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Impact of organizational sociotechnical system on managerial retention

A general linear modeling approach
Koustab Ghosh
Calcutta Business School, Kolkata, India, and

Organizational sociotechnical system 33

Received 2 December 2009 Revised 28 April 2010 Accepted 22 June 2010

Sangeeta Sahney
Vinod Gupta School of Management, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
Abstract
Purpose The industrial organizations all over the world are operating in a highly competitive and challenging business environment. Achieving customer satisfaction on a continual basis keeping in view of the increasing expectations of the customers has been the key to the growth of business and operations. Customer satisfaction and business development can only be achieved by retaining the competent and capable managers at different hierarchical levels of the organizations. But with the growing career opportunities and better employment prospects available, turnover of managerial personnel has become an increasingly important industrial problem worth studying in the recent years. The purpose of this paper is to examine the industry-wide problem of managerial turnover. Design/methodology/approach The paper describes a study which is diagnostic in nature and which follows a causal design approach to empirically examine if the impacts of both the organizational social and technical subsystem elements on managerial retention are signicant or not. In the rst phase, a pilot survey was conducted on a sample of 93 managerial respondents at junior and middle levels in order to test the validity and reliability of the survey instrument. The second phase of the study was conducted on a sample of 444 junior and middle-level managers from various organizations located in India to determine the causal impacts of the organizational social and technical subsystem factors on managerial retention through developing an integrated model by using the general linear modeling technique. Findings The results were in the expected direction and fullled the research aim of the current study. The factor analysis had grouped the items into seven constructs with a total of 53 items. Studies indicate that in industrial organizations the design of managerial jobs by balancing both the organizational social and technical subsystem elements does impact managerial retention. The empirical model developed through general linear modeling technique supports the proposed relationships. Originality/value Through identifying and empirically establishing the impacts of organizational social and technical subsystem elements on managerial retention in Indian context, this paper helps to understand the managerial expectations from their prospective employers. The top management of the business organizations may use the ndings as guiding criteria, while constructing, managing, and evaluating their managerial retention strategies in Indian context. Keywords India, Managers, Retention, Employee turnover, Organizational culture Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction Retention of managerial personnel especially at junior and middle levels has been a consistent problem that most of the organizations have been facing in their

Journal of Modelling in Management Vol. 6 No. 1, 2011 pp. 33-59 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1746-5664 DOI 10.1108/17465661111112494

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organizational lives. Following the rivalry and huge competitive pressure among the organizations, better opportunities available in other organizations, greater mobility of human capital, and acute shortage of competent managerial personnel have made the situation more alarming for organizations since the last decade. Till recently, the global recession and the industrial slowdown have made a mark to curb out the rates of turnover of managerial personnel in all the sectors. But as the business scenario is about to improve in due course of time, the industrial houses would start facing the war of retaining talent all over again. The various reasons for people leaving the organizations have been found as external inequity of salary, limited growth opportunities, role stagnation, under utilization of skills, and lack of recognition. The focus of sociotechnical system (STS) theory approach lies in its balanced emphasis on social and technical variables to conceive any organizational problem, and hence the same has been adopted as the basic theoretical framework to study the problem of managerial turnover. The present study has tested and developed a general linear model to examine the causal impact of social and technical subsystem elements on retention of managerial personnel in organizations. The ambit of managerial personnel under this study covers the junior and middle-level managers working in the units at various locations and at different functional levels of specialization in a number of large-scale public and private sector organizations in India. 2. Theoretical framework STS is an established methodology that provides a structured approach to redesign of job-related processes (Pasmore and Sherwood, 1978; Taylor and Felten, 1993; Fox, 1995; Eijnatten, 1998). It holds that jobs in organization can be conceived in terms of social and technical subsystems. Broadly, the social subsystem includes the prole and expectations of organizational members, patterns of supervisory-subordinate relationships, interpersonal relationship of employees and the nature and interaction of subgroups within the population. The technical subsystem of an organization consists of the tools, work techniques and procedures, skills, knowledge, and devices used by members of the social subsystem to accomplish the tasks of the organization (Trist and Bamforth, 1951; Thompson and Bates, 1957; Woodward, 1958; Emery, 1959; Emery and Trist, 1965). The social subsystem of an organization is comprised of the people who work in the organization and the relationships among them (Trist and Bamforth, 1951; Emery, 1959, 1962; Trist et al., 1963; Pasmore, 1988). Broadly, the social subsystem includes the prole and expectations of organizational members, patterns of supervisory-subordinate relationships, interpersonal relationship of employees and the nature and interaction of subgroups within the population. The STS theorists contend that the needs, which people bring with them to the workplace, have to be identied and ways have to be made to meet those needs through the design of the technology and the work. The dimensions of the social subsystem include occupational roles, role relationships into teams around tasks, the nature of coordination and control, the degree of delegation, the degree of reliance on the expertise of workers in making complex judgments and decisions, and the social integration of workforce. The social subsystem at an organizational level comprises the individuals, who work in the organization and the total of their individual and social attributes. The social subsystem at individual job levels encompasses individuals aptitudes, skills, their attitudes and beliefs, and their relationships within and between groups.

The technical subsystem of an organization consists of the tools, work techniques and procedures, skills, knowledge, and devices used by members of the social subsystem to accomplish the tasks of the organization (Trist and Bamforth, 1951; Thompson and Bates, 1957; Woodward, 1958; Emery, 1959; Trist et al., 1963). The level of variety, challenge, feedback, control, decision making, and integration provided for social subsystem members is largely a function of the way in which the technical subsystem is arranged (Fullen, 1970; Davis, 1979; Davis and Taylor, 1979). STS theory (Trist and Bamforth, 1951; Emery, 1959; Cherns, 1976, 1978; Trist, 1981; Pasmore, 1988; Benders, 1993; Eijnatten, 1998; Hyer et al., 1999) proposes that work design should jointly optimize the social and technical subsystems of an organization. The mismatch between the functions and processes of the technical subsystem on the one hand and the needs and requirements of the social subsystem on the other include consequences like underutilization of plant and people, pervasive apathy, inexibility in adapting to change, turnover of key personnel and growing disruption of operations (Davis, 1979). The technical subsystem of an organization consists of the tools, techniques, devices, artifacts, methods, congurations, procedures and knowledge used by organizational members to acquire inputs, and transform inputs into outputs. At the micro level, the social subsystem embodies characteristics such as individual motivation, group performance, communication, exibility, involvement, autonomy, commitment, and satisfaction. At a macro level, the social subsystem represents organizational culture and social integration. The technical subsystem holds the tools, knowledge base, and technology required to acquire inputs, transform inputs into outputs, and provide outputs or services to customers in the organization. At the individual level, the technical subsystem affects work design, productivity, self-perceptions, and psychological contracts. At the functional unit or department level, the technical subsystem affects roles structures, physical layout, interaction patterns, and supervisory behaviour. At the organization level, the technical subsystem affects relationships among departments, organizational structure, reward systems, organizational exibility, and overall competitiveness (Perrow, 1970; Cummings and Srivastava, 1977; Macy et al., 1995; Lawler, 1996; de Sitter et al., 1997; Pasmore, 1988; Hendrick, 1991). Designs particularly at the level of jobs incorporate various attempts to provide better security, equity, and rewards, teamwork, and to satisfy the growingly articulated psychological needs of all who work. Autonomy of individuals and groups, their work roles and the social structure (interactions, person-organization t (POF)) of the organization are important components of job design and organizational restructuring (Table I) (Davis, 1979; Cherns, 1987; Klein, 1994; Fox, 1995; de Sitter et al., 1997; Kinder, 2000; Shin, 2007). Further research needs to be done to map out all the variables included in the management of work and space so as to gain a better understanding of the relationships that exist between such things as quality of environment, job design, management styles, human resource practices, and technology. When it is understood how these different elements interact and affect one another, one can move towards developing innovative and competitive intervention strategies that will help not only to build sustainable managerial retention in companies, but also to transform typical work environments into great places to work. 3. Conceptualization of research variables and hypotheses In this paper, organizational social and technical subsystem elements are assessed to have an impact on retention of managerial personnel (Figures 1 and 2) through

Organizational sociotechnical system 35

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Author(s)/researcher(s)

Moos (1981), Spector and Michaels (1986), Hom et al. (1992), Deery- Both Schmitt and Todd (1995), Miller (1996), Kiyak et al. (1997), Geurts et al. (1998), Wright and Cropanzano (1998), Barak et al. (2001), Chan et al. (2008) and Tracey (2008)

Offermann and Gowing (1990), May (1998), Kuemmler and Kleiner (1996), Caudron (1997), Perrin Towers (2003) and Scroggins (2007)

Porter and Steers (1973), Lee and Mowday (1987), Lockwood and Ansari (1999) and Heather (2003)

Table I. Overview of studies conducted in managerial retention

Empirical/ theoretical Major ndings Theoretical Both Causes and antecedents to employee turnover: demographic factors (e.g. age, education, job level, gender, and tenure with the organization), professional perceptions (e.g. organizational commitment, professional commitment, job satisfaction, motivation potential, value conict, and burnout), and organizational conditions (e.g. stress, social support, fairness-management practices, physical comfort, and organizational culture); personal background, worker attitude, and job characteristics are also related to job satisfaction, commitment, and turnover Different work outcome expectations in terms of job signicance, emotionally satisfying work experiences, and external rewards; meaningful work experiences are critical to employee engagement, performance, and turnover Hired competent people to be treated professionally, provided with the nest technology, and encouraged emotional bonding between the company and employee Various factors related to turnover and absenteeism in work situations namely 1. Organization-wide factors, 2. Immediate work environment factors, 3. Job-related factors, and 4. Personal factors Met expectations, job values, job attitudes, intention to leave the organization, and actual leaving were related to many of the abovetheorized antecedent variables Retention strategies include raising salaries; stay bonuses; career advancements, promotions; training; personal recognition; time off; working conditions; and supportive managers and supervisors (continued)

Author(s)/researcher(s) Both

Empirical/ theoretical Major ndings

Carsten and Spector (1987), Hom and Griffeth (1991,1995), Mosley and Hurley (1999), Buck and Watson (2002), Ramlall (2003) and Bhatnagar (2007)

Woods and Macaulay (1989), Alexander et al. (1994), Woods (1995) Both and Zuber (2001)

Royalty (1998), Labov (1997), Sigler (1999), Brown and Yoshioka (2003) and Chen et al. (2004)

Empirical

Salincik and Pfeffer (1978), Allen and Meyer (1996), Kristof-Brown et al. (2005), Chew and Chan (2008), Coldwell et al. (2008) and Moynihan and Pandey (2008) Hogan and Roberts (2000) and Birdir (2002) Theoretical

Empirical

Retention strategies include training and development program, redening job classications and minimizing restrictive work rules, designing jobs for groups; levels of organizational commitment; compensation and benets, organizational afliation, customized work environments, competent HR employees Employee satisfaction instrumental for decreasing employee turnover HRM strategies can affect organizational commitment and potentially inuence turnover Employees in service sectors most frequently switched over the organizations for factors like quality of supervision, ineffective communication, working conditions, quality of co-workers, inappropriate t with company culture, low pay and few benets, lack of clearly dened responsibilities, and no direction on what to do Employee retention associated with a predictable and stable work environment High level of organizational inefciency associated with a high level of staff turnover Increased training and career development promotes a high degree of job satisfaction, which in turn leads to retention Business with strong internal communication systems enjoyed lower turnover of staff Incentive pay and job satisfaction are the two major inuencing factors to the problem of employee retention Person-job and POF are related to employees work experience as individuals perceive t and experiential meaning through the performance of job tasks; and social information-processing network Socio-analytic theory has provided a framework for the management of t perceptions of individuals in organizations General managers turnover in the hospitality industry was primarily due to management conicts and lack of career movements (continued)

Organizational sociotechnical system 37

Table I.

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Author(s)/researcher(s) Both

Mosley and Hurley (1999), Scott (2002) and Lin and Chang (2005)

March and Simon (1958), Mobley et al. (1979), Rusbult and Farrell Empirical (1983), Hulin et al. (1985), Price and Mueller (1986), Rust et al. (1996), Hom and Kinicki (2001) and Westlund and Hannon (2008)

Coward et al. (1995), Barak et al. (2001), Mak and Sockel (2001) and Empirical Chan et al. (2008)

Table I.
Empirical/ theoretical Major ndings Factors as compensation and benets, organizational afliation, customized work environments, competent HR employees as some of the prime factors of talent retention Managers should have a clearly dened role in decision-making, receive constructive and high-quality feedback, and be made to feel valued members of their organization; and learning experiences to strengthen their organizational commitment Meta-analyses and structural equation modeling techniques support a causal relationship of employee turnover and universally propose a negative relationship between satisfaction and turnover Improving employee satisfaction thus appears to be instrumental for decreasing employee turnover Intention to leave, in addition to, actual turnover was studied as the outcome variable Antecedents to retention and turnover among service sector employees suggest that the best predictors of intention to quit are job satisfaction, organizational commitment, professional commitment, and burnout. The ndings have also indicated that the strongest single predictor of actual turnover is intention to leave

Supervisory relationship

Organizational sociotechnical system

Managerial retention

Social subsystem

Peer group interaction

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Figure 1. Hypothesized causal relationship of social subsystem constructs to managerial retention

Person organization fit

Managerial job characteristics

Technical subsystem

Work technology support

Managerial retention

Perceived organizational support

Figure 2. Hypothesized causal relationship of technical subsystem constructs to managerial retention

developing a causal model that is proposed and tested subsequently. Hypotheses have been developed that essentially can serve to test the distinct impacts of social and technical subsystem elements on managerial retention. The causal model is intended to provide organizations with a logical path for addressing the issue of managerial turnover by examining the strength of each variable in relation to managerial retention for reducing turnover intention. a. Supervisory relationship Van Dierendonck et al. (2002) studied the relationship between the supervisory behaviour and subordinate absenteeism and found that supervisory behaviour is directly related to the subordinate absenteeism. They used the leader-member exchange (LMX) scale developed by Scandura and Graen (1984), Le Blanc et al. (1993) and Graen and Uhl-Bien (1995). Deluga (1998), by using the scale developed by Kozlowski and Doherty (1989), studied the subordinate-supervisor relationship with organizational citizenship behaviour and supervisor effectiveness, and found that a positive LMX behaviour contributes to organizational citizenship behaviour and supervisor effectiveness. Higher quality subordinates obtain special benets and opportunities, including the delegation of tasks without interference, favorable performance reviews,

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visible assignments, valued promotions, and career development support. In the context of employee-retention strategies, studies done by Lockwood and Ansari (1999) and Heather (2003) reconrmed that supportive managers and supervisors inuence the turnover of employees to a large extent: H1. Positive relationship of managers with immediate supervisor has a signicant impact on managerial retention. b. Peer group interaction Van der Vegt et al. (1998) and Van der Vegt and Van de Vliert (2002) studied the motivating effects of task interdependence (social job dimension) in work teams, and found a strong relationship between the task interdependence measures and the personal work outcome of team members. Taking the lead from the study of Wagner and Moch (1986), Eby and Dobbins (1997), Van der Vegt et al. (1998) and Taggar and Haines (2006) studied the reciprocal team interdependence. This psycho-social support received at the level of peer groups at workplace increases the job involvement of individual employees and reduces the intention to quit the organization (Chan et al., 2008; Moynihan and Pandey, 2008): H2. Congenial interpersonal relationship of managers with peer group has a signicant impact on managerial retention. c. Person-organization t OReilly et al. (1991), in the context of people and organizational culture, made an extensive study on the construct of POF. Results suggested that a better t predicted job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and hence reduced employee turnover. Also, the studies done by Coldwell et al. (2008), Chew and Chan (2008) and Moynihan and Pandey (2008) in the context of people and organizational culture, related the construct of POF with the intention to leave and employee turnover: H3. A better t of individual managers with the organizational norms and practices has a signicant impact on managerial retention. d. Managerial job characteristics Robie et al. (1998) have studied the job-level characteristics from a number of previous studies (Hackman and Oldham, 1976; Treiman, 1977; Hunter et al., 1990) to reect the relationship between job levels and job satisfaction. Palvia et al. (2001) had developed a framework regarding the information system quality comprising the task characteristics, technology, people, and organization. Following the increased trend of computerization of all functional level of managerial jobs, Palvia et al. (2001) and Westlund and Hannon (2008) have developed a framework regarding the information system quality comprising the task characteristics, technology, people, and organization, and found the relation among nature of job, job satisfaction, and turnover intention: H4. Managerial job characteristics (MJC) have a signicant impact on managerial retention. e. Work technology support Shani et al. (1992) have dened technology as the combination of individual expertise (skills and knowledge), techniques, machines, and computers required for converting inputs into outputs in the form of products or services. Palvia et al. (2001) also studied

40

work technology in the context of sociotechnical approach to determine the quality of a computer information system: H5. Available technological support at workplace has a signicant impact on managerial retention. f. Perceived organizational support Perceived organizational support (POS) is dened as the employees global beliefs concerning the extent to which the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being (Eisenberger et al., 1986). Johlke et al. (2002) studied a few selective aspects of POS as an antecedent to employee commitment taking leads from earlier studies by Eisenberger et al. (1986, 2001). Brandes et al. (2004), in their study, have reected the relationship between the organizational support facilities, employee involvement and work outcomes. The similar ndings were further corroborated in the studies done by Ramlall (2003), Bhatnagar (2007), Chan et al. (2008) and Chew and Chan (2008), and established that positive organizational support inuences the intention to stay back with the organization: H6. Organizational support facilities received by managers have a signicant impact on managerial retention. 4. Applied methodology a. Sample The sample (n 444) consisted of junior and middle level managers employed in both public and private sector organizations in Indian context, which were further bifurcated to manufacturing or service industries (Tables II and III). The organizations within the manufacturing industry were covered from heavy engineering, automobile, power generation, and chemical-processing sectors. The organizations within the service industry were covered from commodity trading, power distribution, IT solutions, engineering consultancy, and cargo and courier services. In all the organizations studied, the total employee strength stood above 1,000. The diverse background of the organizations enhanced the external validity and likely generalizability of the results. b. Measures A questionnaire was administered that assessed the organizational STS variables and their impact on retention of managers at junior and middle levels in the organization. The measures for each variable were mostly adapted from the scales developed in
Organizations 1. Organization 2. Organization 3. Organization 4. Organization 5. Organization 6. Organization 7. Organization 8. Organization 9. Organization A B C D E F G H I Public sector Private sector p p p p p p p p p Manufacturing industry Service industry Power generation Automobile Heavy engineering Chemical processing Commodity trading Power distribution IT solutions Engineering consultancy Cargo and courier

Organizational sociotechnical system 41

Table II. Distribution of studied organizations

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Organizations 1. Organization A 2. Organization B 3. Organization C 4. Organization D 5. Organization E 6. Organization F 7. Organization G 8. Organization H 9. Organization I Total

No. of junior managerial respondents 28 24 23 32 21 23 26 20 23 220

No. of middle managerial respondents 23 20 20 30 25 28 32 21 25 224

Total no. of managerial respondents 51 44 43 62 46 51 58 41 48 444

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Table III. Distribution of sample respondents in nal study

previous research studies as have been cited in detail under the section of conceptualization of research variables. The measures were put to Likert-type categorical rating scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). c. Procedure and analysis A pilot study was conducted to nd out the validity and reliability of the measuring instrument. Factor analysis and Cronbachs alpha measure of reliability were calculated. In the second phase of the study, sample respondents at junior and middle managerial levels lled up the questionnaire that measured the linkages of social and technical subsystem variables to the retention of managers in this study. Bivariate regression and general linear modeling were applied on the dataset of item responses obtained from the sample, through using SPSS 10.0 version to test the model t of the proposed relationships among the causal and outcome variables. 5. Data analysis and results The variables were examined for departures from normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity that might attenuate the correlation between the variables. Table IV contains the descriptive statistics, and correlation coefcients for the variables. The statistical method used in these scales was principal component factor analysis. The guideline used was a factor loading of 0.5 or above (Hair et al., 1995).
Variables MJC WTS POS SR PGI POF MR Mean SD MJC 1.00 0.45 * * 0.45 * * 0.39 * * 0.47 * * 0.47 * * 0.33 * * 3.64 0.62 WTS 1.00 0.26 * 0.14 0.32 * * 0.41 * * 0.17 3.34 0.71 POS SR PGI POF MR

Table IV. Correlation, mean, and standard deviations of research variables

1.00 0.69 * * 0.48 * * 0.66 * * 0.42 * * 3.43 0.63

1.00 0.60 * * 0.70 * * 0.36 * 3.47 0.87

1.00 0.66 * * 0.43 * * 3.47 0.59

1.00 0.47 * * 3.36 0.63

1.00 4.00 0.60

Notes: Correlation signicance at: *0.05 and * *0.01 levels (two-tailed)

The recommended guidelines for principal component factor analysis are at least 50 responses, and a ratio of ve responses for every variable in each scale being measured (Hair et al., 1995). This sample size met both the criteria. Table III illustrates the results of the pre-test in detail. In assessing measurement reliability, Fornell and Larcker (1981) stress the importance of the reliability of each measure (individual item), and the internal consistency or composite reliability of each construct (Cronbach, 1951). The reliability score and factorial loading of each item were found to be well above the acceptable criterion of 0.50. The results of factorial validity and construct reliability (Table V) establish the construct-item validation and the internal consistency of the measures used in this study, respectively. 6. Hypotheses testing For all the following set of hypotheses: . the data were subjected to the bivariate regression analysis; . standardized regression coefcient (b) was determined; and . the associated values of two-tailed t-test of signicance ( p-values) were applied to assess the signicance of individual coefcients. H1. Positive relationship of managers with immediate supervisor has a signicant impact on managerial retention. The result showed that the effect of positive supervisory relationship (SR) on managerial employee retention was in hypothesized direction and it was statistically signicant (standardized regression coefcient 0.63, p , 0.01) (Table VI). This meant that the hypothesis failed to get rejected, and there was a signicant impact of positive SR on managerial employee retention. In the organizational context, it implies that sharing feedback and information with the subordinate, trustworthiness of the supervisor, recognition, reciprocity, cooperation towards the subordinate, and fair appraisal of performance are the decisive factors for the retention of junior and middle-level managerial personnel. H2. Congenial interpersonal relationship of managers with peer group has a signicant impact on managerial retention. The result showed that the effect of congenial interpersonal relationship with peer group on managerial employee retention was in hypothesized direction and it was statistically signicant (standardized regression coefcient 0.59, p , 0.01), (Table VI). This meant that the hypothesis failed to get rejected, and there was a signicant impact of congenial interpersonal relationship with peer group on managerial employee retention. In the organizational context, it implies that discussing job-related problems among the group members, cooperation received, cohesion, informality, and socialization among the members, are the decisive factors for the retention of junior and middle-level managerial personnel: H3. A better t of individual managers with the organizational norms and practices has a signicant impact on managerial retention.

Organizational sociotechnical system 43

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Variables

1. Supervisory relationship (SR)

2. Peer group interaction (PGI)

3. Person-organization t (POF)

Table V. Results of factorial validity and construct reliability of research variables Measurement items Factor loading (l) Composite reliability (a) 0.88 0.72 Relationship with the immediate supervisor inuences managerial retention as and when Supervisors feedback helps to improve performance 0.89 Supervisor consults and openly shares information on important matters with people working under him or her 0.88 Supervisor is reliable and trustworthy 0.92 Supervisor gives credit for a job well done 0.92 Supervisor tries to understand subordinates point of view when discusses problems or projects 0.89 Supervisor fairly evaluates job performance 0.93 Supervisor understands the job-related problems and needs well 0.94 Relationship with the work group members inuences managerial retention as and when One can share and discuss job-related issues with peers in the department 0.78 Peers in the department can share and discuss job-related issues with someone 0.75 Cooperation is received from people in the department to do the job well 0.75 Members can collectively inuence many important issues in the department 0.68 Members of the work group work closely together and during the same time frame 0.78 One is satised with the friendliness of the people in the department 0.79 People interact informally with each other within the department 0.77 People socialize with the co-workers even outside the job 0.71 The integration between the individual and organization inuences managerial retention as and when Individual differences (e.g. gender, race, physical disabledness, social background, etc.) are respected in the organization 0.71 Members in one department discuss with people in other departments how the quality of others work affects them 0.76 People from one department discuss with people in other departments how the quality of their work affects others 0.78 0.76 (continued)

Variables

Measurement items

Factor loading (l)

Composite reliability (a)

4. Managerial job characteristics (MJC)

0.68

5. Work technology support (WTS)

Each department knows enough about other related departments within the company 0.81 Information about the organizations long-range plan and nancial status are shared at managerial levels 0.78 Achievement and competence are more important than hierarchical status 0.74 Managers are encouraged to try new ways of doing things, even if they always might not work out 0.74 The elements of managerial jobs inuence managerial retention as and when The job is not simple, repetitive, and requires a great deal of thought 0.74 Staying on schedule and planning for the future are important for jobs 0.69 There is authority commensurate with the position to make the decisions necessary for accomplishing assigned task 0.64 A number of people diagnose, solve problem, and collaborate together to deal with the work 0.72 People are allowed to determine job sequence in the department 0.74 To get the job done, one is required to coordinate the work with others in the department 0.71 The job requires coordinating ones own work with people in other departments also 0.68 The job requires expertise and specialized skills that may not be readily available with people 0.79 Technological support at workplace inuences managerial retention as and when The technology makes it easy for me to work with others as part of a team 0.83 The technology that is used in the department requires high level of technological skill 0.84 The technology helps to reduce the complexities of routine operating procedures 0.81 The technology that is predominantly used is complex and advanced by nature 0.81 0.78

(continued)

Organizational sociotechnical system

Table V.

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Variables

The technology is effective and reliable to turn out work as fast as possible One feels comfortable to work with the technology used in the department The technology that is used for ones work is exible to keep up with change arising out of job requirements 6. Perceived organizational support (POS) Organizational support facilities inuence managerial retention as and when Work stations in the department are comfortable One is fairly compensated in the organization The amount of work one is expected to do on the job is reasonable There are opportunities available for the manager to develop career and learn new skills within the company There is good alignment between ones own department and others with whom one needs to coordinate Top management has high integrity and commitment to the growth of the organization Senior executives/managers are willing to extend cooperation in order to help managers perform their jobs to the best of their ability The company really cares about employee well-being Time-off policies are exible enough to let one take care of his/her personal and family needs

Note: Acceptable factor loadings and reliabilities (guidelines used l . 0.5 and reliability .0.5), respectively

Table V. Measurement items Factor loading (l) 0.83 0.82 0.82 0.75 0.79 0.80 0.80 0.77 0.77 0.66 0.83 0.66 0.77 Composite reliability (a)

The result showed that the effect of a better t of an employee with the organizational norms and practices on managerial employee retention was in hypothesized direction and it was statistically signicant (standardized regression coefcient 0.68, p , 0.05) (Table VI). This meant that the hypothesis failed to get rejected, and the integration of persons within the organization had a signicant impact of on managerial employee retention. In the organizational context, it implies that information sharing at organizational levels, work culture and diversity, recognition for performance, and scope for doing things differently are the decisive factors for the retention of junior and middle-level managerial personnel: H4. MJC have a signicant impact on managerial retention. The result showed that the effect of MJC (positive job characteristics) on managerial employee retention was in hypothesized direction and it was statistically signicant (standardized regression coefcient 0.58, p , 0.05) (Table VI). This meant that the hypothesis failed to get rejected, and the elements of MJC had a signicant impact of on managerial employee retention. In the organizational context, it implies that repetitiveness, complexity, planning, decision making, specialization, and coordination are the decisive factors related to managerial jobs for the retention of junior and middle-level managerial personnel: H5. Available technological support at workplace has a signicant impact on managerial retention. The result showed that the effect of work technology support (WTS) on managerial employee retention was in the hypothesized direction and it was statistically signicant (standardized regression coefcient 0.55, p , 0.05) (Table VI). This meant that the hypothesis failed to get rejected, and the support of work technology had a signicant impact of on managerial employee retention. In the organizational context, it implies that required operational skill, usefulness, user acceptability, exibility, and effectiveness are the decisive factors related to the technological support for the retention of junior and middle-level managerial personnel: H6. Organizational support facilities received by managers have a signicant impact on managerial retention. The result showed that the effect of organizational support facilities on managerial employee retention was in the hypothesized direction and it was statistically signicant (standardized regression coefcient 0.61, p , 0.05) (Table VI). This meant that

Organizational sociotechnical system 47

Variables Supervisory relationship Peer group interaction Person-organization t Managerial job characteristics Work technology support Perceived organizational support

Standardized coefcients (b) 0.63 0.59 0.68 0.58 0.55 0.61

t-value 3.10 * * 2.95 * * 3.13 * 2.12 * 2.09 * 3.08 * *

t-signicant 0.004 0.007 0.029 0.033 0.035 0.005

Notes: Signicance at: *p , 0.05 and * *p , 0.01; dependent variable managerial employee retention

Table VI. Regression coefcient results for hypothesis testing (social and technical subsystem variables)

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the hypothesis failed to get rejected, and there was a signicant impact of POS on managerial employee retention. In the organizational context, it implies that infrastructure, compensation received, workload, career development, support from top management and seniors, employee benets, and work-family balance are the decisive factors related to the POS for the retention of junior and middle-level managerial personnel. 7. Integrated model General linear modeling was applied to nd out the causal linkage in order to test the proposed model. The pooled sample model (partial h 2-values, observed power, and signicant F-change) yielded a reasonable t to the data. Therefore, the model was accepted as reliable and t to proceed with further analysis. The model summary in Table VII shows that at the rst step the social subsystem variables namely SR, peer group interaction (PGI), and POF as the xed factors had a signicant impact on managerial retention. In the second step, the two-way interaction effects among the xed factors were determined to measure their impact on managerial retention. In the nal step, the three-way interaction effects among the xed factors were determined to measure their impact on managerial retention. It may be observed from Table VII that the three-way interactive effects among all the xed factors (causal variables) under organizational social subsystem constructs were found to have a signicant impact managerial retention for the pooled sample with the associated F-change statistics (Table VII). Table VII shows that the overall model is signicant at the 0.000 level and the effect size is partial h 2 R 2 0.908, meaning that the model explains 90.8 percent of the variance in retention of managerial personnel. The tests of between-subjects effects shows that the full factorial interaction (SR*PGI*POF) is signicant indicating that the xed (organizational social subsystem) factors individually as well as collectively impact the retention of managerial employees in the organizations. Power level equals to/greater than 0.80 is considered reliable for conrming the acceptance of research hypotheses (Khuri, 1985; Levy and Neill, 1990). The model summary in Table VIII shows that at the rst step the organizational technical subsystem variables namely MJC, WTS, and POS as the xed factors had a

48

Source Corrected model Intercept Organization SR PGI POF SR * PGI SR * POF PGI * POF SR * PGI * POF

Type III sum of squares df 123.46b 2,429.47 174.56 6.29 6.57 6.08 10.24 11.38 18.56 12.38 30 9 1 1 22 16 22 35 40 29

Mean square 0.40 2,429.4 7 174.56 0.28 0.41 0.27 0.24 0.28 0.32

F 4.31 26,151.17 94.22 3.07 4.42 2.97 3.15 3.06 2.60 3.89

Sig. 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Partial Non-centrality Observed powera h 2 parameter 0.90 0.99 0.60 0.33 0.34 0.32 0.45 0.47 0.35 0.37 1,328.95 26,151.17 94.22 67.72 70.79 65.46 110.26 122.59 75.44 115.61 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.807 0.864 0.902 0.956 0.887 0.978 0.963

Table VII. Tests of between subjects effects of social subsystem variables

Notes: aComputed using a 0.05; bR 2 0.908 (adjusted R 2 0.697); dependent variable: managerial employee retention

Source Corrected model Intercept Organization MJC WTS POS MJC * WTS MJC * POS WTS * POS MJC * WTS * POS

Type III sum of squares df 126.22 2,354.03 1.83 8.87 7.64 5.92 13.27 10.51 16.03 14.05
b

Mean square 0.39 2,354.03 1.83 0.59 0.38 0.26 0.31 0.22 0.27 0.29

F 5.15 30,657.77 7.00 29.46 7.70 4.98 3.50 4.11 2.97 3.53

NonPartial centrality Observed Sig. h 2 parameter powera 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.93 0.99 0.19 0.48 0.44 0.38 0.58 0.52 0.62 0.61 1,643.90 30,657.77 29.46 115.59 99.60 77.19 172.84 136.89 208.78 181.02 1.000 1.000 1.000 0.821 0.993 0.857 0.919 0.872 0.946 0.889

Organizational sociotechnical system 49

32 0 1 1 15 20 22 42 46 59
b

Notes: aComputed using a 0.05; managerial employee retention

R 2 5 0.930 (adjusted R 2 0.750); dependent variable:

Table VIII. Tests of between-subjects effects of technical subsystem variables

signicant impact on managerial retention. In the second step, the two-way interaction effects among the xed factors were determined to measure their impact on managerial retention. In the nal step, the three-way interaction effects among the xed factors were determined to measure their impact on managerial retention. It may be observed from Table VIII that the three-way interactive effects among all the xed factors (causal variables) under organizational technical subsystem constructs were found to have a signicant impact on managerial retention for the pooled sample with the associated F-change statistics. Table VIII shows that the overall model is signicant at the 0.000 level and the effect size is partial h 2 R 2 0.930, meaning that the model explains 93 percent of the variance in retention of managerial personnel. The tests of between-subjects effects also shows that the full factorial interaction (MJC*WTS*POS) is signicant indicating that the xed (organizational technical subsystem) factors individually as well as collectively impact the retention of managerial personnel in the organizations. As the power levels are greater than 0.80 for all types of factorial interactions, indicates the high probability of research hypotheses being accepted. The statistical signicance of these social and technical subsystems elements to the construct of organizational social and technical subsystems are, respectively, represented by correlation coefcients, and that of each subsystem element to managerial retention is conrmed by regression coefcients shown in the model (Figure 3). Although each individual factor had a signicant inuence on managerial retention, the general linear model emphasizes the combined impact of all the factors in retaining managers in organizations. This model as an integrative approach of STS factors backed by adequate empirical analysis can be considered as a reliable generic model that stands true for a variety of organizations engaged in different industrial and business operations. 8. Research outcome This study investigated the impact of organizational social and technical subsystem elements on managerial retention. The bivariate regressions (Table VI) as a causal design test supported the research hypotheses, and all three social subsystem elements

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Social subsystem

Supervisory relationship 0.63 Peer group interaction 0.59 Person organization fit Organizational sociotechnical system 0.68 0.58 Managerial job characteristics Technical subsystem 0.55 Work technology support 0.61 Perceived organizational support Managerial retention

50

Figure 3. General linear model for impact of STS on managerial retention

(SR, PGI, and POF) had signicant impacts on retention of managerial personnel at junior and middle levels in organizations. Given the results, the senior and top management should be careful about creating positive impacts of these factors in the context of designing the social structure of managerial jobs in the organizations. The analysis also examined the relationships between the technical subsystem elements (MJC, WTS, and POS) and managerial retention in organizations. The test of bivariate regressions (Table VI) supported the research hypotheses, and all three technical subsystem elements (MJC, WTS, and POS) had signicant impacts on retention of managerial personnel at junior and middle levels in organizations. The senior and top management should be careful about creating positive meaningful work experiences supported by technological and operational facilities in the context of designing the technical structure of managerial jobs in the organizations. The combined effect of social and technical design of managerial jobs would function as a source of competitive advantage in the attraction and retention of quality managerial resources at junior and middle levels. The senior management along with the HR professionals has to develop suitable retention initiatives that become more effective in retaining managerial talents and reducing attrition rates. The balanced sociotechnical design of managerial jobs gives more job satisfaction to the managerial personnel, which brings more commitment to work and organization and reduces attrition rates. 9. Managerial implications The positive superior-subordinate relationship in terms of factors like sharing feedback, sharing information, trustworthiness, recognition, reciprocity, performance appraisal,

and cooperation can signicantly reduce the turnover intention of managerial personnel, and this nding from the study is consistent with the ndings from the studies of Deluga (1998) and Van Dierendonck et al. (2002) based on the notion of LMX processes. The top management of the organizations has to emphasize on building a healthy superior-subordinate relationship by following the above supervisory practices at all levels in the organization as a continual process. Congenial interpersonal relationships and interactions at peer level as an enabling social subsystem element to managerial retention are having signicant impacts in terms of factors like sharing feedback by self to others and others to self, cooperation, collectivist orientation, group proximity, harmony, informality, and socialization. This nding from the study is consistent with the ndings from the studies of Van der Vegt et al. (1998), Van der Vegt and Van de Vliert (2002) and Taggar and Haines (2006) in the context of team-based interdependence and work outcomes. The departmental/unit heads have to be sensitive to developing and maintaining a supportive and reciprocative relationship among the colleagues within the department/unit. At times, this work place interaction and interdependence get extended to their social lives beyond the organizational boundary. Over the course of time, this familial feeling brings in organizational citizenship behaviour among the organizational managers (Mosley and Hurley, 1999; Scott, 2002; Lin and Chang, 2005). POF in terms of factors adapted from the study of OReilly et al. (respect for diversity, sharing feedback by own unit to others and vice versa, inter-unit information sharing, organizational information sharing and fair management practices, performance-based recognition, and encouraging willingness to experiment) and was found to have a signicant impact on retention of junior and middle-level managerial personnel in organizations. The nding from the study supports and coincides with the result from a number of previous studies (Salincik and Pfeffer, 1978; Allen and Meyer, 1996; Kristof-Brown et al., 2005) conducted in social integration between the person and organization as incidental to managerial retention. The top management and the HR team have to build a transparent organization culture sensitive to the needs and expectations of professionally qualied managerial workforce. The characteristics of managerial job assignments in terms of factors like non-complexity and repetitiveness, planning and timeliness, authority for decision making, extent of teamwork, exibility, intra-unit task linkage, inter-unit task linkage, and task specialization were found to have a signicant impact on retention of managerial personnel in this study. The presence of these factors in managerial job assignments produces high level of job satisfaction that in turn is associated with reduced managerial turnover in organizations (Coward et al., 1995; Barak et al., 2001; Mak and Sockel, 2001). Work technology has a wide connotation in the present study and has been dened as have dened technology as the combination of individual expertise (skills and knowledge), techniques, machines, and computers required for converting inputs into outputs in the form of products or services (Shani et al., 1992). In the managerial job context of present scenario, workplace technology has taken the form of computerized support system. WTS in terms of factors like team facilitation, operational skill, complexity, usefulness, effectiveness, user acceptability, and exibility were found to have a signicant impact on retention of managerial personnel.

Organizational sociotechnical system 51

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52

POS in terms of factors like infrastructure, compensation, workload, career development, inter-unit support, support from top management, support from seniors, employee well-being, work-family balance had a signicant impact on retention of managerial personnel in organizations. The presence of these support facilities in organizations is associated with the increase in involvement, commitment, and positive work outcomes of managerial personnel (Eisenberger et al., 1986, 2001; Johlke et al., 2002; Brandes et al., 2004); and that in turn enhances the likelihood of managerial retention level as supported by this present study. The redesign the managerial jobs has to be developed by the top management along with the human resource management professionals as part of the organizations managerial retention initiative strategies. While the issues like open information sharing at all levels, building professional work culture, managerial leadership, compensation, infrastructural support, inter-departmental relations involve the actions of top management at the organizational level; the issues of superior-subordinate relationship, peer-level relations, team work, career planning, job characteristics, and work technology call for actions on the part of concerned line managers and human resource professionals at various functional levels. Hence, the integration of organizational social and technical subsystems elements as antecedents to managerial retention require interface among various groups of organizational members at different levels of interactions. Hence, the top management along with the HR professionals of the organization has to carefully integrate and institutionalize all these organizational social and technical subsystem factors in order to enhance managerial retention. 10. Future research implications The study suggests that sociotechnical antecedents of turnover have to be included in retention models. Organizations often attempt to moderate turnover by offering extrinsic factors that individuals value and might increase individuals sense of continuance organizational commitment (Porter and Steers, 1973; Lee and Mowday, 1987; Lockwood and Ansari, 1999; Heather, 2003). The sociotechnical perspective of this study focuses on both intrinsic (social) and extrinsic (technical) factors incidental to managerial retention. The inclusion of both social and technical subsystem constructs in models of retention may increase the validity of theoretical framework and provide a holistic assessment of the managerial turnover phenomenon. The longitudinal studies in specic organizations can be conducted to determine how the improvements made in the organizational social and technical subsystem variables impact the retention of managerial personnel in the organization. As the future extension of this study, each of the organizational STS variable used in this study can be broken up into a number of research constructs and using the structural equation modeling technique path analyses can be conducted to examine the impact of the research constructs on the outcome variable managerial retention. Also, the studies can be conducted in a number of representative organizations in a specic sector to assess the impact of organizational sociotechnical system on managerial retention. When the study gets repeated in different sectors, a sectoral perspective can emerge out of this research issue. At the third level of research, the study can be taken up both at national and international levels to compare the ndings in these two different contexts, and empirical model(s) can be developed based upon the convergent/divergent research outcomes.

11. Limitations of the study One major limitation of this study is being a survey research by nature; the generic linear model has been developed based on the empirical ndings of the junior and middle level managerial responses from the selective organizations in this study. Covering a large number of organizations from other industrial sectors could make the model more generalized. Instead of following specic sectoral approach, this study focuses on a generic research approach in various types of industrial organizations. With the present study, it is hoped that the ideas presented here help the management and human resource professionals in creating balanced social and technical subsystems; and stimulate the management researchers to expand the scope and application base of organizational STS in resolving various problems that the organizations face in their organizational life cycle.
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Wright, T.A. and Cropanzano, R. (1998), Emotional exhaustion as a predictor of job performance and voluntary turnover, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 83 No. 3, pp. 486-93. Zuber, A. (2001), A career in food service cons: high turnover, Nations Restaurant News, Vol. 35 No. 21, pp. 147-55. Further reading Hoyle, R.H. and Panter, A.T. (1995), Writing about structural equation models, in Hoyle, R.H. (Ed.), Structural Equation Modeling: Concepts, Issues, and Applications, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. Hu, L. and Bentler, P.M. (1999), Cutoff criteria for t indexes in covariance structure analysis: conventional criteria versus new alternatives, Structural Equation Modeling, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 1-55. About the authors Koustab Ghosh is presently working as an Assistant Professor in the area of Organization Behaviour and Human Resource Management at Calcutta Business School, Kolkata, India. His research interest lies in organization structure and design, management of change, and human-organization integration. Koustab Ghosh is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: koustabghosh@yahoo.co.in Sangeeta Sahney is presently working as an Assistant Professor at Vinod Gupta School of Management, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. Her research interest lies in organization behaviour, quality management, and consumer behaviour.

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