthened by the results of the regression analysis, with none of the individual HR
practices showing significant standardized beta coefficients.
The results however did show other interesting results, as can be found in table 4. For
instance, the degree to which employees experience the use of participation and
communication had the highest correlation with affective commitment. This HR practice also
had the highest correlation with turnover intention. The regression analysis strengthened these
results, with only the practice of participation and communication having significant scores on
affective commitment (β = 0.184, t = 3.637, p < 0.01) and turnover intention (β = -0.158, t = -
3.086, p < 0.01).

Table 4: Means (M), standard deviations (SD) and Pearson correlation coefficients (N = 534)

Variable M SD Turnover Workload Affective

intention commitment
Selectivity in hiring 2.99 0.82 -0.07 0.02 0.14***
Employee development and 3.63 0.77 -0.20*** 0.09 0.25***
career opportunities
Rewards 2.71 0.92 -0.16*** 0.08 0.22***
Performance evaluation 3.67 0.75 -0.24*** 0.07 0.27***
Participation and communication 3.23 0.57 -0.27*** 0.02 0.31***
***
. Significant at the 0.01 level
**
. Significant at the 0.05 level
*
. Significant at the 0.10 level

It is interesting to notice that the bundle of HR practices (the high commitment HR system)
has better results than the individual HR practices. Of the individual practices only
participation and communication had significant standardized beta coefficients on affective
25
commitment (β = 0.184) and turnover intention (β = -0.158). These scores are significantly
lower compared to the standardized beta coefficients on the effect of high commitment HR
system on affective commitment (β = 0.414) and turnover intention (β = -0.184).
In the conclusion and discussion chapter, these results will be further discussed.

26
5. Conclusion and discussion

This research concerned the influence of a high commitment HR system on turnover

intention on the individual level. More specifically, this research distinguished two paths. One
path representing a negative perspective (Peccei, 2004) where the use of a high commitment
HR system might lead to increased turnover intention through the mediating variable of
workload. Another path representing a positive perspective (Peccei, 2004) where the use of a
high commitment HR system might lead to decreased turnover intention through the
mediating variable of affective commitment.

The empirical research by Allen et al. (2003), Shaw et al. (1998) and Way (2002)
suggested a negative effect of high commitment HR system on turnover intention. The results
in this research significantly showed a negative effect, which confirms the previous studies on
this research. The employees perceived the use of a high commitment HR system in a positive
way and therefore had less intention of leaving the organisation.

This research expected two variables having a mediating effect on the relationship between
high commitment HR system and turnover intention. To keep this chapter clear, the
conclusion and discussion will be separated between the positive and negative perspective.

5.1 The positive perspective

The first mediating variable was affective commitment. This variable represented the
positive perspective of Peccei (2004) where employees perceive the use of a high
commitment HR system as being positive. Through a more interesting work environment and
increased empowerment, employees become more committed. The theoretical foundation for
the relationship between high commitment HR system and affective commitment can be
found in the social exchange theory (Blau, 1964; Eisenberger et al., 1986). Employees form
general perceptions of the treatment they receive. If employees perceive a high commitment
HR system as positive, they are more willing to respond in positive ways, such as a higher
level of affective commitment (Nasurdin et al., 2008).
These theoretical explanations can be seen in the results of this research. The use of a high
commitment HR system resulted in a highly increased affective commitment among the
employees.

27
 The next part in the positive perceptive is the effect of affective commitment on turnover
intention. The literature indicates that committed employees are more likely to stay with the
organisation (Meyer et al., 1989). In the particular case of affective commitment, employees
stay because they feel emotionally bonded with the organisation they work for (Meyer et al.,
1993). This relationship has been thoroughly researched and led to the conclusion that
affective commitment is one of the best predictors of turnover intention (Griffeth, Hom &
Gaertner, 2000).
The sample of this research supported these explanations, since there was a relative strong,
negative effect of affective commitment on turnover intention. The question then arises
whether this positive perspective as a whole was supported by the findings in this research.
Therefore the indirect effect of affective commitment was tested for through the use of a
Sobel (1982) test. The results in this research showed a significant mediating effect of
affective commitment on the relationship between high commitment HR system and turnover
intention. Therefore, the positive perspective on the use of high commitment HR systems has
been confirmed.

5.2 The negative perspective

The results from the sample unfortunately did not show significant results for the negative
perspective where high commitment HR system leads to increased turnover intention through
an increased workload. High commitment HR system had no significant effect on workload
and workload had no significant effect on turnover intention. Therefore, testing the mediating
effect of workload on the relation between high commitment HR system and turnover
intention through the use of a Sobel (1982) test, was out of the question.
Several reasons may underlie the absence of significant results on the negative perspective.
Firstly, the empirical articles on the effect of a high commitment HR system on workload are
mainly aimed at nursery. Of the cooperating organisations, only some of them work in the
healthcare. Secondly, although the five practices in this research are deliberately chosen based
on previous literature, there is no unanimous agreement on which HR practices a high
commitment HR system should inhibit (Evans & Davis, 2005). It could be possible that other
HR practices have higher effects on workload, than the HR practices used in this study.
Thirdly and perhaps more important, this research does not address the substance of the HR
practices. This matter will be clarified through the use of an example. For instance, the use of
reward inhibits multiple aspects. Reward is defined in this research as the material and non-
28
material rewards employees get in turn for their added value to the organisation (Bartol &
Srivastava, 2002). Questions can be asked about what the organisations in the used sample
considered as being added value. For one organisation this might be increased sales, where
another organisation emphasizes improved environmental sustainability. Furthermore, the
way organisations give substance to the HR practices might cause different reactions by the
employees. To continue with the previous example of rewards, organisations can differ in the
reward system they use, varying from bonuses to promotions (Kerr & Slocum, 1987). Also,
employees may have different interests. Where one employee experiences the use of a reward
system as being important, another employee might not highly value the use of a reward
system (Deci, Koestner & Ryan, 1999). All these different aspects might lead to different
perceptions by employees and thus might lead to other effects on workload. Of course, these
different aspects might also lead to different perceptions and effects on affective commitment.
The abovementioned can be explained by examining HR attributions. The individual
employee labels a certain HR practice in a positive or a negative way (Nishii et al., 2008).
More on this topic will be discussed in the directions for future research.
Reciting, if an organisation highly emphasizes the use of a bonus system for highly
competitive goals and an employee highly values receiving the bonus, it is likely that the
employee might experience an increased workload. All of the above is only focused on the
HR practice of reward. All the other HR practices might also differ in the way organisations
give substance to them. This research ignores these interpretations and therefore may not find
the significant results on workload. At least this absence does not contribute to understanding
the underlying reasons why these practices do not significantly influence workload.
The literature on the negative perspective of high commitment HR system is limited. As
Boselie et al. (2000) stated in their literature review, nearly all the research in the field of
HRM focuses on positive outcomes. Although this research does not find any significant
results for a negative outcome, this definitely should be kept in mind when performing
research. More of this matter will be discussed in the upcoming paragraphs.

5.3 Individual HR practices

As above stated, the results confirm the positive perspective and reject the negative
perspective on the use of a high commitment HR system. This outcome led to researching the
influence of the individual HR practices on the mediating and dependent variables.

29
 As expected, none of the individual HR practices had significant influence on the workload
employees experience. Regarding the variables of affective commitment and turnover
intention, only the HR practice participation and communication had a significant influence
on both of these variables. Interesting outcome however was, that the effect of this individual
HR practice is smaller than the effect of the bundle of HR practices on affective commitment
and turnover intention. This might plea for the use of a high commitment HR system, rather
than for using individual HR practices.

5.4 Strengths and limitations

This research has several strengths. Firstly, the focus of this study is on the employee.
Nearly all studies on HR systems are based on managerial reports (Grant & Shields, 2002). In
this study however, the results are based on employee reports. Secondly, where the bulk of
studies on HR systems focuses on positive outcomes (Boselie et al., 2005), this research adds
the negative outcome of HR systems. By doing so, this study tries to break through the
“ideological smokescreen” (Peccei, 2004, p. 5) HRM seems to be. The final strength of this
research is practical of nature. The number of respondents is relatively high and are spread
across multiple organisations, active in various sectors. This adds to a strong external validity
(Mitchell & Jolley, 2001).
Besides these strengths, this study also has several limitations. Firstly, this study is cross-
sectional which means that all the data was collected at the same time. Weakness of a cross-
sectional study is the difficulty in making causal relationships (Bryman, 2004). For example,
it could be the case that excessive workload influences the way employees perceive the use of
a high commitment HR system. Another downside of cross-sectional studies is the time-span.
Cross-sectional studies are performed at a single point in time. The results of the study might
be different when another timeframe was chosen (Bryman, 2004). Secondly, this research
used questionnaires for the gathering of data. The use of questionnaires has several
disadvantages. Respondents might give biased or socially desirable answers, since they may
have filled in the questionnaires in presence of their supervisor or peers. Furthermore, you do
not know for sure whether the respondents filled in the questionnaire by their selves. Also,
they might not know the answer to some questions or do not understand some of the
questions. This could result into missing values (Bryman, 2004). More, respondents might
tend to fill in the questionnaires in a consistent way. This so called common method bias
might lead to an increased correlation between the variables. Thirdly, the ICC1 values in this
30
research were relatively high. As elaborated in paragraph 3.4, this might be a reason to
aggregate the data, since a high per cent of the variance is explained by unit membership.
Although this research did not aggregate for theoretical reasons, it does restrict the strength of
the results in this research (Bliese, 2000). Fourthly, this research emphasizes the use of
individual perceptions of employees, where most of the studies on HRM is based on
managerial reports (Grant & Shields, 2002). However, completely ignoring the presence of
the line manager is an error in the current study. Line managers are crucial for HRM as they
are responsible for managing people at the operational level (Guest, 1991; Marchington,
2001). In this role, they are inevitably responsible for the implementation of a high
commitment HR system (Gratton & Truss, 2003). That said, the use of a high commitment
HR system remains subject to the experience of individual employees. Fifthly, although the
five practices in this research are deliberately chosen based on previous literature, there is no
unanimous agreement on which HR practices a high commitment HR system should inhibit
(Evans & Davis, 2005). Sixthly, the empirical literature on the effect of high commitment HR
system on workload is mainly done in nursery settings. The sample in this study has
organisations working in all kinds of sectors. Therefore the empirical foundation on this
relation is not very strong. Seventhly, this research does not pay attention to the substance
organisations give to the used HR practices. The absence of information on that matter,
prohibits this research from giving any explanations for not finding any significant effects of
high commitment HR system on workload.

5.5 Directions for future research

This study researched the positive and negative perspectives on the relationship between
the use of a high commitment HR system and turnover intention on the individual level. The
positive perspective with an increased affective commitment got significantly accepted. Based
on these findings and the limitations mentioned in the previous paragraph, this study suggests
several directions for future research.
Firstly, longitudinal research should be performed. This enhances the ability of making
causal relations, especially because perceptions of employees towards the organisation
changes over time (Thomas & Anderson, 1998). Also, the effects of using a high commitment
HR system cannot be realised in a short time and the way employees perceive the use of a
high commitment HR system might change over time (Boselie et al., 2005). Secondly, multi-
level analysis should be performed. As the ICC1 values showed, a large amount of the
31
variance on the constructs can be explained by unit membership. By using multi-level
analysis the variance at the individual level and the unit level can be studied simultaneously
(Bowen & Ostroff, 2000). The advantage of multi-level analysis is that the data will be
aggregated, in order to reduce errors at the individual level. However, a problem with multi-
level analysis is that the amount of statistical techniques are limited (Wright & Boswell,
2002). Furthermore, using aggregated data will result into the loss of valuable information at
the individual level. Thirdly, future research might compare different professions. The
empirical research finding increased workload through the use of high commitment HR
system is mainly done in nursery settings. Since this study does not find any significant
results for this effect, it might be of interest to research the effect while comparing different
professions. Fourthly, it might be interesting for future research to gain more insight on the
way organisations give substance to the different HR practices. By doing so, explanations
might arise for certain results and therefore some effects or missing effects may become
clearer. The same accounts for employees that experience the use of these practices. As
mentioned before, this can be examined by adding the variable of HR attributions (Nishii et
al., 2008).

5.6 Implications

This research tried to balance the perceptions on the use of high commitment HR systems.
Where most studies emphasize the positive side of HR (Boselie et al., 2005), this study
searched for a possible negative effect of high commitment HR systems. This negative
perception was largely based on the work of Ramsay et al. (2000), which states that managers
are constantly driven to find ways to make employees work harder, longer and/or more
efficient in order to maximize labour input. This research however did not find any significant
results for a negative effect of a high commitment HR system on turnover intention through
an increased workload. This research did find significant results for the positive perspective,
where a high commitment HR system decreases turnover intention, partially through an
increased affective commitment.
These results plea for the use a high commitment HR system. If HR managers choose to
use a high commitment HR system this might result in an decreased turnover intention,
potentially through an increased affective commitment. Since turnover intention is the
immediate precursor of actual turnover (Tett & Meyer, 1993), it can be expected that a
decreased turnover intention also leads to decreased actual turnover. Furthermore, the results
32
in this study confirm the synergistic benefits of using a bundle of HR practices. Therefore, it
is recommended for managers to use a high commitment HR system, rather than individual
HR practices. If organisations for any reason are not able to use a high commitment HR
system and can only use one HR practice at the time, the results of this research suggests
managers to use participation and communication.
Despite the positive outcomes of this research, HR managers should keep in mind that
using a high commitment HR system is not always a guarantee for positive outcomes. As
Ramsay et al. (2000) posit, HR practices and systems can also be used for organisational
purposes without keeping the employee in mind. As Legge (1995) argues, HRM might be a
wolf in sheep‟s clothing and should therefore always be critically observed.

33
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7. Appendices

7.1 Appendix I: Participating companies

Organisation Sector Organisation size

(number of employees)
1 Healthcare > 500
2 Governmental institution > 500
3 Technology 101-500
4 Insurance > 500
5 Consumer electronics 101-500
6 Consultancy 21-50
7 Governmental institution 101-500
8 Insurance > 500
9 Technology > 500
10 Professional services > 500
11 Retail > 500
12 Healthcare > 500
13 Insurance 10-20
14 Banking 101-500
15 Healthcare 51-100
16 Healthcare 10-20
17 Security 10-20
18 Waste management > 500
19 Public 101-500
20 Food service industry 51-100
21 Banking > 500
22 Unknown 21-50
23 Healthcare > 500
24 Retail 101-500
25 Cleaning > 500
26 Food service industry 21-50
27 Food service industry 21-50
28 Public 10-20

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29 Accountancy > 500
30 Public > 500
31 Insurance > 500
32 Technology 21-50
33 Commercial services 51-100
34 Commercial services 101-500
35 Banking > 500
36 Commercial services 101-500
37 Commercial services 101-500
38 Engineering 101-500
39 Public > 500
40 Public 10-20

43
 7.2 Appendix II: Unrotated factor loadings

High commitment HR system

Component matrixa
Component
1
pHRM1
pHRM2 0.465
pHRM3 0.515
pHRM4 0.409
pHRM5 0.531
pHRM6 0.580
pHRM7 0.549
pHRM8 0.672
pHRM9 0.651
pHRM10 0.666
pHRM11 0.671
pHRM12 0.492
pHRM13 0.575
pHRM14 0.616
pHRM15 0.546
pHRM16 0.375
pHRM17 0.478
pHRM18 0.515
pHRM19 0.520
pHRM20 0.559
pHRM21 0.498
pHRM22 0.492
pHRM23 0.590
pHRM24 0.442
pHRM25 0.454
pHRM26 0.484
44
pHRM27 0.467
pHRM28 0.395
pHRM29 0.371
pHRM30 0.408
pHRM31 0.357
pHRM32
Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis
a. 1 component extracted

Turnover intention
Component matrixa
Component
1
verloop1 0.824
verloop2 0.872
verloop3 0.863
Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis
a. 1 component extracted

Workload
Component matrixa
Component
1
werk1 0.697
werk2 0.806
werk3 0.779
werk4 0.733
werk5 0.625
werk6 0.702
Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis
a. 1 component extracted

45
 Affective commitment
Component matrixa
Component
1
comm1 0.788
comm2 0.891
comm3 0.835
Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis
a. 1 component extracted

46
 7.3 Appendix III: Scales in the questionnaire used in this research

Grotendeels mee oneens

Deze vragen gaan over het personeelsbeleid op uw afdeling.

Grotendeels mee eens

Helemaal mee oneens
Geef per stelling aan in hoeverre u de stelling juist vindt voor uw afdeling.

Helemaal mee eens

Neutraal
Mijn afdeling biedt:

1 het gebruik van selectie-interviews voor het selecteren van nieuwe medewerkers. 1 2 3 4 5

2 het gebruik van selectietests (bijvoorbeeld intelligentie, persoonlijkheid, 1 2 3 4 5

interesse) voor het selecteren van nieuwe medewerkers.

3 het gebruik van assessment centers voor het selecteren van nieuwe 1 2 3 4 5
medewerkers.

4 het gebruik van gespecialiseerde selectiebureaus voor het selecteren van 1 2 3 4 5

nieuwe medewerkers.

5 enige vorm van opleiden. 1 2 3 4 5

6 formele interne bedrijfstrainingen. 1 2 3 4 5

7 externe trainingen. 1 2 3 4 5

8 de mogelijkheid om vaardigheden verder te ontwikkelen. 1 2 3 4 5

9 sociale vaardigheidstrainingen zoals communicatietraining of presentatietraining. 1 2 3 4 5

10 managementtraining en -ontwikkeling. 1 2 3 4 5

11 formele carrièretrajecten. 1 2 3 4 5

12 hogere salarissen dan marktconform is. 1 2 3 4 5

13 naast het basissalaris een bonus of andere financiële extra’s. 1 2 3 4 5

14 naast het basissalaris een individuele prestatiebeloning. 1 2 3 4 5

15 naast het basissalaris een team- of afdelingsgebonden prestatiebeloning 1 2 3 4 5

16 een systeem voor winstdeling. 1 2 3 4 5

17 een formeel functionerings- en beoordelingssysteem. 1 2 3 4 5

18 jaarlijkse evaluatie van prestaties in een gesprek. 1 2 3 4 5

19 beoordeling van prestatie meerdere keren gedurende het jaar in een gesprek. 1 2 3 4 5

47
 Grotendeels mee oneens

Grotendeels mee eens

Helemaal mee oneens

Helemaal mee eens

Neutraal
20 gezamenlijk overeengekomen prestatiedoelen. 1 2 3 4 5

21 beoordeling van teamprestatie als onderdeel van mijn beoordeling. 1 2 3 4 5

22 werkoverleg. 1 2 3 4 5

23 betrokkenheid bij het maken van beleid. 1 2 3 4 5

24 de vrijheid om in nieuwe materialen en technologie te investeren. 1 2 3 4 5

25 de mogelijkheid om zelf de onderlinge taken in te delen. 1 2 3 4 5

26 deelname in zelfsturende teams. 1 2 3 4 5

27 de mogelijkheid om zelf de kwaliteit en de uitvoer van het werk te bewaken. 1 2 3 4 5

28 het zelf bewaken van de kosten en de productiviteit. 1 2 3 4 5

29 betrokkenheid bij beslissingen over het selecteren van een nieuwe collega. 1 2 3 4 5

30 beïnvloeding van de direct leidinggevende van de eigen werkplanning. 1 2 3 4 5

31 controle van activiteiten door de leidinggevende. 1 2 3 4 5

32 dagelijkse verdeling van taken door de leidinggevende. 1 2 3 4 5

Een beetje mee oneens

Deze vragen gaan over uw betrokkenheid bij de organisatie. Kunt u

Een beetje mee eens
aangeven in welke mate u het eens bent met de volgende stellingen?
Sterk mee oneens

Sterk mee eens

Mee eens
Neutraal
Oneens

91 Ik ervaar problemen van deze organisatie als mijn eigen problemen. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

92 Ik voel me als een deel van de familie in deze organisatie. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

93 Ik heb sterk het gevoel dat ik bij de organisatie waar ik werk thuishoor. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

48
Deze vragen gaan over de werkdruk die u ervaart. Kunt u aangeven in welke
mate onderstaande stellingen op u van toepassing zijn?

Soms
Nooit

Altijd
Vaak
110 Heeft u te veel werk te doen? 1 2 3 4

111 Moet u extra hard werken om iets af te krijgen? 1 2 3 4

112 Moet u zich haasten? 1 2 3 4

113 Heeft u te maken met een achterstand in uw werkzaamheden? 1 2 3 4

114 Heeft u problemen met het werktempo? 1 2 3 4

115 Heeft u problemen met de werkdruk? 1 2 3 4

Helemaal mee oneens

Deze vragen gaan over uw verloopintentie. Kunt u aangeven in welke mate u
het eens bent met de volgende stellingen?

Helemaal mee eens

Mee oneens

Mee eens
Neutraal
117 Als het aan mij ligt, werk ik over een jaar nog steeds bij deze organisatie. 1 2 3 4 5

118 Ik denk er vaak over om te stoppen met mijn baan. 1 2 3 4 5

119 Ik ben van plan om een andere baan te gaan zoeken binnen nu en een 1 2 3 4 5
jaar.

49