Drawing from the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory, the study explores the relationship between goal clarity, trust in management, work–family conflict and intention to stay among managers in the IT and Information Technology Enabled Service sectors. It also analyses the mediating role of employee engagement in the relationship between job resources (i.e., goal clarity and trust in management), job demands (i.e., work–family conflict) and intention to stay. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 200 managerial level employees in India. The model was tested using structural equation modelling techniques. Results indicate that employee engagement fully mediates the relationship between goal clarity, trust in management and intention to stay. This study makes significant theoretical contributions by exploring and establishing the relationship between goal clarity and intention to stay. It also contributes to relevant literature by demonstrating the mediating effects of employee engagement with goal clarity, trust in management and intention to stay of managerial level employees. In addition, this article describes the practical implications of work engagement and intention to stay.
AgarwalU. A. (2014). Linking justice, trust and innovative work behaviour to work engagement. Personnel Review, 43(1), 41–73.
2.
AlAzzamM.AbuAlRubR. F.NazzalA. H. (2017). The relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction among hospital nurses. Nursing Forum, 52(4), 278–288.
3.
AlbrechtS. L.BakkerA. B.GrumanJ. A.MaceyW. H.SaksA. M. (2015). Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organisational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1), 7–35.
4.
AlfesK.ShantzA. D.TrussC.SoaneE. C. (2013). The link between perceived human resource management practices, engagement and employee behaviour: A moderated mediation model. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(2), 330–351.
5.
AliasM.RasdiR.M.IsmailM.SamahB. A. (2013). Predictors of workplace deviant behaviour: HRD agenda for Malaysian support personnel. European Journal of Training and Development, 37(2), 161–182.
6.
BaileyC.MaddenA.AlfesK.FletcherL. (2017). The meaning, antecedents and outcomes of employee engagement: A narrative synthesis. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(1), 31–53.
7.
BakkerA. B. (2011). An evidence-based model of work engagement. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20(4), 265–269.
8.
BakkerA. B.DemeroutiE. (2007). The job demands-resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328.
9.
BakkerA. B.DemeroutiE. (2014). Job demands-resources theory. In ChenP. Y.CooperC. L. (Eds.), Wellbeing: A complete reference guide, Volume III, work and wellbeing. John Wiley & Sons.
10.
BakkerA. B.KillmerC. H.SiegristJ.SchaufeliW. B. (2000). Effort-reward imbalance and burnout among nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 31(4), 884–891.
11.
BhatnagarJ. (2007). Talent management strategy of employee engagement in Indian ITES employees: Key to retention. Employee Relations, 29(6), 640–663.
12.
BryantP. C.AllenD. G. (2013). Compensation, benefits and employee turnover: HR strategies for retaining top talent. Compensation & Benefits Review, 45(3), 171–175.
13.
CarrJ. C.BoyarS. L.GregoryB. T. (2008). The moderating effect of work-family centrality on work-family conflict, organisational attitudes, and turnover behavior. Journal of Management, 34(2), 244–262.
14.
CostiganR. D.InsingaR. C.BermanJ. J.KranasG.KureshovV. A. (2012). A four country study of the relationship of affect based trust to turnover intention. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 42(5), 1123–1142.
15.
DeConinckJ. B.StilwellC. D. (2004). Incorporating organisational justice, role states, pay satisfaction and supervisor satisfaction in a model of turnover intentions. Journal of Business Research, 57(3), 225–231.
16.
DeeryM. (2008). Talent management, work-life balance and retention strategies. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 20(7), 792–806.
17.
Deloitte. (2018). The rise of the social enterprise. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/at/Documents/human-capital/at-2018-deloitte-human-capital-trends.pdf
18.
DemeroutiE.BakkerA. B.De JongeJ.JanssenP. P. M.SchaufeliW. B. (2001). Burnout and engagement at work as a function of demands and control. Scandinavian Journal of Work and Environment and Heath, 27(4), 279–286.
19.
DirksK. T.FerrinD. L. (2002). Trust in leadership: Meta-analytic findings and implications for research and practice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 611–628.
20.
EdwardsJ. R.RothbardN. P. (2000). Mechanisms linking work and family: Clarifying the relationship between work and family constructs. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 178–199.
21.
ErtürkA. (2014). Influences of HR practices, social exchange, and trust on turnover intentions of public IT professionals. Public Personnel Management, 43(1), 140–175.
22.
FarndaleE.Hope-HaileyV.KelliherC. (2011). High commitment performance management: The roles of justice and trust. Personnel Review, 40(1), 5–23.
23.
Forbes Coaches Council. (2017). Essential leadership skills for the workplace of tomorrow. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/12/27/16-essential-leadership-skills-for-the-workplace-of-tomorrow/#3d6abc2554ce
24.
FornellC.LarckerD. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.
25.
Gallup. (2017). State of global workforce reports. https://www.gallup.com/services/178517/state-global-workplace.aspx
26.
Gonzalez-MuléE.CourtrightS. H.DeGeestD.SeongJ. Y.HongD. S. (2016). Channeled autonomy: The joint effects of autonomy and feedback on team performance through organisational goal clarity. Journal of Management, 42(7), 2018–2033.
27.
GreenhausJ. H.BeutellN. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 10(1), 76–88.
28.
GrumanJ. A.SaksA. M. (2011). Performance management and employee engagement. Human Resource Management Review, 21(2), 123–136.
29.
HairJ. F.BlackW. C.BabinB. J.AndersonR. E. (2014) In BlackW. C. (Ed.), Multivariate data analysis(7th ed.)Pearson Education Limited.
30.
HakanenJ. J.BakkerA. B.SchaufeliW. B. (2006). Burnout and work engagement among teachers. Journal of School Psychology, 43(6), 495–513.
31.
HambrickD. C.FinkelsteinS.MooneyA. C. (2005). Executive job demands: New insights for explaining strategic decisions and leader behaviors. Academy of Management Review, 30(3), 472–491.
32.
HayesA. F.RockwoodN. J. (2017). Regression-based statistical mediation and moderation analysis in clinical research: Observations, recommendations, and implementation. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 98, 39–57.
33.
HochschildA. R. (1997). When work becomes home and home becomes work. California Management Review, 39(4), 79–97.
34.
HollandP.CooperB.SheehanC. (2017). Employee voice, supervisor support, and engagement: The mediating role of trust. Human Resource Management, 56(6), 915–929.
35.
HoltomB. C.BurchT. C. (2016). A model of turnover-based disruption in customer services. Human Resource Management Review, 26(1), 25–36.
36.
HsiehC. C.WangD. S. (2015). Does supervisor-perceived authentic leadership influence employee work engagement through employee-perceived authentic leadership and employee trust? The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(18), 2329–2348.
37.
IgbariaM.GreenhausJ. H. (1992). The career advancement prospects of managers and professionals: Are MIS employees unique? Decision Sciences, 23(2), 478–499.
38.
JungC. S. (2011). Organisational goal ambiguity and performance: Conceptualization, measurement, and relationships. International Public Management Journal, 14(2), 193–217.
39.
KimK.JogaratnamG. (2010). Effects of individual and organisational factors on job satisfaction and intent to stay in the hotel and restaurant industry. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 9(3), 318–339.
40.
KinnunenU.MaunoS. (1998). Antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict among employed women and men in Finland. Human Relations, 51(2), 157–177.
41.
LockeE. A.LathamG. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting & task performance. Prentice-Hall, Inc.
42.
LockeE. A.MotowidloS. J.BobkoP. (1986). Using self-efficacy theory to resolve the conflict between goal-setting theory and expectancy theory in organisational behavior and industrial/organisational psychology. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 4(3), 328–338.
43.
LowryP. B.PoseyC.BennettR. B. J.RobertsT. L. (2015). Leveraging fairness and reactance theories to deter reactive computer abuse following enhanced organisational information security policies: An empirical study of the influence of counterfactual reasoning and organisational trust. Information Systems Journal, 25(3), 193–273.
44.
MayerR. C.DavisJ. H. (1999). The effect of the performance appraisal system on trust for management: A field quasi-experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(1), 123.
45.
MayerR. C.GavinM. B. (2005). Trust in management and performance: Who minds the shop while the employees watch the boss?. Academy of Management Journal, 48(5), 874–888.
46.
McCloskeyJ. C.McCainB. E. (1987). Satisfaction, commitment and professionalism of newly employed nurses. Image: The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 19(1), 20–24.
47.
MrayyanM. T. (2008). Hospital organisational climates and nurses’ intent to stay: Differences between units and wards. Contemporary Nurse, 27(2), 223–236.
48.
MuduliA.VermaS.DattaS. K. (2016). High performance work system in India: Examining the role of employee engagement. Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, 17(2), 130–150.
49.
MulkiJ. P.LocanderW. B.MarshallG. W.HarrisE. G.HenselJ. (2008). Workplace isolation, salesperson commitment, and job performance. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 28(1), 67–78.
50.
NetemeyerR. G.BolesJ. S.McMurrianR. (1996). Development and validation of work–family conflict and family–work conflict scales. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(4), 400–410.
51.
NoeR. A.HollenbeckJ. R.GerhartB.WrightP. M. (2017). Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage. McGraw-Hill Education.
52.
ParkesL. P.LangfordP. H. (2008). Work–life balance or work–life alignment? A test of the importance of work-life balance for employee engagement and intention to stay in organisations. Journal of Management & Organisation, 14(3), 267–284.
53.
RousseauD. M.SitkinS. B.BurtR. S.CamererC. (1998). Not so different after all: A cross-discipline view of trust. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 393–404.
54.
SaksA. M. (2006). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21(7), 600–619.
55.
SaksA. M. (2011). Workplace spirituality and employee engagement. Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 8(4), 317–340.
56.
SaksA. M.GrumanJ. A. (2014). What do we really know about employee engagement?. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 25(2), 155–182.
57.
SalanovaM.AgutS.PeiróJ. M. (2005). Linking organisational resources and work engagement to employee performance and customer loyalty: The mediation of service climate. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(6), 1217.
58.
SawyerJ. E. (1992). Goal and process clarity: Specification of multiple constructs of role ambiguity and a structural equation model of their antecedents and consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77(2), 130.
59.
SchaufeliW. B.BakkerA. B. (2004). Job demands, job resources, and their relation with burnout and engagement: A multi-sample study. Journal of Organisational Behavior, 25(3), 293–315.
60.
SchaufeliW. B. (2017). Applying the job demands-resources model. Organisational Dynamics, 2(46), 120–132.
61.
SchaufeliW. B.SalanovaM.Gonzalez-RomaV.BakkerA. B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 71–92.
62.
ShafferM. A.HarrisonD. A.GilleyK. M.LukD. M. (2001). Struggling for balance amid turbulence on international assignments: Work–family conflict, support and commitment. Journal of Management, 27(1), 99–121.
63.
ShinY.HurW. M.ChoiW. H. (2020). Coworker support as a double-edged sword: A moderated mediation model of job crafting, work engagement, and job performance. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(11), 1417–1438.
64.
Society of Human Resource Management Reports. (2016). SHRM/Globeforce influencing workplace culture through employee recognition and other efforts. https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/all-things-work/pages/to-have-and-to-hold.aspx
65.
SpectorP. E.JexS. M. (1998). Development of four self-report measures of job stressors and strain: Interpersonal conflict at work scale, organisational constraints scale, quantitative workload inventory, and physical symptoms inventory. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3(4), 356–367.
66.
SpectorP. E.AllenT. D.PoelmansS. A.LapierreL. M.CooperC. L.MichaelO. D.BroughP. (2007). Cross-national differences in relationships of work demands, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions with work–family conflict. Personnel Psychology, 60(4), 805–835.
67.
StokesP.LarsonM.BalasubrahmanyamS.SinghS. K.GhoshP.SatyawadiR.JoshiJ. P.ShadmanM. (2013). Who stays with you? Factors predicting employees’ intention to stay. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 21(3), 288–312.
68.
ThompsonK. R.TerpeningW. D. (1983). Job-type variations and antecedents to intention to leave: A content approach to turnover. Human Relations, 36(7), 655–681.
69.
VolkweinJ. F.ZhouY. (2003). Testing a model of administrative job satisfaction. Research in Higher Education, 44(2), 149–171.
70.
WaychalP. (2018). Examining the effect of goal clarity on faculty performance. European Journal of Engineering Education, 43(4), 597–605.
71.
WhitenerE. M.BrodtS. E.KorsgaardM. A.WernerJ. M. (1998). Managers as initiators of trust: An exchange relationship framework for understanding managerial trustworthy behavior. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 513–530.
72.
YadavL. K. (2016). Employee engagement among academicians: Interaction effect of perceived organizational support and individualism. Vilakshan: The XIMB Journal of Management, 13(1), 21–38.
