Ethical Climate and Employee
Turnover Intention in the
Ready-Made Garment
Industry of Bangladesh
A study based on an extensive literature review and a
survey of operators in the labor-intensive ready-made
garment industry in Bangladesh examined the impact
of an organization’s ethical climate on employees’
intention to leave. It showed that as the ethical cli-
mate of an organization improves, the intention to
leave declines and the more likely employees are
to develop a sense of commitment to the organiza-
tion. It also found an increase in the likelihood that
the ethical climate of the workplace would reduce
turnover when employees had a higher level of
support from their line managers or supervisors.
© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Employee turnover has long been a topic of central
interest to management scholars and practitioners
(Allen, Bryant, & Vardaman, 2010). Despite the
plethora of empirical studies devoted to employee
turnover, researchers still search for explanations as
to why people quit their jobs (Katsikea, Theodosiou, &
Morgan, 2015). Since employee turnover has a
substantial impact on an organization’s costs and
operations, both scholars and business practition-
ers continue to seek strategies that will encourage
employees to stay.
The management of human resources plays a key
role in any organization’s success. To learn how best
to retain employees, business leaders must first seek
to better understand what prompts them to leave
(Liu & Onwuegbuzie, 2012). Researchers have
found that turnover intention and actual turnover
Publ i shed onl i ne i n Wi l ey Onl i ne Li brary (wi l eyonl i nel i bra ry. c o m )
Global Busi ness and Organi zati onal Excel l ence • DOI : 10. 1002/j oe. 21770 • January/Februa ry 2 0 1 7
MOHAMMAD RABIUL BASHER RUBEL,
DAISY MUI HUNG KEE,
CHUN HOO QUAH,
A N D N A D I A N E WA Z R I M I
can be influenced by demographic (Wocke &
­Heymann, 2012), job-related (Farooq & Farooq,
2014), and external factors (Wheeler, Gallagher,
Brouer, & Sablynski, 2007), as well as the broader
ethical climate of an organization (DeConinck,
2010; Mulki, Jaramillo, & Locander, 2008). They
have also found that maintaining an ethical climate
helps secure organizational growth through the
retention of skilled and qualified employees.
Employee commitment, which has been shown to
foster employee retention and decrease turnover
intention, is another variable of interest to organi-
zational researchers (Suliman & Al-Junaibi, 2010).
Today’s organizations often struggle to improve
performance in the face of rapid changes and
intense competition. The need to secure competi-
tive advantages in a volatile environment has led
researchers to study how to develop commitment
among workers who will internalize their organi-
zation’s interests as their own (Nawab & Bhatti,
2011). Organizational success is rooted in the
efforts of a committed workforce (Mahal, 2012).
Employees with a high level of organizational com-
mitment contribute to its security, stability, and
creativity (Dixit & Bhati, 2012).
To shed further light on the factors that affect
organizational success, a study of operators in the
ready-made garment (RMG) industry in Bangla-
desh seeks to identify how well, and to what extent,
ethical climate and employee commitment influence
©2016 Wi l ey Peri odi ca l s , I n c .
61
 turnover intention. Previous studies have shown
that employee commitment fosters employee reten-
tion and decreases turnover intention (Suliman &
Al-Junaibi, 2010) and that ethical climate is an
important determinant of organizational commit-
ment (DeConinck, 2010). The present study intends
to further examine the view that organizational
commitment mediates the effect of ethical climate
on the turnover intention of RMG operators. The
results show how ethical climate and employee
commitment affect an employee’s intention to leave
in a labor-intensive manufacturing industry in a
developing country.
The need to secure competitive advantages in a
volatile environment has led researchers to study
how to develop commitment among workers who
will internalize their organization’s interests as
their own.
Will a strong perception of an ethical organiza-
tional climate alone engender low intention to
leave? Assessing the ethical nature of a particular
organizational climate requires a broader under-
standing of organizational policies and procedures.
Can employees relate their own specific perceptions
to an understanding of a wider ethical organiza-
tional climate and to personal outcomes? Could
other perceptions augment or weaken the relation-
ship between ethical climate and turnover inten-
tion? It can be argued that supervisory support, a
central factor in influencing employee attitudes and
behavior (Eisenberger, Stinglhamber, Vandenberghe,
Sucharski, & Rhoades, 2002), is also pertinent to
the wider practices that may influence overall ethi-
cal perceptions.
Supportive supervision may be considered to be one
aspect of an ethical climate. It can be argued, how-
ever, that employee experiences and perceptions of
actual supervisory behavior have the most influence
62 J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2017 DOI : 10. 1002/j oe Gl obal Busi ness and Organi zati onal Exce l l e n c e
on their expected behavior. Since an employee may
experience multiple facets of an ethical climate, the
alignment of related but distinct perceptions may
be needed to achieve the best outcomes. In other
words, the perception of supervisory behavior,
which is an aspect of ethical climate, can have a
significant impact. Hence, this study examines how
supervisory support in a labor-intensive organiza-
tion acts as an energizer, boosting the attachment of
employees to their organization.
Since there is a lack of existing research on supervi-
sory support as a moderator between ethical climate
and an employee’s intention to leave, the present
study proposes that ethical climate, organizational
commitment, and supervisory support jointly act
as important determinants of the employee-organ-
ization relationship to harness employees’ sense of
belonging and help to retain them. Exhibit 1 shows
the relationship among the study variables.
Assessing the Relationships Among
Ethical Climate, Organizational
Commitment, and Supervisory Support
Exhibit 1 shows the direct effect of ethical climate
on an employee’s intention to leave his or her cur-
rent job, the mediating effect of organizational
commitment, and the moderating effect of supervi-
sory support.
The Relationship Between Ethical
Climate and Turnover Intention
Ethical climate is defined as “the prevailing percep-
tions of typical organizational practices and proce-
dures that have ethical content” (Victor & Cullen,
1988, p. 101). A favorable ethical climate exists in
an organization when the employees believe that
organizational practices are acceptable and that
ethical norms guide decision-making (Cullen, Par-
boteeah, & Victor, 2003). Ethical organizations fol-
low legal requirements and address ethical concerns
(Stewart, Volpone, Avery & McKay, 2011). Adher-
ing to an organizational code of conduct or code
Exhibit 1.  Proposed Research Framework
of ethics indicates ethical organizational behavior
and contributes to members’ ethical decision-mak-
ing (Mulki et al., 2008). An organization’s ethical
climate and procedures may influence, directly and
indirectly, an employee’s perception of how things
are done in the organization (Maignan & Ferrell,
2000). In an ethical work climate, consideration is
given to the moral consequences of organizational
policies, practices, and procedures.
Researchers have studied turnover intention as a
predictor of turnover (Cohen & Golan, 2007) and
as a proxy of actual turnover (Sousa-Poza & Hen-
neberger, 2004). Some have suggested that organ-
izations can avoid the cost of actual turnover by
discouraging behavior that can encourage turnover
intention (Hughes, Avey, & Nixon, 2010). Previous
research has discussed turnover intention resulting
from various factors, including job-related (Hang-
Yue, Foley, & Loi, 2005), personal (Wocke & Hey-
mann, 2012), and external issues (Wheeler et al.,
2007). The present study examines ethical climate
as one of the factors behind employees’ intention to
leave their current job and actual turnover.
Researchers have found a significant negative
relationship between ethical climate and turnover
intention of employees in various sectors, includ-
ing health (Mulki et al., 2008), marketing (DeCon-
inck, 2010), and sales (Schwepker, 2001; Mulki,
Jaramillo, & Locander, 2006). One study found a
G l o b a l B u s i n e s s and Organiz ational Ex cellence DOI : 10. 1002/j oe January/Februa ry 2 0 1 7
negative relationship between ethical climate and
nurses’ turnover intention, with a hospital’s ethical
climate accounting for 25.4 percent of the variance
of nurses’ turnover intention (Hart, 2005). Hence, it
is clear that the ethical practices within an organiza-
tion can enhance an employee’s sense of attachment
to the organization. Consistent with previous stud-
ies, it is expected that:
Hypothesis 1: Ethical climate is negatively
related with RMG operators’ intention to
leave their ­current job.
The Relationship Between Ethical Climate
and Organizational Commitment
Organizational commitment creates a psychologi-
cal bond between the employee and the organiza-
tion that strengthens an employee’s attachment to
the organization (Allen & Meyer, 1996). It is an
individual’s emotional connection to, and involve-
ment in, an employing organization (Cole & Bruch,
2006) and has been found to be the best single pre-
dictor of turnover intention and turnover (Falk-
enburg & Schyns, 2007). Meyer and Allen (1991)
noted three dimensions of organizational commit-
ment: affective, continuous, and normative. Affec-
tive commitment is considered the most significant
aspect of organizational commitment (Meyer,
Stanley, Herscovitch & Topolnytsky, 2000) and
has frequently been studied in connection with
turnover intention (Hemdi & Nasurdin, 2006).
63
 Therefore, this study will focus on affective commit-
ment as representing organizational commitment.
Ostroff (1993) found that ethical climate accounted
for 21 percent of the variance in teachers’ com-
mitment to their organizations. Schwepker (2001)
found a significant positive relationship between
salespeople’s perceptions of their organization’s eth-
ical climate and their organizational commitment.
Martin and Cullen (2006) asserted that ethical cli-
mate is linked with various positive job attitudes,
predominantly organizational commitment. Tsai
and Huang (2008) and DeConinck (2010) also
reported that employees’ perceptions of an organi-
zation’s ethical climate positively influence their
organizational commitment. Research by Ma’amor,
Ann, Munir, and Hashim (2012) also supports the
positive relationship between ethical climate and
organizational commitment. These findings show
that an ethical organizational climate generates a
higher level of organizational commitment. Thus,
it can be supposed that if employees perceive that
their organization has a positive ethical climate,
they will experience a greater level of commitment
to the organization. Therefore:
Hypothesis 2: Ethical climate is positively
related with organizational commitment
among RMG operators.
The Relationship Between Organizational
Commitment and Turnover Intention
The relationship between employees and their
organization affects their turnover intention
(Loi, Hang-Yue & Foley, 2006). Falkenburg and
Schyns (2007) found a significant negative relation-
ship among organizational commitment, job sat-
isfaction, and turnover intention. They also found
that organizational commitment has more influence
on turnover intention than job satisfaction does.
DeConinck and Bachmann (2011) found that mar-
keting managers’ intention to leave largely depends
on their organizational commitment. These find-
ings show the need for organizations to enhance
64 J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2017 DOI : 10. 1002/j oe Gl obal Busi ness and Organi zati onal Exce l l e n c e
commitment among employees in order to retain
them. In this study, we propose:
Hypothesis 3: Organizational commitment
among RMG operators is negatively related
with turnover intention.
Organizational Commitment as Mediator
The present research examines the way that ethi-
cal climate influences employees’ intention to leave
their current job through the mediating effect of
organizational commitment. Mulki et al. (2006)
found that ethical climate affects turnover inten-
tion through the mediating effect of organizational
commitment. Others have examined organizational
commitment as a mediator between different vari-
ables, such as perceived organizational support and
turnover intention (Hemdi & Nasurdin, 2006);
job satisfaction and withdrawal cognition—the
realization that a person is starting to think about
applying for another job (Schwepker, 2001); and
employee justice perception and intention to leave
(Loi et al., 2006). Since earlier research indicates
that the ethical climate of an RMG organization
may decrease operators’ turnover intention by
increasing their organizational commitment, it is
hypothesized that:
Hypothesis 4: Organizational commitment
mediates the relationship between ethical
climate and turnover intention among RMG
operators.
Supervisory Support as Moderator
Supervisors are agents of the organization who
utilize employees’ strengths and capacities to con-
vert organizational goals into reality (Dawley,
Houghton, & Bucklew, 2010). Supervisory support
is defined as the degree to which employees believe
that their superiors care about their well-being,
value their contributions, and are driven to manage
their emotions and inspire them to improve their
performance (Eisenberger et al., 2002). Previously,
RMG supervisory support had been found to be a
significant factor in stimulating the engagement of
operators, their performance, and their devotion to
an RMG organization (Rubel & Kee, 2013).
Jung and Tak (2008) considered the effect of career
motivation and perceived supervisory support as
moderators between job satisfaction and organi-
zational commitment. Kirmeyer and Dougherty
(1988) found that employees who were given a
large workload but also had a high level of super-
visory support were better able to cope and with
less tension than employees who had a low level of
supervisory support. They also showed that a super-
visor’s attachment to subordinates could reduce the
tension they experienced on the job and facilitated
their adjustment to the organization.
This study investigates how increased supervisory
support could minimize employees’ turnover inten-
tion through its interaction with ethical climate.
Given the fact that supervisors play an important
part in influencing employee behavior, it is to be
expected that the level of supervisor support can
affect their subordinates’ decision on whether to con-
tinue working in the organization and that employees
are more likely to stay with an organization if they
feel well supported. Moreover, supervisory support
can enhance employees’ understanding of organiza-
tional ethical concerns, which will make employees
less likely to quit such an organization. Therefore:
Hypothesis 5: The more supervisory support
that RMG operators receive, the greater their
understanding of organizational ethical prac-
tices and the less likely they will be to have
turnover intentions.
Commitment, Turnover Intention, and Supervisory
Support Among RMG Workers
For this correlational, cross-sectional study, a survey
was used to collect data from RMG operators in
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, where most of the
nation’s RMG organizations are located. Because of
G l o b a l B u s i n e s s and Organiz ational Ex cellence DOI : 10. 1002/j oe January/Februa ry 2 0 1 7
the lack of a comprehensive list of operators, pur-
posive judgmental sampling was used to select the
sample. Of the 450 questionnaires that were sent
out, 174 returned and, of those, 149 were suitable
for analysis. Thus, the response rate was 33 percent.
Respondents were asked to rate the survey items
using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = “strongly disagree”
5 = “strongly agree”). Ethical climate was measured
by seven items adapted from Schwepker (2001).
To measure affective commitment, six items were
adapted from Meyer, Allen and Smith (1993). Turno-
ver intention was measured according to four items
adapted from Dailey and Kirk (1992). The measure-
ment for supervisory support used four items adapted
from Rhoades, Eisenberger and Armeli (2001). Struc-
tural Equation Model with a partial least squares
approach, a technique similar to multiple regression
analysis, was used to examine possible cause-effect
relationships (Hair, Hult, Ringle, & Sarstedt, 2013).
Exhibit 2 on page 66 provides detailed demographic
information for the respondents.
Convergent and discriminate validity were used
to examine the measurement model. Convergent
validity—the extent to which evidence from dif-
ferent sources indicates that the construct has the
same or similar meaning—was assessed through
item/factor loading, average variance extracted
(AVE), and composite reliability (CR) per Hair
et al. (2013). As recommended, the cut-off values
of CRs and AVEs were 0.7 and 0.5, respectively.
This study used 0.5 for item loading as the cut-off
value, as suggested by Igbaria, Iivari and Maragahh
(1995), which resulted in two items being deleted
from the assessment of organizational commitment
(OC5 = 0.478) and (OC6 = 0.483). Exhibit 3 on
page 66 shows the final individual item loadings,
CRs, and AVEs of all the constructs.
The researchers next measured discriminant
validity—that is, the extent to which items are
­
able to differentiate between constructs or be
shown to measure distinct concepts. Discriminant
65
 Exhibit 2.  Respondent Demographics

Demographic Feature Category No. Respondents Percentage

Age 19-23 years 58 39.0
24-28 years 68 45.4
29 and above 23 15.6
Gender Male 61 41.0
Female 88 59.0
Marital status Married 97 65.0
Unmarried 52 35.0
Job category Helper 38 25.0
Junior Operator 31 21.0
Senior Operator 29 19.0
Operator 52 35.0
Work experience Minimum 1 year
Average 6 years
Maximum 9 years

validity was evaluated by comparing the correla-
tions between a construct and the square root of the
AVEs for that construct (Fornell & Larcker, 1981).
The discriminant validity was found to be accept-
able (see Exhibit 4).
The structural model specifies the causal relation-
ships among the constructs. The R2 value denotes
how well the research model is tailored to the study
context, and the path coefficients, β and t-values
show the significance level of research hypotheses

Exhibit 3.  Measurement Model

Type Constructs Items Loadings AVE CR

Independent Ethical climate EC1 0.669 0.505 0.876
variable EC2 0.744
EC3 0.573
EC4 0.648
EC5 0.756
EC6 0.790
EC7 0.768
Mediating Organizational OC1 0.885 0.663 0.886
variable commitment OC2 0.903
OC3 0.651
OC4 0.793
Moderating Supervisory SS1 0.712 0.789 0.937
variable support SS2 0.808
SS3 0.827
SS4 0.804
Dependent Turnover intention TI1 0.919 0.545 0.868
variable TI2 0.915
TI3 0.932
TI4 0.777
Note: AVE = average variance extracted; CR = composite reliability.

66 J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2017 DOI : 10. 1002/j oe Gl obal Busi ness and Organi zati onal Exce l l e n c e
 Exhibit 4.  Discriminant Validity

Organizational
Ethical Climate Commitment Supervisory Support Turnover Intention
Ethical climate 0.711
Organizational 0.575 0.814
commitment
Supervisory support 0.694 0.733 0.789
Turnover intention −0.617 −0.698 −0.738 0.888
Mean 4.03 3.90 3.93 3.17
SD 0.54 0.63 0.72 0.93
Note: Diagonals (in bold) represent the square root of AVEs; other entries represent correlations.

(Chin, 2010). A 500 re-sampling was considered
for bootstrapping in assigning a structural model
to test the path coefficient (Chin, 2010). R2 was
found to be 57.5 percent for turnover intention
and 33 percent for organizational commitment.
All the hypotheses indicate statistically significant
relationships.
Exhibit 5 and Exhibit 6 on page 68 show the path
relationships of the study. For mediation analysis,
both an upper and lower limit value of the bootstrap
confidence interval was used. Preacher and Hayes
(2008) recommend that if the upper limit (UL) and
lower limit (LL) does not straddle zero, this indicates
that a mediation effect exists. The research findings

Exhibit 5.  Result of Partial Least Squares Path Analysis

Direct Path β t-value Decision

Ethical climate > Turnover −0.322 5.170** S
intention
Ethical 0.575 11.113** S
climate > Organizational
commitment
Organizational −0.513 7.661** S
commitment > Turnover
intention
Note: **p  < 0.001, *p  < 05 (based on one-tailed)
Mediating Path β t-value Decision
Ethical 0.294, 6.825** S
climate > Organizational
commitment > Turnover
intention
Note: **p  < 0.001, *p  < 05 (based on two-tailed)
Moderating Path β t-value Decision
Supervisory support* −0.134 1.715* S
Ethical climate > Turnover
intention
Note: **p  < 0.001, *p  < 05 (based on one-tailed)
*Supervisory support is considered a moderator between ethical climate and turnover intention.

G l o b a l B u s i n e s s and Organiz ational Ex cellence DOI : 10. 1002/j oe January/Februa ry 2 0 1 7 67

 Exhibit 6.  Structural Model
fulfill the criteria (LL = −0.387, UL = −0.203), which
indicates that organizational commitment has a
significant mediating effect between ethical climate
and turnover intention.
Furthermore, the implication of a moderator can
be established if the interaction effect (supervisor sup-
port  ×  ethical climate) used to predict turnover inten-
tion is statistically significant (Henseler & Fassott,
2010). The standardized path coefficient (β) for the
interaction construct is −0.134, which is statistically
significant at a confidence level of p < 0.05. Effect size
was also calculated based on the formula suggested
by Cohen (1988). Supervisory support was found to
have a considerable effect on an employee’s intention
to leave his or her current job. The effect size (f  2) was
0.384, which is considered substantial. Therefore,
supervisory support was found to be a significant mod-
erator. The results showed that ethical climate was
negatively and significantly related to turnover inten-
tion (β = −0.322, p < 0.01) but was positively related
to organizational commitment (β = 0.575, p < 0.01).
Thus, both hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported.
The results shown in Exhibit 5 also indicate that
organizational commitment was negatively related
68 J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2017 DOI : 10. 1002/j oe Gl obal Busi ness and Organi zati onal Exce l l e n c e
to turnover intention (β = −0.513, p < 0.01). Thus,
hypothesis 3 was also supported. Organizational com-
mitment mediated the relationship between ethical cli-
mate and turnover intention (β = 0.294, p < 0.01), so
the relationship between ethical climate and turnover
intention will be stronger when supervisory support
is higher, and vice versa (β = −0.134, p < 0.05). Hence,
both hypotheses 4 and 5 were supported.
The Crucial Role of Supervisory
Support in Reducing Turnover
Given the fact that organizational ethics generate
positive employee outcomes, this study explored the
role of ethical climate in helping to create a positive
commitment among employees in the RMG indus-
try in Bangladesh. Consistent with previous find-
ings, the results indicate that as the ethical climate
improves, the intention to leave declines. Previous
researchers have found similar results among sales-
people (Schwepker 2001; DeConinck 2010), nurses
(Tsai & Huang 2008), and hotel employees (Hemdi
& Nasurdin, 2006). Thus, it would seem beneficial
for the RMG industry in Bangladesh to nurture an
ethical organizational climate that encourages posi-
tive outcomes among their operators.
In addition, organizational commitment was found
to mediate the relationship between ethical climate
and turnover intention. This result suggests that
when employees perceive their workplace as ethi-
cal, they are more likely to develop commitment to
the organization and, consequently, be less likely
to leave. In other words, an ethical climate reduces
RMG operators’ turnover intention by increasing
their commitment to the employing organization.
This finding is also consistent with prior research
(Mulki et al., 2006; Schwepker, 2001; DeCon-
inck & Bachmann, 2011).
This study, however, extended previous research
by examining the moderating effect of supervisory
support in the relationship between ethical cli-
mate and turnover intention. The fifth hypothesis
assumed that supervisory support, particularly at
the operator level, would moderate the effect of
ethical climate on employees’ turnover intentions.
Supervisory support was found to have a signifi-
cant moderating effect between ethical climate and
turnover intention. That is, the likelihood of ethical
climate reducing turnover intention increases when
the employees find higher levels of support from
their supervisor. Since supervisors are the agents of
the organization and an important channel through
which to implement ethical organizational policies,
their behavior is influential. Supervisors are the only
visible direct agents of the organization with whom
employees have day-to-day contact. Hence, super-
visory support is an important mediator that influ-
ences employees’ intent to stay. An explanation for
this finding might be that employees feel comfort-
able continuing to be part of an organization that
has a good supervisory support system embedded
within an overall ethical climate.
In response to the need to analyze ethical climate
in the context of turnover intention, the research-
ers also explored the impact of other factors linking
ethical climate and employees’ turnover intentions.
They first proposed, and later confirmed, that a
perceived ethical climate promotes organizational
G l o b a l B u s i n e s s and Organiz ational Ex cellence DOI : 10. 1002/j oe January/Februa ry 2 0 1 7
commitment, which together reduce turnover inten-
tion. Furthermore, it is established that the strength
of the association between ethical climate and turn-
over intention is moderated by employees’ percep-
tions of supervisory support.
Employees feel comfortable continuing to be part of
an organization that has a good supervisory support
system embedded within an overall ethical climate.
These findings bolster the notion that ethical cli-
mate significantly influences employee turnover
intention. Moreover, this research shows employee
commitment to be a mechanism that accounts for
the relationship between ethical climate and indi-
vidual behavioral intention. Individuals who have
a positive perception of the ethical climate in their
organization are more likely to be committed to
their organization and, therefore, have a greater
propensity to remain. Finally, the findings suggest
that ethical climate affects employees’ intention to
leave their current job through their perceptions
and interpretation of the behavior of their immedi-
ate supervisor. Thus, the extent to which a good
ethical climate leads to reduced turnover inten-
tion is contingent upon the supervisory behavior.
Employees show lower turnover intention if they
feel supported by the behavior of their supervisor
in an ethical climate. This indicates that organi-
zations need to be aware of the crucial role of
supervisory support. It is not sufficient to merely
ensure a good ethical climate; employees also need
positive supervisory support to maximize their
­
intention to stay.
In response to the call for proper employee manage-
ment in Bangladesh’s RMG sector, local research-
ers have recommended following legal compliance
to generate positive employee outcomes (Rubel &
Kee, 2013). Although such compliance is essential, it
alone is not enough to ensure the ethical management
69
 of human resources (Michaelson, 2006; Rahman
& Rahman, 2013). RMG management would do
well to consider the various facets of ethical prac-
tices and the need for adequate supervisory support
in developing employee commitment and fostering
their retention. Previous studies also found that a
strong ethical climate (Martin & Cullen, 2006) and
supervisory support (Maertz, Griffeth, Campbell &
Allen, 2007) can reduce deviant behavior and create
harmonious relationships in the workplace.
The findings of the current study can be considered
as a step toward updating the workplace policies
that influence employee turnover. Labor-intensive
organizations that wish to improve their employee
retention rate need to adopt an ethical posture and
to show concern for the improvement of employee
commitment and supervisory support. The study
also offers a framework that clarifies the elements
that have the potential to reduce turnover inten-
tion of employees and can help managers assess
the initiatives they have already taken to retain val-
ued employees. In consideration of the study find-
ings, managers may work to accelerate strategies to
reduce turnover intention reduction by promoting
employee attachment with the organization. The
results also serve as a base for further study of turn-
over intention reduction factors in relation to other
organizational dynamics of employee retention.
Such research can be extended to other countries
and industries.
Examining turnover intention is not new, but its
relation to ethical climate, commitment, and super-
visory support is a relatively new paradigm in
labor-oriented manufacturing organizations. Cer-
tainly more research is needed to focus on the per-
ceptions of employees in different industries both
within and beyond the manufacturing sector. The
results reported here suggest that business leaders
in labor-intensive enterprises would do well to go
beyond the legal requirements of employee manage-
ment strategies and take steps to assess ethical issues
while offering a more supportive environment to
70 J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2017 DOI : 10. 1002/j oe Gl obal Busi ness and Organi zati onal Exce l l e n c e
encourage employees to continue their service to
the organization. Such efforts are likely to have a
positive effect on an organization’s efforts to retain
its most productive and valuable workers.
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 turnover intention, and psychosocial safety climate. She can
Mohammad Rabiul Basher Rubel, PhD, is an associate
be reached at daisy.kee@gmail.com.
professor in the Department of Business Administration at
Chun Hoo Quah, MBA, is an associate professor and Dean
Daffodil International University in Dhaka, Bangladesh,
of Faculty of Business and Management at Vinayaka Mis-
specializing in human resource management, organizational
sions International University College in Penang, Malaysia,
behavior, performance management practices, compensation
specializing in ethics, office management, and communica-
management, turnover intention, and perceived organiza-
tion skills. His areas of interest also include social respon-
tional support. His areas of interest also include ethical work
sibility and retention and mentoring practices. He can be
climate, psychosocial safety climate, technology adaptation,
reached at quah@vmiuc.edu.my.
and human resource service behavior. He can be reached at
Nadia Newaz Rimi, PhD, is an associate professor in the
asstprof_sub@yahoo.com.
Department of Management at the University of Dhaka
Daisy Mui Hung Kee, PhD, is a senior lecturer in the School
in Bangladesh, specializing in various aspects of human
of Management at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang, spe-
resource management, as well as organizational behavior
cializing in human resource management, organizational
and work-family conflict. Her areas of interest also include
behavior, work values, leadership, entrepreneurship, and
technology adaptation and human resource service behavior.
small and medium-size enterprises. Her areas of interest
She can be reached at nnrimi@gmail.com.
also include leadership practices, performance appraisal,

G l o b a l B u s i n e s s and Organiz ational Ex cellence DOI : 10. 1002/j oe January/Februa ry 2 0 1 7 73

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