Talent Management Practices and Turnover Intention: The Mediating Role of Employee Attributions and the Moderating Role of Digital Technology Adoption

Abstract

Talent management (TM) has emerged as a major strategic concern for organisations aiming to maintain competitive advantage and minimise employee turnover in the modern era of the knowledge-based economy. The current study examines the influence of TM practices on turnover intention in the IT sector of Pakistan, with employee attributions towards TM as a mediating variable and adoption of digital technology as a moderating variable. The study is based on Social Exchange Theory and attribution theory; it has a quantitative and cross-sectional design, with the data of 392 IT professionals being analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show that effective TM practices can significantly lower turnover intention, and that employee attributions play a partial role in determining the behavioural outcomes in TM practices. Moreover, the use of digital technology also plays a significant role in the moderation of the correlation between TM practices and turnover intention, indicating that the use of technological elements alone will not necessarily lead to an increase in the effectiveness of TM strategies. The article is also added to the literature on strategic human resource management by incorporating attribution-based explanations into the literature on talent management, and provides practical implications to organisations that wish to enhance their employee retention process through the use of perception-based and staff-centred talent management strategies. Further, results imply that talent turnover can be significantly reduced by maintaining transparency, consistency, effective communication, and fairness to create positive employee attributions towards TM practices.

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