Unraveling the dynamics of employee retention in Asian organizations: exploring the interplay of organizational identification, affective commitment, and trust in leadership

This paper examines a mechanism by which organizational identification influences turnover intention, i.e., one of the important factors about employees’ attitudes and behaviors in relation to their organization. Specifically, in this paper, we examine the role of affective commitment and trust in leader in the identification-turnover intention relationship, using a time-lagged research design with data from several organizations in two Asian countries, in two studies (Study I with 258 Chinese employees and Study II with 433 South Korean participants). Study 1 shows that affective commitment mediated the relationship between organizational identification and turnover intention. Study 2 extends Study 1 by identifying a moderator, i.e., trust in leader. Specifically, trust in leader moderates the relationship between organizational identification and affective commitment, as well as the mediating effect of affective commitment in the organizational identification and turnover intention linkage. These findings have implications for both management theory and practice.