To quit or not to quit: organizational determinants of voluntary turnover in MNC subsidiaries in Singapore

Abstract

Adopting an inductive case study approach, the paper develops an empirically grounded theoretical framework for organizational determinants of voluntary turnover of local staff in MNC subsidiaries. The research draws upon semi-structured interviews with HR managers at the Singaporean subsidiaries of six western multinationals. Using the conceptual lens of organizational identification, the study derives two turnover determinants related to organizational structure and three turnover determinants related to organizational practices and explores how these organization-level factors may translate into individual turnover decisions. Implications for organizational responses to turnover and subsidiary staff careers are discussed.

Keywords:

• multinational corporations
• organizational identification
• Singapore
• subsidiary staff
• turnover