Predictors of Career Success and Tenure for Retail Sector Employees

Scope of the research:
The purpose of this project is to examine the predictors of organisational commitment, career commitment, advancement, and organisational tenure of workers employed in the Australian retail sector.  Specifically, the project will assess the influence of personality, psychological contract orientation, perceived organisational support, role ambiguity, role conflict, job insecurity, job satisfaction, co-worker support, resilience, transferability of training/transferability of education, and organisational justice on each of these outcome variables.  The beneficial outcomes of this project are manifold.  First, it will provide an opportunity to examine individual perceptions, expectations, and assumptions relating to a career in retail.  Second, it will provide insights into initiatives that retail organisations can undertake to strengthen the perception of a career track in retail.  Finally, the project will identify the characteristics of employees who are most likely to persist and succeed in retail, which will assist in recruitment, selection, talent identification, and human resource development.

Project details:
The project will utilise a quantitative methodology, involving an online as well as a paper-and-pencil survey of retail employees from across various sectors within the industry.  Initially, this project will apply a contemporaneous design, however, it will be articulated into a longitudinal study in order to prospectively determine the antecedents of organisational commitment, career commitment, advancement, and retention of employees in the retail industry.

Researchers:
Dr Ross Donohue, Ross.Donohue@BusEco.monash.edu.au
Dr Peter Holland, Peter.Holland@BusEco.monash.edu.au