Examining the mediating role of perceived organizational support in the relationship between employee motivation and intention to stay

Abstract

Scholars have recognized various factors that influence the motivation of employees. However, there is still insufficient research into what determines employees’ intention to stay in the organization. Using survey data from private sector employees in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, this study investigates the mediating role of organizational support in employee motivation and the decision to stay. To investigate whether the perceived organizational support mediates the influence of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation on the intention to stay, the study uses Model 4 of Hayes’ PROCESS macro in SPSS. The results show that employees’ extrinsic and intrinsic motivation significantly impact their decisions to stay in the organization. In addition, the effect of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation on the intention to stay is partially mediated by the level of perceived organizational support. The study’s results contribute to understanding the importance of employee motivation for the intention to stay in an organization and highlight organizational support’s role in employees’ intention to stay. The study discusses practical implications and directions for future research.