Exploring Antecedents of Employee Turnover Intention – Evidence of China’s Hotel Industry

The current study explores the antecedents of hotel employee turnover in China and determines new antecedents in the hospitality industry. Three focus group interviews were conducted with 13 supervisory employees from a hotel in Shenzhen, China. The findings replicate and extend the extant hospitality literature. Several themes emerged to explain hotel employee turnover intention, such as promotional/advancement opportunity, work-life balance, community fit, work-group cohesion, leader-related factors, and pay, which have been found to be the antecedents of employee turnover intention. Most importantly, we found that community fit is a new category for explaining the turnover intention of hotel employees. Employees were more likely to stay in a city with good environmental quality, and to pursue their career goals in a city that fits their values or lifestyles well. By contrast, employees may leave a city where they do not find an appropriate fit. Finally, the practical implications of reducing employee turnover are discussed.