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Turnover intentions of Indian IS professionals

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Abstract

One of the major challenges facing the Indian IT services industry is the high rate of turnover among Indian IS professionals. Turnover rates have been reported as high as 100% annually. Despite the serious problem, we are unaware of any academic research that has studied the determinants of turnover among Indian IS professionals. We aim to contribute to the literature by understanding Turnover Intentions of Indian IS professionals. We developed an initial model of Turnover Intentions based on the IS and Organizational Behavior literatures. The most commonly identified determinants of Turnover Intentions in these literatures were Organizational Commitment (emotional attachment to an organization) and Job Satisfaction. However, the research that identified these determinants was primarily tested on Western workers. We assessed the applicability of this model by interviewing 25 Indian IS professionals. We found strong support that Job Satisfaction affects Turnover Intentions among Indian IS professionals. However, Organizational Commitment was found to be a troublesome construct. Many Indian participants did not relate to the concept of an emotional attachment to an organization. Instead, they talked in terms that better mapped to the construct Organizational Satisfaction. The interviews also uncovered another important determinant of Turnover Intention: Social Norms. Social Norms, as evidenced by significant family pressure to reside in the same city as the employee’s family, emerged as a major reason for Turnover Intentions. Our revised model identifies Job Satisfaction, Organizational Satisfaction, and Social Norms as the main determinants of Turnover Intentions among Indian IS Professionals. We also identify four implications for practice. The most worrisome implication for Western clients is that Indian IS professionals do not like performing routine IT maintenance work or merely programming from predefined specifications—the bulk of work sent offshore. Indian IS professionals preferred client-facing activities, design and development work.

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Notes

  1. From here forward, formal constructs are indicated through the use of capitalization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Missouri-St. Louis, College of Business, University of Missouri, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA

    Mary C. Lacity, Vidya V. Iyer & Prasad S. Rudramuniyaiah

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  1. Mary C. Lacity
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  2. Vidya V. Iyer
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  3. Prasad S. Rudramuniyaiah
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Correspondence to Mary C. Lacity.

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Submitted to the The Special Issue of Information Systems Frontiers on Outsourcing.

Appendix: Interview Guide

Appendix: Interview Guide

Confidentiality Policy:

We are working on a research paper as part of our doctoral studies. We are interested in understanding the reasons why Indian IS professionals intend to stay or leave their current employers. Specifically we are looking at IS professionals located at the supplier side (India) with 2 to 7 years of experience. We will highly appreciate your cooperation. The interview will be tape-recorded, but only the researchers will have access to the full transcriptions. Your name and company will be kept anonymous. Thank you for your participation.

Demographic Questions:

  • How long have you worked in IT?

  • What is your current position in the organization?

  • What responsibilities does your job entail?

  • How long have you worked in this company?

Job Satisfaction:

  • Are you satisfied with your job?

  • What parts of your job make you happy/unhappy?

  • Do you feel enthusiastic about your job?

  • Does your job give you fulfillment?

Rewards/Costs:

  • Are you generally satisfied with your compensation?

  • Concerning your current job, what do you like about the work you do?

  • Concerning your current job, what do you not like about the work you do?

Follow up prompts as needed:

  • –Are you paid enough for the work you do?

  • –Is it according to the industry norms—what others in the industry are getting for the same work?

  • –Is there a lot of variety in your job?

  • –Are you free to decide how you perform your tasks? Or is it controlled by your manager?

  • –Do you receive adequate feedback at work?

  • –Do you get any other benefits—flextime, bonus, or performance based rewards? Are you happy with it?

  • –Do you feel your job is monotonous?

  • –Do you experience a lot of stress and burnout in your job?

  • –Is your role clearly defined or is it ambiguous?

Organizational Commitment:

  • How do you feel about your company?

  • Does the organization mean a lot to you?

Added after P7 interview: Do you feel emotionally attached to your company?

Investment:

  • Is your training and work experience portable to other organizations?

  • If you left this organization, would you lose any particular benefits?

Organizational Alternatives:

  • Are equal or better jobs readily available to you in other organizations?

  • Can you get another job easily of you want to?

Turnover Intentions:

  • Where do you see yourself in another year—in this organization or another?

  • Would you prefer to keep working in this current organization?

  • Are you thinking of leaving this company? Why?

  • Do you regularly check if there are suitable jobs for you elsewhere?

  • Are you actively looking out for alternatives/other job avenues?Have you updated your resume recently?

Finally, is there anything that we haven’t covered that is important to your overall satisfaction with your current job or current employer?

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Lacity, M.C., Iyer, V.V. & Rudramuniyaiah, P.S. Turnover intentions of Indian IS professionals. Inf Syst Front 10, 225–241 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-007-9062-3

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