Mediating Effect of HRM Practices on the Relationship between Social Networking Sites usage and Employee Retention in Large Companies in Malaysia

Abstract

This research aims at addressing the relationship between social networking sites with selected human resource management (HRM) practices that include recruitment and selection, compensation, and training and development toward a relationship with employee retention. Several studies and research (Cappelli, 2009; McDonald & Thompson, 2015) stated that effective use of social networking sites could help to improve personal branding and therefore help to develop one’s career. This research used a quantitative survey method to gather the data. A purposive sampling technique was used in this study and a total of four hundred employees from the largest 20 public listed services provider companies in Malaysia participated in the study. Communication networks are measured with 14 items for professional purposes and another 14 items measured the usage of social networking sites for social purposes. These 28 items are modified to assess the usage of communication networks based on Warnakula and Manickam (2010). For HRM practices, 26 items are given to the respondents to answer. Meanwhile, employee retention is measured by 10 items adopted based on Allen and John (1990). The data was analysed using SPSS where descriptive and inferential analyses were used to answer the research objectives. The findings and implications of the study are discussed.