High-involvement work practices and collective turnover: a moderating role of HR department size under high and low firm profitability

Purpose This study reexamines the relationship between high-involvement work practices (HIWPs) and collective turnover, defined as firm-level voluntary employee turnover. The well-established negative association is revisited through the theoretical lens of implementation context and a more robust empirical design. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a panel data on Korean firms from 2007 to 2017. The final firm-year observations were 2,382. Panel data estimation models were used to test the hypotheses. Findings This study found that HIWPs were negatively associated with collective turnover, reconfirming the existing evidence. Furthermore, this negative relationship was stronger in firms with larger HR departments. The moderating role of HR department size was particularly pronounced in firms experiencing performance decline but less salient among profitable firms. Originality/value The findings provide new insights into how the implementation context shapes the effectiveness of HR practices.