Do organizational commitment and perceived discrimination matter ? Effect of SR-HRM characteristics on employee ' s turnover intentions

Article history: Received: February 3, 2019 Received in revised format: March 10, 2019 Accepted: March 26, 2019 Available online: March 26, 2019 This study objectifies the linkage of Socially Responsible Human Resource Management (SRHRM) and turnover intentions of employees and/or staff. This is followed by measuring the mediating effects of perceived discrimination as well as organizational commitment on the aforementioned relationship. In this research, a sample of 310 employees were selected from 5 different hotels (5-star) located in Kyrenia, North Cyprus. Comparative studies have shown results that indicates a positive, and direct relationship between the two major variables of this study. The results of this research are in consensus with previous measures conducted upon the matter. According to the findings of this study SRHRM practices can decrease the intention of employees for quitting their jobs. In addition, organizational commitment affects their perception towards the organization, which in turn will lead in a lower level of turnover intentions. Perceived discrimination has been found to have effects on employees’ commitment and performance. The lower the level of discrimination, and the higher level of proper SR-HRM practices and their implementation, the more commitment is engaged from the employees and the less intention towards leaving their job is apparent. © 2019 by the authors; licensee Growing Science, Canada


Introduction
Legitimacy and positive reputation are among the main concerns of organizations alongside the effectiveness and its incline on a long-term basis.This will increase the level of performance for corporations (Aguilera et al., 2007;Lee, 2008;Newman et al., 2016;Ji et al., 2010).This concern is no stranger to firms and organizations in Cyprus; especially 5-star hotels and in particular, hotels located in Kyrenia district as they host numerous visitors throughout the year from various countries due to their attractiveness (i.e.entertainment, beaches, and casinos).The existence of social responsibilities within an organization and its emphasis can lead to an equality between economical or legal outcomes and social or ethical fruition.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as an aspect consisting of SRHRM practices is directed towards staff and employees (Shen & Zhu, 2011;Shen & Benson, 2014;Newman et al., 2016).
Hence, the aforementioned fruits can be achieved via implementing SR-HRM.It has been previously mentioned by other scholars that CSR and its proper implication within an organization shows direct and significant impacts on various levels of employee and staff results (i.e.job satisfaction, commitment, OCB, and perceived discrimination) (Valentine & Fleischman, 2008;Vlachos et al., 2013;Du et al., 2014;Kim et al., 2010;Farooq et al., 2014;Hofman & Newman, 2014;Rupp et al., 2013;Newman et al., 2015).In the light of the above, this study has taken a quantitative approach towards the presented model of SR-HRM and their implementation within 5-star hotels that are located in Kyrenia district of North Cyprus.The relationship between SR-HRM and turnover intentions, and the mediating effects of perceived discrimination and organizational commitment are under investigation in this study.A selfadministered questionnaire survey is designed to address the employees of several hotels in Kyrenia and assess the impacts of SR-HRM on aforementioned aspects.Scales and measure and hypotheses of this research are presented in the following sections after a review on the most relevant and recent studies on the subject at hand.The essence of this paper is to determine whether or not the defined mediators and hypotheses are being found significant in the case of hotel industry and in particular Kyrenia.Tourism industry is a key element for Cyprus as whole and Kyrenia holds a strategic place due to its potential and existing facilities in this regard.Thus, this paper can have benefits for managers and implications in the industry as well as furthering literature review on this phenomenon and its complex nature.

Socially Responsible Human Resource Management
When a company endeavors to create commitment on a strategized basis for their employees from the management system that is applied within the firm, human resources management (HRM) is being promoted and described as it was defined by Hendry (1995Hendry ( , 2003)).Employees with higher levels of commitment will perform better for the sake of organization and its collective goals.Scholars have shifted their attention towards responsibilities and ethical means that are within HRM (Anderson et al., 2014;Greenwood, 2013;Jamali et al., 2015;Lämsä et al., 2016;Petty et al., 2015;Morgeson et al., 2013;Rupp et al., 2013;Waldman et al., 2006).Creation of an atmosphere, where employees have equal opportunities, are being involved within decision-making processes, have proper trainings related to their jobs, can achieve a normal level of work-life balance, and are able to communicate with managerial levels, is the nature of Socially Responsible Human Resources (SR-HRM) (Cooke & He, 2010;Greenwood, 2013;Hobson, 2011;Jamali et al., 2015;Riivari & Lämsä, 2017).This study follows the presented model by Shen and Zhu (2011), in which SR-HRM is categorized into three distinctive components of Legal Compliance (LC-HRM), Employee Oriented (EO-HRM) and General CSR Facilitation (GF-HRM).The two former components are directed towards well-being of employees and their advancements, and the latter explains the involvement level in external CSR initiatives that are undertaken by employees (Shen & Zhu, 2011;Shen & Benson, 2014;Newman et al., 2016).
International Labor Organization (ILO) has set a framework for laws and regulations that are related to labor and LC-HRM follows that framework for the organization.In addition, LC-HRM addresses safety, working hours, health related matter, wages and force or underage labor alongside enabling opportunities equally for all staff and employees based on their qualifications and skillset (Rowan, 2000;Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002).Personal needs, individualized or family related matters are being addressed through EO-HRM and it moves above legal matters that are held liable by the organization.This in return facilitates the feeling of being supported and justice in the firm and yields in a higher level of improvement for each individual.EO-HRM can be achieved through trainings, consulting, and Q&A sessions (Legge, 1998;Waring & Lewer, 2004;Shen & Zhu, 2011).Additionally, GF-HRM provides smooth path towards implementation and implications of CSR practices within HRM, henceforth making such tools and programs available and accessible for all employees.This can benefit both employees, internally, and stakeholders, externally for the organization as a whole.Results of such practices can be achieved in long or short-term periods depending on the system that has been chosen by the managerial levels within the firm (Shen & Zhu, 2011).

SR-HRM and Turnover Intentions
In nowadays challenging workforce, and skewness towards it on a worldwide scale has greatly affected both men and women and in regard to their social and/or workplace responsibilities.Turnover intentions or in other words, leaving ones job, is or can be related to a number of aspects of an individual's life.A study conducted by Ely et al. (2014) has shown that responsibilities towards families can lead workers to leave their jobs.This in particular was shown when women were addressed.In contrary, other studies have found other motives to be key elements for turnover intentions that can be namely, feeling that the values, preferences and goals are not properly respected or addressed within their organizations (Allen, 2001;Lämsä & Piilola, 2015;Lee & Hong, 2011;Rusbult & Farrell, 1983).Vividly, employees' turnover can significantly impact the organization in a costly manner economically and more importantly social and human capital of the organization, which in turn will negatively affect the performance level of the firm (Hill, 2009;Moynihan & Landuyt, 2008;Nie et al., 2017).
The studies under review in this section are a mixture of papers from various departments of science including gender studies.As many staff in the hotels under this study are multiracial and gender neutrality is observed, it was deemed relevant to have a glance on effects and causes among men and women.Several other researches note that other key role players in turnover and its intentions can be scarcity of motivation or interest whether it is individual or related to organizational culture, rules and regulations or practices (Hearn et al., 2015;Jyrkinen & McKie, 2012).Gender equality and the amount of attention the organization and subsequently its policies pay to this matter can greatly affect the commitment level of staff and especially women (Daly et al., 2008;Gilbert et al., 1999).This has to be set within HRM practices and implemented in the organizations' policy.In particular, SR-HRM emphasizes on equal opportunities among all employees, hence making the aforementioned concept a vital one (hereafter SRHRM;Hobson, 2011;Jamali et al., 2015).
It has been noted that women may be more likely to have turnover intentions increased by organizations due to their additional challenges at home and (unpaid responsibilities) in comparison with men in the same workplace (Griffeth et al., 2000;Jiang et al., 2012;Rosin & Korabik, 1995).It has been stated by several studies that those outcomes that are employee related are greatly affected by the practices of HRM that are conducted by the organization (e.g., Boxall & Macky, 2009;Combs et al., 2006).SR-HRM emphasizes on creation of equal opportunities in workplace which is a key factor in retaining turnover intentions of employees relatively low (Grzywacz & Carlson, 2007;Kujala, 2001;Lämsä, Heikkinen, Smith & Tornikoski, 2016;Pitt-Catshoupes & Googins, 2005).Regardless of gender-specific studies that was mentioned before, there are many studies that show equality in job opportunities and the atmosphere of integrated work-life balance are crucial for the outcome that is presented by employees (Allen, 2001;Aryee et al., 2012;Jawahar & Hemmasi, 2006;Johnston et al., 1993;Lämsä & Piilola, 2015;Lee & Hong, 2011;Perry-Smith & Blum, 2000;Thomas & Ganster, 1995).As a supporting theory, it can be derived from Social Exchange Theory (Blau, 1964) that through practices of SR-HRM and their proper implementation, employees and staff can be obliged towards the organization, as SR-HRM presents and brings benefits for employees in regard to their lives and individual goals (Gerstner & Day, 1997;Lamber, 2000).
Hypothesis 1: SRHRHM and Turnover Intentions are in a significant relationship.

SR-HRM and Organizational Commitment
The importance and vitality of HRM practices and in particular SR-HRM practices for gaining competitive advantages for firms have been stated by several studies (e.g.Wright et al., 2005;Sun et al., 2007;Shen & Zhu, 2011).This impact initiates from the influence of such practices on attitudes of employees and creation of different levels of perception, which in turn will yield in a higher performance level.Attitudes and behaviors that can be boosted are various, however, the most relevant to this study is organizational commitment (OC) (Bowen, 1953;Bowen & Ostroff, 2004;Pare´ & Tremblay 2007;Nishii et al., 2008).Different perceptions can be created depending on whether HRM and its practices are defined within an organization for organizational policies/justice or the implementation of such practices are merely for retaining employees that are skillful.This can have different outcomes from employee attitudes, behaviors and/or performance level (Bowen & Ostroff 2004;Nishii et al. 2008).The contributions of proper HRM to organizational performance has been stated by many scholars (Wright et al., 2005).Commitment and adjustment are among the main attitudes and behaviors, which are or can be greatly impacted by HRM practices and therefore, advance the performance level of organization (Storey, 1989).In addition, financial performance, positive reputation among customers, and employee motivation can be boosted through proper implementation of HRM and its ethical means (Hannon & MIlkovich, 1996).Numerous scholars have subjected the relationship between HRM and its practices (familyfriendly and progressive HRM) with organizational commitment (Grover & Crooker 1995;Huselid, 1995;Delaney & Huselid 1996;Haar & Spell 2004;Bagraim, 2007).Availability of these practices (Grover & Crooker, 1995;Bagraim, 2007), perceived value (Haar & Spell 2004;Bagraim, 2007), employee satisfaction and in particular for parents with young kids (Meyer & Allen 1997), practices and the knowledge it presents (Chiu & Ng 1999;Bagraim, 2007), perception of control on work (Halpern, 2005) as well as gender equity (Chiu & Ng, 1999) are among the various aspects that scholars have investigated in this topic.
Organizational commitment (OC) can be defined as an employee's attachment to his or her organization psychologically (Meyer & Allen, 1991).A range of scales and measurements have become available for OC due to the extensive literature that exists upon this topic.However, the model that was developed by Meyer andAllen (1991, 1997) is the one that is dominant.Affective commitment (AC) which is the significant emotional direction to the organization with feeling of reconnaissance, which leads to willingness towards remaining a part of the firm; Continuance commitment (CC) that is based on economic and/or social consequences regarding quitting ones job and lack of alternatives that can be deemed better or higher; Normative commitment (NC) which can be defined as an obligation that is morally towards the organization due to reciprocation feeling, which is created for received benefits.For an employee to develop the aforementioned three components of commitment, it can vary depending on the intensity.However, individuals may not show all three components simultaneously.Considering the fact that these components are highly correlated, they are not considered as mutually exclusive ones (Meyer & Allen 1991, 1997;Meyer & Herscovitch 2001;Meyer et al., 2002).There are variables that are entitled to determine the intensity of OC that employees present, that can be organizational policies, national factors (culture, background, religion) and demographic variables (Randall 1993;Haar & Spell 2004;Bagraim, 2007).During the past few years, studies that were conducted on OC were to examine the accountability and validity of the aforementioned components on various scales, including national and regional with different cultural frameworks.These studies include China et al., 2003;Cheng & Stockdale 2003); Australia (Iverson & Buttigieg 1999); South Africa (Bagraim, 2007); South Korea (Lee et al., 2001); Europe (Vandenberghe et al., 2001); and Turkey (Wasti 2002).These components have shown to be valid and generalizable on a global scale throughout these studies, regardless of their variations in different cultures or backgrounds.
Hypothesis 2: Organizational Commitment and its components mediate SRHRM and TI linkage.

SR-HRM and Perceived Discrimination
Discrimination and gender inequality have proven to yet exist in the world of business.Global Gender Gap report in 2015 has noted that Korea is placed on 115 th from 145 countries that are with low ratios of labor for female-male workforce as well as political empowerment and equilibrium in wages and income (World Economic Forum, 2015).Particularly for the case of Korea, it can be noted from the traditional view on females and their roles in the society that is based and has nexus from Confucianism.According to a national scale survey a rate of +80% male respondents had rather women stay at home and have their primary focus on family and childrearing (Korea Women's Department Institute, 2016; Kim & Park, 2018;Foley et al., 2005).Based on another statistical report, less than 13% of male workers in Korea has shared housework responsibilities with their spouses (Statistics Korea, 2016).Length of working hours and working on weekends is a norm among Korean workers, which can cause many issues for a woman to carry out both responsibilities at work and at home and create a work-life balance (Choi et al., 2015;Kim & McLean, 2008).Despite the aforementioned issues, Korean women are faced with several other formats of discrimination, such as not receiving equal salary for the same job, being shifted to "women's job", not heard properly or not being taken seriously, obstacles for receiving promotions, sexual harassments or inappropriate commentary on figure, outfits, and other aspects of an individual (Kim & Shin, 2014;Park & Tak, 2008).
It is noteworthy that gender discrimination can have negative impacts on mental status and health of an individual (Fischer & Holz, 2010;Klonoff et al., 1999;Landrine & Klonoff, 1997;Okechukwu et al., 2014).Perceived gender discrimination can be a major element in long-term anxiety and behavioral disorders (Kessler et al., 2005;Kira et al., 2017).A study conducted by Moradi and Subich (2003) addressed African American women and stated that sexist events can have a significant impact on psychological stress and this was seen even when other impacts of racist events have been controlled and taken account for.From western countries to Korea, major studies show significant effects from perceived discrimination on performance and the desire to keep ones job.The more organizational injustice and discrimination is perceived, the higher the risk of depression and the like disorders (Park et al., 2009).Similarly, a Korean study has shown that physical health of working women (and married women) was affected greatly by their level of perceived discrimination, which led to psychological issues (Chon et al., 2006;Chun et al., 2008).
Recent deviation on perceived discrimination has shifted focus towards the mechanisms and processes of this phenomenon (Liang & Borders, 2012;Pascoe & Smart Richman, 2009;Schulz et al., 2006).Several aspects have been noted that can be namely, individual control sense (Bourguignon et al., 2006;Krumm & Corning, 2008;Moradi & Hasan, 2004), central appraisal, which can be defined as experiencing discrimination that is perceived and has direct effect on and individual's health (King, 2005), rumination (Hatzenbuehler et al., 2009), and coping strategies (Wei et al., 2008).The occurrence of gender discrimination is dependent on decisions that are deviated by gender and not by skills or performance (Gutek et al., 1996;Ngo et al., 2002).If an individual is being treated differently (unfair) due to his/her gender or group or background, this perception is called perceived discrimination (Sanchez & Brock, 1996).Demographic variables such as age, gender and ethnicity can be amongst the group or background that an individual may perceive discrimination towards to (Ensher et al., 2001).Typical research examines the difference between male and female as an indicator of perceived discrimination (e.g., Beller, 1985;Bielby & Baron, 1986;Darity & Mason, 1998;Konrad & Cannings, 1997;Lyness & Judiesch, 1999;Wright et al., 1995).However, this study takes perceived discrimination as an attributor to organizational commitment as a mediator variable, from which its existence or its level can affect the relationship between SRHRM practices and employees' commitment.Hence, the final hypothesis of this study is merged: Hypothesis 3: Perceived discrimination mediates the relationship between SRHRM and TI.

Research Approach
Theoretical Model presented below is derived from previous studies conducted upon the matter at hand.This model presents the variables under examination in this research and their relationships.Mediators of this model are PD and OC that are defined in the model to have significant effects on TI and are affected by SR-HRM.Mediating regression analysis is conducted on the collected data in 2 stages.Effects of OC on the relationship between SR-HRM and TI is the first regression model that is followed by another regression model, in which the effects of PD on the aforementioned relationship is being tested (See Fig. 1):

. Sample and Procedures
The Sample of this study consists of 310 5-star hotel employees operating in Kyrenia.Scales and measures of the questionnaire that is self-administered to staff and employees of 5-star hotels (in various departments) located in Kyrenia, North Cyprus have been chosen from the literature.Questionnaire consists of demographic variables (age, nationality, education level, gender, department of occupation, and duration of job).The data was gathered through Simple Random Sampling Method (SRS) from all of the staff, who were present during the data collection process.This provided an equal opportunity for all staff to be a part of this survey regardless of their age, gender, or department of work.Selected hotels of this survey are considered among the top hotels of Cyprus and are large organizations having over 1,000 personnel.The competitiveness rivalry in hotel industry on global scale is akin to Cyprus hotel industry.Several new hotel projects are under construction and these new projects are alarming for current hotels and their markets.Therefore, it is only natural for these organizations to look for new methods and modern strategies to maintain and advance their facilitations as well as HRM practices.Direct and personal questions are avoided throughout the survey to avoid social embarrassment or other response biases.Moreover, the questionnaire is designed anonymous to further avoid biased responses from the respondents.In addition and in compliance with ethical norms of survey, all respondents have been informed of the purpose of the study and confidentiality of collected data that will remain with the researcher.Managers and relevant officials of hotels have been informed of data collection process.As a result, a total number of 310 employees were selected for the final analysis.In the analysis process, demographic variables, duration of employment, department of job and external factors have been controlled.Hence, our study does not imply the results from a comparative view between men and women and rather it signifies the effects of PD and OC as mediators on TI and SR-HRM relationship.

Measures
Measurements and instruments of research for this study was taken from the existing literature on the matter at hand and from the most relevant, yet most expert scholars in the field.In the light of the above, a 5 dimensional questionnaire was designed with a set of questions of SR-HRM on a 5-scale item (strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree).The questionnaire carries 5-scale items for OC, and PD.Turnover intention items are designed on a 5-scale of "never as 1" and "always as 5".Although, some of the measurements of this study were costume and designed specifically for this study, other measures are based on the scales of previous and existing literature that was tested and proved have significance in this area (Kim & Park, 2018;Foley et al., 2005;Hatzenbuehler et al., 2009;Meyer & Allen, 1991;Shen & Zhu, 2011;Lämsä & Piilola, 2015;Lee & Hong, 2011;Nie et al., 2017;Greenwood, 2013;Hobson, 2011;Jamali et al., 2015;Riivari & Lämsä, 2017).These scales and measurements have been tested for validity, accountability and reliability in aforementioned studies.In addition, comparatively, these studies have been conducted in areas elsewhere than Cyprus or to extension, Middle East.Hence, the application and generalizability of these scales is also under examination in the current paper.

Data Analysis
The data consists of 301 respondents, from which a number of 110 were male and 200 female.Age range was defined from 18 to 25, 26 to 39, 40 to 59, and over 60.These groups were of 10%, 48.4%, 37.1%, and 4.5% respectively.Our survey presents internal consistency level (reliability analysis) of the data where all 310 cases were considered valid and Cronbach's Alpha was measured at 0.845 based on 35 sample size.Pearson two-tailed Correlations are shown in Table 1; it is noteworthy that the negative values are in fact significant as SR-HRM and its components are expected to negatively affect Turnover intentions as well as perceived discrimination.Model 1 of regression presents dependent variable (TI) and independent variable (SR-HRM).Based on the findings of this regression mode, 91.1% of the variations of TI was explained by R-square-calculatedvalue.Tables 2 and 3 present ANOVA results, from which the high number of F shows support for Hypothesis 1 through the significance calculated P-value.Ergo, TI and SR-HRM are in a significant relationship, in which each of SR-HRM characteristics have a negative impact on turnover intentions (negative t-values).Legal compliance shows a higher significance and general facilitation is the least significance.The model was followed by a second regression model, in which calculated R-square was reported 91.5%, through entering organizational commitment into the equation.Though P-value remains significant, OC proves to produce reduction in the relationship between TI and SR-HRM.This is alongside general facilitation dimension, which has been noted through this study from data collection and initiation of the research.Nonetheless, OC is causing a partial mediation on the previously mentioned linkage.
Referring to Table 3 of correlations, this can be another support for Hypothesis 2 of this study.To test the third hypothesis in this paper, another regression model was conducted to observe the variations, which is caused by PD on linkage between the dependent and independent variables defined.Regarding previous models, R-square in the third regression was calculated as 91.3%.Tables 5-7 below present the third regression model conducted on the collected data, in which perceived discrimination is involved as mediator.A significant decrease in calculated F-value (804.655) can be seen in comparison with models one and two, the latter being 825.584 and former with the number of 1040.966.In this model, the insignificance of general facilitation was relatively lower.Thus, Hypothesis 3 is supported.Moreover, this can also be seen in correlation analysis presented previously.

Table 5
The results of regression analysis for the third hypothesis In addition to the above models, a single Multi-Step Regression model was conducted to observe the effects of all variables.Values of F, and P, alongside t-value can show what was previously shown in data analysis of this study (See Table 6).

Results and Discussion
Based on the tables presented, it can be seen that SR-HRM had direct, yet negative significant impact on turnover intentions.It is noteworthy that negative values found in correlation tables are justified due to the fact that it is expected from SR-HRM practices to reduce intentions of turnover.Thus, the first hypothesis of this study is accepted.In addition, significant t-values show the significance of presented models.Furthermore, when OC is added to the equation, R Square value increases from 0.911 to 0.95 alongside a vivid shift of t-values, which shows an improvement in the model as OC has made the explanation of regression model explicitly better.Hence, it can be said that mediation has been done and it is not stagnant, making the second hypothesis accepted.Moreover, in the third regression model that was conducted on the collected data, it can be seen that R Square value has greatly increased, when PD has entered the equation.Relatively, decrease in F value and the change in t-value shows a decline.It can be said that PD is not fully but partially mediating the relationship.It is also noteworthy to say that the existence of both mediators in the equation simultaneously in the final model, it can be seen that the mediation has been done partially for PD and to an extent, fully for OC.Although all of the variables and characteristics of SR-HRM has been found to have significant effect on turnover intentions, it can be seen that GF-HRM has the least significant value among others, and especially when mediators enter the equation.This can be due to the fact that Cyprus is limited in terms of external campaigns (availability and accessibility).Thus, hotels and management of hotels may find it difficult to provide external facilitations to employees to further their trainings.It was also noted from the employees that most programs of trainings and campaigns are not outsourced and are being held inside the available facilities, which hotels own or collaborate with.Therefore, the insignificance of GF-HRM is explained in the context of this particular area.
To summarize, OC has shown its importance in this model as commitment towards the organization clearly enables employees to perform better and have a better feeling towards their workplace.In addition, this creates a perception of reciprocation and hotels, in which proper SR-HRM is implemented shown less concerns about discrimination, and higher rates of encouragement for their staff to keep their jobs and perform on a higher level as they are encouraged to be "more professional".This was drawn from respondents during data collection process.Hence, managers can see it from academic and perception view that their efforts for implementing SR-HRM has in fact turned into fruition.

Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research
This study was limited with time restrictions, as hotels and their managers would not give more time for in-depth data collection, especially as respondents were chosen from those who were active at the time of surveying.Other researchers can dedicate two or more periods for data collection to further gather information that can be useful for this aspect of research.In addition, this topic can be looked into from a gender studies perspective, where men and women are surveyed separately and their responses are analyzed comparatively.This enables the researchers to find more answers in regard to perceived discrimination.Other limitation of this research was the number of hotels, in which SR-HRM practices were implemented (and thus they were chosen for this particular study).Similar studies can be conducted elsewhere with a greater number of hotels and respondents to perform a meta-analysis.Moreover, such studies and topics are extremely scarce in the Middle East and with the cultural difference that this region has with other areas of the world, it can be beneficial for scholars to conduct similar surveys in different countries in this region to better comprehend the differences that exist.

Table 1
The results of Pearson two-tailed correlations

Table 2
The results of ANOVA a test

Table 3
The results of regression analysis for model 1

Table 4
The results of regression analysis for model 2

Table 6
The summary of the ANOVA a test for three regression analysis