The Effect of Organizational Factors and HRM Practices on Employee Retention: An Exploratory Analysis of Lodging Facilities in Kyoto

Abstract

The tourism and hospitality industry in Japan has been facing a serious problem with employee retention. Especially, retaining newcomers is considered to be crucial because of both development costs and the newcomers’ future prospects, which lead to service quality and its value, and hence to organizational performance. However, few studies have focused on how lodging facilities in Japan retain newcomers. We therefore analyzed the influence of organizational factors and HRM practices on the retention of new regular employees using secondary data collected from lodging facilities operated in Kyoto city. Using binomial logistic regression with bootstrapping, we found that the presentation of clear service strategies, and the avoidance of turnover culture by focusing on new-grad hiring are positively associated with the newcomers’ retention. Limitations of this study and future research directions are also considered.