2013 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
The determinants of voluntary turnover among newcomers in Germany and Japan
| Project/Area Number |
25285114
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Research Institution | Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology |
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Principal Investigator |
PELTOKORPI Vesa 北陸先端科学技術大学院大学, 知識科学研究科, 准教授 (80433762)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
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| Keywords | Newcomer adjustment / Turnover / Retention |
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| Research Abstract |
During 2013, I conducted an extensive literature review on newcomer adjustment. In addition, I reviewed the literature on voluntary turnover and job embeddedness. Integrating these bodies of literature I constructed a newcomer adjustment survey. The survey will be send to employees who enter to new companies in at four points in time with four different surveys. The first survey will be sent to employees in April/May, 2014.
During early 2014, I revised the survey. The first survey was translated back-translated from English to Japanese and then again to English to ensure that the meanings were kept in their original forms. The three other parts of the survey will be translated in May/June. All items in the survey are taken from previous studies.
I will conduct the first phase of my study with Rakuten Research. Based on my screening criteria, Rakuten Research expected to get data from 1900 people in the greater Tokyo area. Because of a small number of entry-level employees, I am now collecting data from both entry-level and mid-career employees. To date (April 24, 2014), Rakuten has collected data from 800 people fulfilling my screening criteria. We hope to collect data from 1000 people. This data collection is estimated to cost approximately 990,000 yen. The following three surveys will be conducted at three points in time.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
So far, this research project is progressing almost as planned. The literature review and survey construction took the estimated time period. I am also satisfied with my survey on newcomer adjustment. It consist all relevant items from previous studies as well as items that extend the existing research in meaningful and significant ways. However, instead of launching the first survey in Japan at the end of Fiscal Year 2013, I decided to launch the survey in April because most people in Japanese change their jobs then. However, my initial enquiries in Germany suggest that I may have problems to get a sizable sample due to economic regression. Nevertheless, I am confident that this project will produce publications in peer reviewed academic journals.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
In principle, I continue as planned. After translation and back translation of the survey items from English to Japanese, I will send the next (second) survey to the people who have replied to the first survey in July/August. The third survey will be send to the people who have replied to the second survey approximately a month later. The fourth survey will be send to the people who have replied to the third survey approximately one year later.
I am planning to replicate this approach in Germany if possible. However, this might be somewhat problematic due to sluggish economic situation in Germany. After getting more information about the possible sample size in Germany, I may continue as planned or conduct a more in-depth study in Japan. This would require me to construct another set of surveys, which I am more than willing to do.
In order to get in touch with people who work in the same area, I am planning to visit Europe and perhaps the USA this year. I have already been in touch with David Allen in the University of Memphis in the USA and Eero Vaara in HANKEN School of Economics in Finland.
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| Expenditure Plans for the Next FY Research Funding |
I carried over Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 Kakenhi budget to FY 2014 because my research focuses on newcomer adjustment and most people in Japan start and change their jobs in April. Thus, Kakenhi research budget allocation did not allow me to collect data during FY 2013.
I have already collected demographic and personality data from more than 1,000 Japanese employees who have started and changed their jobs in April, 2014. In FY 2014, I will collect more data from these same employees on their adjustment and job embeddedness.
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