Employee creativity trumps supervisor-subordinate guanxi: Predicting prequitting behaviors in China's hotel industry

This study aims to explore the moderating roles of supervisor-subordinate guanxi and employee creativity in the perceived organizational support-organizational commitment-turnover intention link in the Chinese hotel organizations. Using a matched sample of 85 supervisors and 249 subordinates from 13 hotels in Shenzhen, China, we found that both supervisor-subordinate guanxi and employee creativity altered the relationships of perceived organizational support, affective commitment and employee prequitting behaviors. A significant conditional direct effect of perceived organizational support on prequitting behaviors was moderated by low supervisor-subordinate guanxi. Furthermore, a significant conditional indirect relationship between perceived organizational support and prequitting behaviors was found at high employee creativity. Moreover, interactive effect of affective commitment and employee creativity exerted a significant negative effect on prequitting behaviors. Findings shed light on the changing traditional values in modern management practices and the conditions under which organizations can improve employee retention. Theoretical and practical implications for talent management are discussed.