Human Resource Management Review 22 (2012) 220–231

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Human Resource Management Review

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/humres

A review of job embeddedness: Conceptual, measurement issues, and

directions for future research
Mian Zhang a,⁎, David D. Fried b, Rodger W. Griffeth b
a
School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
b
Department of Psychology, Ohio University, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Keywords: Job embeddedness (JE) theory is a relatively new perspective in turnover research. Although the-
Job embeddedness oretical and empirical implications are encouraging, the construct of JE is still under development.
Turnover In this paper, we identify five conceptualization and measurement issues warranting additional
Composite measures
discussion and research. These are: (1) the composite measure vs. the global measure, (2) concep-
Global measures
tual and measurement problems of community embeddedness, (3) conceptual and measurement
Social networks
problems associated with links, (4) discriminant validity issues and (5) the cultural boundaries of
JE. For each issue, we discuss our concerns and suggest future research directions.
© 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Voluntary employee turnover is defined as voluntary termination of membership within an organization by an employee who
receives monetary compensation for participating in that organization (Mobley, 1982). Voluntary turnover produces tangible
costs, such as recruitment and training expense, as well as intangible costs, such as declining employee morale and customer dis-
satisfaction (Hom & Griffeth, 1995). Understanding the mechanisms behind voluntary turnover may be helpful in designing in-
terventions to reduce turnover and its potential costs (Hom & Griffeth, 1995; Maertz & Campion, 1998; Price, 2001).
Following March and Simon's (1958) theory of organization equilibrium, numerous studies have explored the turnover pro-
cess (Hom & Griffeth, 1995; Maertz & Campion, 1998). This vein of research has led to many multivariate turnover models
(e.g., Hom & Griffeth, 1991; Lee, Mitchell, Sablynski, Burton, & Holtom, 2004; Mobley, 1977; Mobley, Griffeth, Hand, & Meglino,
1979; Mobley, Horner, & Hollingsworth, 1978; Price & Mueller, 1981) with only modest prediction in turnover, typically account-
ing for less than 5% to 25% of its variance (Hom & Griffeth, 1995; Maertz & Campion, 1998).
The modest predictive strength has inspired recent interest in the development of new theories to gain insight into the turnover pro-
cess (Lee & Mitchell, 1994; Lee, Mitchell, & Sablynski, 1999; Lee, Mitchell, Wise, & Fireman, 1996; Lee et al., 2004; Maertz & Campion,
1998; Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, & Erez, 2001). Job embeddedness (JE) theory represents one of these new perspectives
(Holtom, Mitchell, Lee, & Eberly, 2008), focusing on factors that encourage an employee to remain with an organization. Several studies
reveal that JE predicts incremental variation in turnover after controlling for traditional turnover predictors, such as job satisfaction and
quit intentions (Crossley, Bennett, Jex, & Burnfield, 2007; Lee et al., 2004; Mallol, Holtom, & Lee, 2007; Mitchell et al., 2001).
Although these results are encouraging, the construct of JE is still under development (Mitchell et al., 2001). With a few exceptions
(Crossley et al., 2007; Hom, Rogers, Allen, & Zhang, 2010; Lee et al., 2004; Murphy & Hom, 2008), the scope of most research has been
limited to empirical testing of potential outcomes (e.g., employee turnover) of job embeddedness. Few studies have examined con-
ceptualization and measurement issues. To date, efforts to develop the construct include the addition and deletion of several items
from the original 40-item JE measure (Holtom, Mitchell, Lee, & Tidd, 2006); the integration of ideas from social network theories
with embeddedness theory (Hom et al., 2010; Murphy & Hom, 2008); and the development of a seven-item global measure of JE
based on a reflective, rather than formative, measurement model (Crossley et al., 2007).

⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: zhangm6@sem.tsinghua.edu.cn (M. Zhang).

1053-4822/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.hrmr.2012.02.004
 M. Zhang et al. / Human Resource Management Review 22 (2012) 220–231 221

It is important to emphasize the necessity of theoretical development and appropriate measures before exploring the relation-
ships between JE and other outcomes. To that end, we have identified five issues warranting additional discussion and research
for JE. We believe turning attention to these areas will help advance the development of JE research. These five areas are: (1) the
composite measure vs. the global measure, (2) conceptual and measurement problems of community embeddedness, (3) concep-
tual and measurement problems associated with “links,” (4) discriminant validity issues and (5) the cultural boundaries of JE.
Throughout this discussion we provide suggestions and directions for future research to improve the JE construct.

2. An overview of job embeddedness theory

Job embeddedness (JE) is defined as a broad constellation of psychological, social, and financial influences on employee retention
(Mitchell et al., 2001; Yao, Lee, Mitchell, Burton, & Sablynski, 2004). These influences are present on the job, as well as outside the employ-
ee's immediate work environment, and are often likened to strands in a “web” or “net” in which a person can become “stuck” (Mitchell et
al., 2001). Individuals with a greater number of strands become more enmeshed in the web and have greater difficulty leaving their job.
Job embeddedness comprises three dimensions: links, fit, and sacrifice. Each dimension is further categorized into two sub-
dimensions (i.e., organization and community) based on whether the influences occur on-the-job, or off-the job. Appendix A
lists sample items of the latest scale included in Lee et al. (2004).

2.1. Links

Links are defined as formal or informal connections between a person, institutions, or other people (Lee et al., 2004; Mitchell et al.,
2001). JE theory posits that a number of links attach an employee and his or her family in a social, psychological, and financial web that
includes co-workers and non-work friends, groups, and the community in which he or she lives. There are links to entities in the or-
ganization, such as a team of work colleagues in one's working team, and there are links to entities in one's community, such as rel-
atives, friends and social groups. The greater the number of links between the individual and the web and the more important those
links are, the more a worker is bound to the job, the supervisor and entities in the organizations such as teams (Lee et al., 2004;
Mitchell et al., 2001).

2.2. Fit

Fit refers to an employee's perceived compatibility with the organization and surrounding community (Lee et al., 2004;
Mitchell et al., 2001). Good person–organization fit occurs when an employee's personal values, career aspirations, knowledge,
skills, and ability are compatible with the organizational culture, and with the requirements of his or her job. In addition, a person
will consider how well he or she fits with aspects of the community and surrounding environment such as climate, weather con-
ditions, religious beliefs, and entertainment activities (Mitchell et al., 2001). JE theory postulates that the better the fit with the
organization and the surrounding community, the stronger the ties to the organization (Lee et al., 2004; Mitchell et al., 2001).

2.3. Sacrifice

Sacrifice is the perceived psychological, social, or material cost of leaving one's organization and one's community (Lee et al.,
2004; Mitchell et al., 2001). Leaving an organization incurs job-related losses: e.g., giving up familiar colleagues, interesting pro-
jects or desirable benefits. Leaving an organization may also result in community-related losses (e.g., giving up an easy commute,
good day care, or local club membership).
In the following sections, we discuss each of the five issues we have identified. For each issue, we first point out our concerns and
then furnish possible suggestions on how to ameliorate the concerns. We organize the sequence of the five issues by the following
logic. First, we discuss theoretical and statistical issues by comparing the two JE measures (i.e., the composite measure and the global
measure) currently in use. We give this topic top priority because investigators usually need to use the two measures for understand-
ing the construct of JE and make choice between them when conducting empirical studies. Then, we focus on discussing four issues
relating to the composite measure because (1) most prior studies employed the composite measure, and (2) it has the advantages of
theoretical richness, as we will depict in the later section. Among the four issues, we first discuss community embeddedness because
this part reflects a unique contribution of JE. Then, we further discuss the three dimensions of JE: links, fit and sacrifice. Finally, we
discuss the cultural boundaries because there is an emerging trend that studies examine JE theory in a cross-cultural context.

3. The composite measure vs. the global measure

Crossley et al. (2007) suggested that their composite measure of JE, as outlined above, has both theoretical and statistical limita-
tions. Therefore, they developed an alternative seven-item “global” JE measure that assesses general attachment to the organization
and includes items such as, “I feel attached to this organization,” “It would be difficult for me to leave this organization,” and “I am
tightly connected to this organization.” This global measure does not distinguish between work-related and non-work-related factors,
nor does it distinguish between links, fit, and sacrifice. We will now discuss and compare the theoretical and statistical properties of
the two JE measures.
222 M. Zhang et al. / Human Resource Management Review 22 (2012) 220–231

3.1. Theoretical comparisons

Crossley et al. (2007) contended that their global measure has two theoretical advantages. First, it allows participants to incor-
porate information from their own judgment because its items assess general attachment to the organization rather than specific
aspects. In contrast, composite measure may omit some aspects that may be important to the individual or include some irrele-
vant aspects. Second, a global measure could capture the unique weightings that an individual may place on different facets when
forming a summary perception. For instance, some respondents may consider community factors as more important than job-
related factors when forming embeddedness perceptions. In this case, when using the global measure, an individual could report
his or her embeddedness perception by mainly assessing community factors. In contrast, when combining factors additively in
the composite measure, the final score of embeddedness is the average of job-related factors and community factors, which can-
not capture the unique weightings. Crossley and colleagues found that the global measure predicted variation in intentions to
quit, intention to search, and turnover, after controlling for the composite measure and organizational attitudes. They contended
that their global measure serves as a succinct companion to the original composite measure.
The global measure does not contain items that explicitly refer to influences occurring outside the immediate work environ-
ment (i.e., off-the-job factors), a critical aspect of embeddedness theory (Mitchell et al., 2001). In a clarification to Crossley et al.
(2007), Crossley, Bennett, Jex, and Burnfield (2011, p.1316) contended that the component of community embeddedness is indi-
rectly included in their global measure because the leading instructions of the measure asked respondents to rate the job
embeddedness as a whole [“After considering both work-related (such as relationships, fit with job, benefits) and non-work relat-
ed factors (such as neighbors, hobbies, community perks), please rate your agreement with the statements below”].
Compared to the global measure, the composite measure has the advantage of theoretical richness and contributions because
it explicitly includes non-attitudinal and off-the-job components. Mitchell et al. (2001) argued the JE construct emphasizes non-
attitudinal characteristics. The component of links is the best example: all its items assess objective status or numbers (e.g., “how
many co-workers do you interact with regularly?”). Although fit and sacrifice reflect one's perception, the composite measure
emphasizes cognitive content of specific facets. For example, employees have a cognitive match between their human capital
and their jobs, though they may have less emotional attachment to their organizations (“my job utilizes my skills and talents
well”). The global measure, however, assesses a more general reaction, which may mix emotional and attitudinal components.
Although researchers have acknowledged the importance of non-work factors in understanding turnover (Hom & Kinicki,
2001; Price, 2001; Steers & Mowday, 1981), the construct of JE represents the first attempt to represent a broad assembling of
off-the-job influences on employee retention (Mitchell et al., 2001). For example, Price and associates assert that kinship respon-
sibility is an important antecedent of turnover; the measure of kinship responsibility contains the items measuring marriage sta-
tus, number of children and relatives in the same community (Price, 2001). Lee and colleagues contend kinship responsibility is
similar conceptually and empirically to links of community embeddedness (Lee et al., 2004). However, JE extends the content of
kinship responsibility because off-the-job JE additionally contains fit and sacrifices to community.

3.2. Statistical comparisons

The seven-item global measure has a statistical advantage over the composite measure because it was developed based on a
reflective rather than formative measurement model. A reflective model differs from a formative model in the hypothesized direc-
tion of causality between items and their latent constructs (Jarvis, Mackenzie, Podsakoff, Mick, & Bearden, 2003; MacKenzie,
Podsakoff, & Jarvis, 2005). In a reflective model the direction of causality flows from the latent construct to the items. Items (com-
monly referred to as ‘indicators’ of the construct in reflective models) are hypothesized to be highly-correlated because they rep-
resent the same construct. A wide array of common methods can be used to evaluate scale properties (e.g., reliability analysis,
exploratory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling) of a reflective model (MacKenzie et al., 2005). However, methods
for evaluating psychometric properties of formative measurement models are less-developed (Jarvis et al., 2003; MacKenzie et al.,
2005). Indeed, coefficient alphas and factor loadings are only useful for descriptive purposes in studies that utilize the composite
measure (Felps et al., 2009; Lee et al., 2004).
There are two problems with extant composite measures that need to be addressed in future research. First, we believe the direc-
tion of causality between four items and their latent constructs is ambiguous in Lee et al. (2004) composite measure. These four items
are: “this community I live in is a good match for me”; “I feel like I am a good match for this organization”; “I would incur very few
costs if I left this organization”; and “I would sacrifice a lot if I left this job”. Although originally conceived as part of a formative mea-
surement model, it is just as likely that these items are reflective in nature. For example, contrary to a formative model (and consistent
with a reflective model), organizational embeddedness (the construct) may cause one to believe that he/she would sacrifice a lot if he/
she left the job (the item). Future research may delete these general items to make the composite measure more consistent with a
formative framework.
Second, composite measures assume complete coverage of a construct domain (MacKenzie et al., 2005). However, it seems
that the items in Lee et al. (2004) JE scale do not fully cover JE's content. For example, leadership may also impact organization
fit because at least one study reveals that high-quality leader–member exchange bolsters staying (Gerstner & Day, 1997). Hom
et al. (2009) added an item measuring leader–member relationship into their revised scale of job embeddedness.
This problem may be more severe in the shortened form of the JE composite scale. Lee et al.'s composite measure originally included
32 items. Holtom et al. (2006) formed a 21-item shortened version of Lee et al. (2004) measure. Felps et al. (2009) used Holtom et al.
(2006) short form of JE scale. However, as MacKenzie et al. (2005, p. 712) argued, “the consequences of dropping a formative indicator
 M. Zhang et al. / Human Resource Management Review 22 (2012) 220–231 223

from a measurement model are potentially much more damaging than the consequences of dropping a reflective indicator.” Hence,
simply reducing scale length may jeopardize content validity of composite measures (Crossley et al., 2007; MacKenzie et al., 2005).

3.3. Conclusions for the comparison

It is hard to conclude which measure is better because both of them have distinct advantages and disadvantages. The compos-
ite measure has advantage of theoretical richness. However, as we noted and will further elaborate on, the composite measure
needs improvement to: (1) meet the requirement of a formative measurement model, and (2) test the predictive validity in dif-
ferent research settings. The global measure has statistical advantage because it is based on the reflective measurement model.
Besides, the compactness of the global measure has an advantage of brevity when restrictions on survey length exist. However,
the global measure does not highlight the non-attitudinal and off-the-job factors like the composite measure does.
The research purpose in a specific study may determine the choice between the composite measure and the global measure. If a study
aims to explore the associations between the components of job embeddedness and outcomes, the study should probably use the com-
posite measure. In this case, job embeddedness is likely to be the focal predictor. Ramesh and Gelfand's (2010) study is a typical example.
The composite measure in their study was needed to test their hypotheses [e.g., “Country will moderate the negative relationship be-
tween organization links and turnover such that the relationship is stronger in India than in the United States (Ramesh & Gelfand,
2010, p. 810)”] because the measure contains the facet scales. On the other hand, if a study aims to test models using latent constructs,
the reflective measure would be a better choice, especially for the studies that use structural equation modeling (SEM).

4. Conceptualization and measurement problems: community embeddedness

According to the JE theory (Mitchell et al., 2001), community factors, such as family ties, marital status, and the number of children
requiring parental care, have a significant influence on employee retention. Indeed, the inclusion of non-work factors is one of the key
factors that distinguish JE from other organizational attachment constructs (e.g., organizational commitment; Mitchell et al., 2001).
Unfortunately, studies have found mixed support for a relationship between community factors and turnover (see Table 1).
Mitchell et al. (2001) found that all three dimensions of community embeddedness—community links, fit, and sacrifice—were
negatively-related to turnover in a sample of hospital workers. However, only community links (not fit or sacrifice) were nega-
tively associated with turnover in a sample of grocery store workers. Three subsequent studies did not reveal a significant rela-
tionship between community embeddedness and turnover when each of the three dimensions was assessed separately
(Crossley et al., 2007; Mallol et al., 2007; Ramesh & Gelfand, 2010). Two studies found a significant negative relationship between
total community embeddedness (i.e., community embeddedness averaged across the three dimensions) and actual turnover (Lee
et al., 2004; Mitchell et al., 2001). However, four other studies did not find a relationship between total community embedded-
ness and actual turnover (Allen, 2006; Crossley et al., 2007; Mallol et al., 2007; Ramesh & Gelfand, 2010).
We offer two explanations why community embeddedness is not consistently associated with turnover. First, moderators are
likely to buffer the negative relationship between community embeddedness and turnover. We suggest three constructs may
serve to moderate the community embeddedness—turnover relationship. These are: commute time, job type and financial

Table 1
Simple correlations in six job embeddedness studies.

LO LC FO FC SO SC JEO JEC

Mitchell et al. (2001)

Grocery store chain −.11/−.14⁎ −.18⁎/−.12 −.18⁎/−.53⁎ −.02/−.09 −.22⁎/−.51⁎ −.11/−.12 −.24⁎/−.57 −.14⁎/−.14⁎
Hospital −.17⁎/−.12 −.14⁎/−.20⁎ −.18⁎/−.41⁎ −.16⁎/−.10 −.13⁎/−.45⁎ −.17⁎/−.15⁎ −.21⁎/−.44⁎ −.20⁎/−.19⁎
Lee et al. (2004)
Financial institution −.16⁎/.01 −.16⁎/−.06 −.08⁎/−.56⁎ −.08⁎/−.22⁎ −.02/−.58⁎ −.06/−.17⁎ −.11⁎/– −.13⁎/–
Allen (2006)
Financial services −.23⁎/– −.05/–
Crossley et al. (2007)
Public organizations −.08/.21⁎ −.10/−.09 −.02/−.43⁎ −.05/−.27⁎ −.08/−.41⁎ .05/−.22⁎ −.08/−.47⁎ −.04/−.28⁎
Mallol et al. (2007)
Caucasian −.26⁎/−.27⁎ −.10/−.07 −.12/−.52⁎ −.01/−.22⁎ −.01/−.59⁎ −.06/−.26⁎ −.16⁎/−.60⁎ −.08/−.26⁎
Hispanic −.16⁎/−.11 −.07/−.04 −.14/−.47⁎ .04/.05 −.01/−.50⁎ −.10/−.07 −.13/−.50⁎ −.06/−.05
Ramesh and Gelfand (2010)
American call center .00/.12⁎ −.01/−.13⁎ −.02/−.36⁎ .06/.09 −.10/−.67⁎ .02/−.05 −.14⁎/−.51⁎ .03/−.03
India call center −.13⁎/.02 −.04/−.22⁎ −.14⁎/−.27⁎ .02/−.12⁎ −.07/−.51⁎ .01/−.19⁎ −.13⁎/−.35⁎ .00/−.23⁎
Total significance for TO/IQ 5/4 3/3 4/8 2/4 2/8 1/5 7/6 3/5

Notes: LO: Organization links; LC: Community links; FO: Organization fit; FC: Community fit; SO: Organization sacrifice; SC: Community sacrifice; JEO:
Organization embeddedness; JEC: Community embeddedness; TO: Turnover; IQ: Intentions to quit.
The correlations on the left side of slash signify the correlations with turnover behavior while those on the right side indicate the correlations with intentions to
quit.
We did not include other studies using job embeddedness scale because these studies did not report the components of job embeddedness.
We did not conduct meta-analysis because internal coefficients are descriptive for formative models and cannot be used in meta-analysis.
⁎ p b .05.
224 M. Zhang et al. / Human Resource Management Review 22 (2012) 220–231

requirements. Second, when respondents in a sample come from a large area like a big city, the meaning of “community” may
need specification in measurement items. We will explore these issues in the following section.

4.1. Possible moderating effects

4.1.1. Commute time

Commute time refers to how long an employee spends on commuting in a working day. If one is highly embedded in his or her im-
mediate community, yet possesses a job outside the community, traveling away from his or her beloved community to the distant job
may be an aversive experience because time spent traveling means less time spent doing community activities. For such people, commu-
nity embeddedness may have a neutral or positive, rather than negative, relationship with turnover. Zax and Kain (1991) found that lon-
ger commutes encouraged Caucasians to quit their jobs but reduced their intentions to move out of their community. A recent study
reveals that a worker's quit positively relates to the worker's commuting distance (Deding, Filges, & Van Ommeren, 2009). Further re-
search is needed to study if/how commute time moderates the relationship between community embeddedness and turnover.

4.1.2. Availability of nearby replacement jobs

The availability and proximity of potential replacement jobs may also moderate the relationship between community
embeddedness and turnover. For some jobs (e.g., university faculty), quitting means one must travel distances away from his
or her community to find another job (Mitchell et al., 2001). For these job types, someone with great community attachment
may find it difficult to quit his or her job.
On the other hand, other job types (e.g., food service) may be plentiful enough to allow relocation within the same commu-
nity. For these jobs, community embeddedness is likely to have little effect on turnover behavior. Future studies should test
whether the perception of nearby replacement jobs moderates the relationship between community embeddedness and turn-
over. An example item that could be used to measure the perceptions of nearby replacement jobs is: “There are a number of or-
ganizations nearby where I could find comparable work.”

4.1.3. Financial requirements

Financial requirements are defined as factors that influence people's economic need to work (Brett, Cron, & Slocum, 1995). Brief
and associates found that when workers have more dependents, earn less money from their jobs, and have less income in their family
units, they are more likely to view work as a tool to support their life (Brief, Brett, Raskas, & Stein, 1997). Employees that do not have
their financial needs met are likely to focus on on-the-job rather than off-the-job (i.e., community) aspects because they rely heavily
on jobs to support their life. For such employees, organizational embeddedness may have more influence on turnover than commu-
nity embeddedness. On the other hand, workers that have their financial needs met may be more likely to pay attention to commu-
nity issues, such as the quality of medical care, education, and social services. For such employees, community embeddedness may
have greater importance than organizational embeddedness in the decision whether to remain with an organization. Future studies
may utilize survey samples with great variation in financial requirements to test whether financial requirements moderate the rela-
tionship between community embeddedness and turnover.

4.1.4. Conclusion and suggestion

Compared with organization embeddedness, community embeddedness is not a stable predictor of turnover. We have con-
cern about the fact because fundamentally, the value of a formative measure is the predictive validity it demonstrates. The lack
of predictive validity may be because the facets scale of community embeddedness includes factors that do not make people
feel “stuck” in their jobs for a particular sample. For example, as we argued, for people who have to spend many commuting
hours, their community embeddedness may be not beneficial to staying at their current organizations. We suggest that future re-
search test the moderators that reflect the importance of off-the-job embeddedness.

4.2. “Community” needs specification

We argue that “community” needs specification in measurement items. Many items measuring community embeddedness con-
tain the word “community” (Lee et al., 2004). In sociology, the concept of community has caused infinite debate, and sociologists have
yet to reach agreement on a definition of the term. Berger (1978) noticed at least 100 different definitions of community. However,
extant embeddedness research does not specify the meaning and measurement of community. This misspecification, as described
below, may affect generalizability of findings across studies, as well as construct validity.
Consistent with Mitchell and colleagues' argument (Lee et al., 2004; Mitchell et al., 2001), “community” probably refers to
communities of location (i.e., geographical community). The physical boundaries of a community can range from the local neigh-
borhood to the suburb, village, town, city, region, or even an entire nation. However, the measurement items of community
embeddedness do not specify the range of a shared geographical location, and this could lead to conflicting research findings.

4.2.1. Conclusion and suggestion

When surveys are conducted in small towns, it may not be important to specify “community” because “neighborhood,” “where I
live,” and “community” could be used interchangeably without bias. However, when respondents are from big cities and areas, it may
be necessary to give a clear definition of “community.” For example, with respect to the statement, “I really love the place where I
 M. Zhang et al. / Human Resource Management Review 22 (2012) 220–231 225

live,” community is likely to refer to the local town or city. However, the statement, “My neighborhood is safe” implies a more narrow
definition of “community.” We suggest that further studies specify the meaning of “community”. An example of definition is that com-
munity refers to “a deep psychological and emotional relationship to a group and/or a particular space” (Gottdiener & Budd, 2005).
This definition can be used in the instruction part leading measurement items of community embeddedness.

5. Conceptualization and measurement problems: links

As mentioned, links are defined as “formal or informal connections between a person and institutions or other people” (Mitchell et
al., 2001, p. 1104). One of the tenets of JE is that, as the number of links increase job embeddedness becomes stronger, which in turn,
decreases turnover (Mitchell et al., 2001; Yao et al., 2004). However, links have not been consistently associated with turnover (see
Table 1). Two studies found a negative relationship between links and turnover (Lee et al., 2004; Mitchell et al., 2001). Yet, two other
studies did not find an association between links (community and organizational) and turnover (Crossley et al., 2007; Ramesh &
Gelfand, 2010). Mallol et al. (2007) found an association between organizational links (but not community links) and turnover. Im-
portantly, network research suggests that other relational properties influence turnover besides the number of workplace associates
or associations (Hom & Xiao, 2011; Hom et al., 2010; Murphy & Hom, 2008).
In line with prior research (Holtom et al., 2008; Hom et al., 2010), we contend that the number of connections may not adequately
cover relational constraints on leaving. In the discussion that follows, we identified four conceptual and measurement aspects associated
with links.

5.1. More links do not necessarily translate into higher embeddedness

We propose that inconsistencies in the relationship between turnover and links may be attributed to the way links are hypoth-
esized to relate to embeddedness and turnover. Specifically, we speculate that Mitchell and colleague's (Mitchell et al., 2001)
tenet—more links produce lower turnover—is not always true.
A high number of organizational links, such as the connections a worker has with peers, teams, and committees, may result in
overload and even conflicting requests from bosses and co-workers. These requests could cause work stress which may decrease or-
ganizational attachment (Kim, Price, Mueller, & Watson, 1996). Additionally, such connections may increase a sense of obligation to
participate in social activities with co-workers during off-hours, which may reduce quality time with family members. Studies found
that greater work interference with family is associated with a higher propensity to quit (Hom & Kinicki, 2001). As Mitchell et al.
(2001) noted, “Being highly embedded at work might lead to work–family role conflicts, and such conflicts might result in turnover”
(p. 117). Feeley, Hwang, and Barnett (2008) found that neither the number of in-degree links (i.e., links nominated by others) with
friends, nor the number of network links with peers, were significantly associated with turnover. Future research should examine the
conditions where organizational links result in greater work load, more work pressures, and higher work–family conflict.
Community links are implied by marital status, whether or not a spouse works, whether a respondent owns his or her home, or
whether one has family roots near home (Lee et al., 2004). According to Mitchell et al. (2001), more community links are usually as-
sumed to result in greater embeddedness, which in turn results in lower turnover. However, some empirical evidence suggests that
community links may increase turnover in certain situations. Social network studies have found that the number of social ties is pos-
itively correlated with alternative job opportunities (Bian, 1997; Granovetter, 1973; Lin, 1990). Mitchell et al. (2001) noticed the pos-
sibility that more social ties may increase unsolicited job offers and knowledge about other positions. This knowledge may increase
the number of available alternatives, which in turn may increase turnover. One avenue of future research is to determine whether
community links are positively related to perceived job alternatives. Assuming such a relationship exists, the next step might be to
examine whether perceived job alternatives partially mediates the relationship between community links and turnover.

5.2. Consider the quality—not just the quantity of links

Another reason for the inconsistent relationships between links and turnover may be that previous research attention has not
given adequate attention to the quality—rather than the quantity—of links. Indeed, Mitchell et al. (2001) stated that “certain links
may be more important than others” (p. 1104). Yet, inadequate efforts have been made to examine how the quality of links affects
embeddedness and turnover decisions.
An examination of the organizational attachment and social networking literatures reveals qualitative differences among links. We
propose that the relationships between links and turnover depend on type of link. The links developed for the purposes of information
seeking and advice networking may have a neutral relationship with embeddedness because this type of links may not be associated with
employee retention. Other links, such as those developed for the purposes of friendship networking and trust networking, may positively
affect organizational attachment (Morrison, 2002). Some links, such as a “hindrance network” that identifies people who impede one's
work (Cross & Parker, 2004), may even have a negative effect on attachment. In support, Jehn (1995) found that relationship conflict
in groups decreased organizational attachment. Labianca and Brass (2006) argued that dysfunctional relationships may create poor
task-related and socio-emotional outcomes. Future studies should examine how different types of links and networks relate to job
embeddedness.
226 M. Zhang et al. / Human Resource Management Review 22 (2012) 220–231

5.3. Consider structural characteristics of links

Structural characteristics of links—such as size (Morrison, 2002), strength (Feeley & Barnett, 1997; Morrison, 2002; Mossholder,
Setton, & Henagan, 2005), range (Morrison, 2002), network density (Morrison, 2002), centrality (Feeley et al., 2008; Hom et al.,
2010; Mossholder et al., 2005) , network constraint (Hom et al., 2010), and structural equivalence (Feeley & Barnett, 1997)—have dif-
ferential effects on organizational attachment. For example, Krackhardt and Porter (1986) found that turnover did not occur stochas-
tically, but in structurally equivalent clusters in a perceived interpersonal communication network. One study revealed that
individuals located in the periphery of a social network were more likely to leave their jobs (Feeley & Barnett, 1997). In a study of
newcomers' socialization in organizations, Morrison (2002) found that network size, strength, range and status were associated
with greater organizational commitment. Using survival analysis over a five-year period, Mossholder et al. (2005) found that network
centrality decreased turnover behavior. Flap and Völker (2001) found that a network with a bow-tie structure, in which a focal actor is
the link between two or more mutually exclusive cliques, had strong negative effects on satisfaction with social aspects of a job. One
study revealed that employees who reported a greater number of out-degree links (i.e., the links nominated by the respondent) with
friends (i.e., out-degree centrality) were less likely to leave (Feeley et al., 2008).
In two recent studies (Hom et al., 2010; Murphy & Hom, 2008), Hom and coauthors utilized a social network approach to elu-
cidate the role of structural characteristics of links in job embeddedness. Murphy and Hom (2008) created a measure of embedd-
edness that included two types of network characteristics: the affective strength of links (i.e., the quality of links) and network
closure (i.e., the degree to which everyone knows everyone else in a network; Burt, 2005). Murphy and Hom (2008) revealed
that network closure was positively associated with college persistence because more durable relationships embedded in third
parties prevent people from leaving their organizations (Feeley & Barnett, 1997; Krackhardt & Porter, 1986).
Hom and associates refined the conceptualization of links by incorporating more social network constructs (Hom et al., 2010).
Using an ego-centered social network approach (Morrison, 2002) and a whole-network approach (Scott, 2000), Hom and col-
leagues integrated a comprehensive set of network constructs: strength of links, network closure, centrality, and other potentially
embedding social forces such as normative prescription (Hom et al., 2010). Regression analyses revealed that normative pressures
to quit, defecting links, and sparse networks among external professional contacts explained an additional 14% of the variance in
withdrawal cognitions beyond that explained by job embeddedness, job satisfaction, and perceived alternatives (Hom et al.,
2010). Future studies should replicate Hom et al.'s (2010) study with more diverse samples. In addition, future studies should
continue to refine the conceptualization of links by exploring additional network characteristics, such as structural equivalence.

5.3.1. Conclusion and suggestions

We conclude that the number of links is not sufficient in measuring the objective connections that make people stuck in their jobs.
Consistent with Hom and associates' work (Hom et al., 2010; Murphy & Hom, 2008), we propose that links should be measured with
social network indices that depict the way people are connected. Further, we posit that four indices (number of weak ties, extent of struc-
tural holes, network range and network status) deserve prior attention because the indices suggest that people own social capital in their
organizations (Fang, Duffy, & Shaw, 2011). The number of weak ties refers to the weak connections with different people. Compared with
those who establish strong connections with others, people who have various weak ties may have the advantage of achieving information
(Granovetter, 1973). This index is similar to Mitchell et al. (2001) construct of links. Extent of structural holes indicates that people differ
in the extent their contacts are unconnected (Burt, 1992). Burt's structural hole theory posits that people could benefit from their broker-
age roles by controlling the flow of information and exerting influence (Burt, 1992, 2005). Network range indicates to what extent people
have contacts from different departments or teams (Ibarra, 1995; Morrison, 2002). People who have widespread connections could have
advantages of achieving information (Ibarra, 1995) and reinforcing social identity (Morrison, 2002). Network status assesses to what de-
gree people have contacts positioned at high level of the organizational hierarchy (Lin, 1990; Seibert, Kraimer, & Liden, 2001). People who
have contacts with high ranks could mobilize more resources to achieve desired outcomes (Lin, 1990; Seibert et al., 2001). We propose
that an individual's social capital which is formed by connections with other contacts in his or her organization (i.e., internal social capital)
is negatively associated with turnover whereas an individual's social capital which is formed by connections with other contacts outsides
his or her organization (i.e., external social capital) is positively related to turnover.

5.4. Certain items may reduce predictive strength of links

We have concerns with the construct validity of extant measures of organization links (Lee et al., 2004; Mitchell et al., 2001). Links
are measured by three items: organizational tenure, the length of the current job position, and industrial experience (i.e., the length of
working time in an industry). According to JE theory, all three items should be negatively related to turnover. Consistent with the the-
ory, a meta-analysis reveals that organizational tenure is negatively-related to turnover (Griffeth, Hom, & Gaertner, 2000; Maertz &
Campion, 1998). However, the nature of the relationship between turnover and the two other items that measure links—length of the
current position and industrial experience—may not coincide with JE theory.
We suggest that, under certain circumstances, industrial experience may increase turnover. Because experienced employees
possess greater skills and knowledge, they are more marketable to employers and therefore possess higher quality and more nu-
merous job alternatives than their inexperienced counterparts. It is well-established that employees with more alternatives are
more likely to quit (Allen & Griffeth, 2001). Thus, it is conceivable that, contrary to predictions made by embeddedness theory,
industrial experience is positively (rather than negatively) related to turnover.
 M. Zhang et al. / Human Resource Management Review 22 (2012) 220–231 227

In addition, we speculate that the length of the current position may have a neutral (or weak) relationship with turnover. In particular,
for people who are in their career plateau, occupying a position for many years may indicate that they are stuck in a dead-end job and
have little chance for promotion. As Burt (1992) noted, “spending a long time in the same rank is a signal of low achievement” (p. 130).

5.4.1. Suggestion
Thus, although studies reveal that organizational tenure is consistent with JE theory's conceptualization of links, in that orga-
nizational tenure is negatively-related to turnover (Hom, Roberson, & Ellis, 2008), industrial experience and the length of the cur-
rent positions are two measures of links that may not be consistent with JE theory. Future studies may eliminate these two items
and use tenure plus network indices such as number of weak ties, extent of structural holes, network range and network status as
the measure of organizational links.

6. Discriminant validity issues

In this section, we discuss discriminant validity issues regarding two components of the JE composite measure: fit and sacri-
fice. It should be noted that the discriminate validity issues discussed below have no substantial influence if studies use the ag-
gregated score of the JE's components. However, because prior studies put forward the hypotheses that include the
components of fit and sacrifice (for example, Mallol et al., 2007; Ramesh & Gelfand, 2010), it is necessary to examine the discrim-
inant validity issues.
As mentioned, fit refers to an employee's perceived compatibility with the organization or surrounding community (Mitchell
et al., 2001); sacrifice is the perceived cost of material or psychological benefits that may be forfeited by leaving one's job, or one's
community (Mitchell et al., 2001). Mitchell et al. (2001) implied that fit and sacrifice are distinct constructs; yet some evidence
indicates that they are, in fact, quite similar.
Several empirical studies reveal that fit and sacrifice are highly-correlated (Cunningham, Fink, & Sagas, 2005; Mallol et al.,
2007; Mitchell et al., 2001). For a sample of hospital employees, Mitchell et al. (2001) revealed that the correlation between com-
munity fit and community sacrifice was .73. In a subsequent study with two samples (Cunningham et al., 2005), results revealed
correlations of .70 and .71. Mallol et al. (2007) found that the correlations between organization fit and organizational sacrifice
were .75 for Caucasian workers and .67 for Hispanic workers, and the correlations between community fit and community sacri-
fice were .76 for Caucasian workers and .57 for Hispanic workers.
One explanation for the high associations between fit and sacrifice is that, in some cases, sacrifice and fit may be mixed. The fit
between aspects of the organization (e.g., organizational culture) may also be viewed as sacrifices associated with leaving. For in-
stance, organizational fit items, such as “I fit with this organization's culture” (Lee et al., 2004, p. 721), could be thought of as a
psychological cost of leaving the organization (i.e., organizational sacrifice), if framed as such: If I leave I will give up my sense
of identity and relationship with members that share common values. In addition, one organizational fit item, “I like the authority
and responsibility I have at this company,” appears similar to one particular organizational sacrifice item: “I have a lot of freedom
on this job to decide how to pursue my goals” (Lee et al., 2004, p. 721–722). Having authority on the job is a necessary condition
of being able to have the freedom to choose how to pursue one's goals.
Similarly, organizational sacrifice may capture the concept of organizational fit. For instance, one organizational sacrifice item
reads, “I feel that people at work respect me a great deal” (Lee et al., 2004, p. 722). One may argue that respect from other co-
workers is a part of organizational culture, and thus represents fit.
Some community fit and community sacrifice items may overlap. For example, the community sacrifice item, “My neighbor-
hood is safe” (Lee et al., 2004, p. 722), could be framed in terms of community fit: A safe neighborhood is compatible with my values,
goals, and personality. These examples suggest that the conceptual overlap may account for the high correlations between fit and
sacrifice in the extant literature.

6.1. Suggestions

To reduce the possible overlaps between some fit items and sacrifice items, we suggest that the definition of fit and sacrifice be
operationalized more explicitly. Specifically, we suggest that the definition of sacrifice focuses on perceived material cost and ex-
cludes the component of psychological cost because: (1) when people consider quitting their jobs, fit could be regarded as psy-
chological cost, and (2) the items that measure psychological cost could also be framed as fit indices.
There are two possible avenues for future research. One avenue could involve the use of subject matter experts to examine the
content of fit and sacrifice (Anastasi & Urbina, 1997). A group of experts would be given a list of items that belong to the two di-
mensions; however, they would not have a priori knowledge of the dimension each item belongs to. Then, they would review the
definitions of fit and sacrifice and assign items to one of the two dimensions, or omit items that do not belong to either dimension.
Finally, the experts would resolve any classification disagreements.
Following MacKenzie et al. (2005) recommendation, the second path involves utilizing composite confirmatory factor analysis
to verify the discriminant validity of embeddedness dimensions with a formative rather than reflective measurement model. Pre-
vious research that has tested the discriminant validity with confirmatory factor analysis has done so with a reflective measure-
ment model: i.e., mathematical relationships were represented as causal arrows pointing from the constructs to the items
(Cunningham et al., 2005; Halbesleben & Wheeler, 2008). The validity of findings of these studies is questionable, because a re-
flective measurement model is inconsistent with the formative framework of job embeddedness theory. Future studies could test
228 M. Zhang et al. / Human Resource Management Review 22 (2012) 220–231

the discriminant validity of dimensions of the composite measure using a formative approach recommended by Brown (2006).
We expect that the items which are used to measure fit and sacrifice could be loaded on two distinct dimensions in the composite
confirmatory factor analysis.

7. Cultural boundaries of job embeddedness

The potential role of cultural influences on job embeddedness deserves further scrutiny. To our knowledge, only three studies
(Hom et al., 2009; Ramesh & Gelfand, 2010; Tanova & Holtom, 2008) have been conducted on samples of non-U.S. workers.
Tanova and Holtom (2008) revealed that job embeddedness explained a significant amount of variation in turnover beyond
the effects of demographic and traditional predictors such as job satisfaction for a sample of employees from four European coun-
tries. However, Tanova and Holtom (2008) did not employ Lee et al. (2004) composite scale. Thus, to what extent the composite
scale of job embeddedness can be generalized to other cultural settings remains unclear.
The findings from other two studies suggest that job embeddedness theory be tailored to particular cultural contexts. Hom et
al. (2009) found that the relationships between job embeddedness and organizational constructs could be generalized to a Chi-
nese sample of middle-level managers only after substantial item revision. Hom et al. (2009) added more items assessing per-
son–organization and person–job fit. In addition, interviews and open-ended surveys with part-time Chinese MBA students
were conducted to generate additional items [e.g., loss of “Guanxi (Relationship)” connections as a sacrifice, for a detailed discus-
sion about Guanxi, see Farh, Tsui, Xin, and Cheng (1998)] or revisions (e.g., more explicit examples of fringe benefits for sacrifice).
In a recent study, Ramesh and Gelfand (2010) conducted a cross-culture study with samples from American and India call centers.
The findings reveal the dimensions of job embeddedness influence turnover with cultural differences. Person–job fit was found to
be more important to reducing turnover in the United States than in India, whereas organization links and community links were
found to be more important to decreasing turnover in India than in the United States (Ramesh & Gelfand, 2010).
Cultural differences may affect the generalizability of JE theory. In this paper, we take China as an example to illustrate that
there is cultural boundary to the theory of JE. We choose China because the country has been found to own a distinct culture
which is different with the culture in the United States. According to Hofstede's cultural theory (Hofstede, 2001), national culture
is composed of five main dimensions: power distance index, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance index, and long-
term orientation. Studies have shown that China's national culture has major differences with the United States' national culture
in two aspects: individualism (the following numbers depict how the countries score on individualism: China, 20; the United
States, 91) (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2004, p. 78–79) and long-term orientation (China, 118; the United States, 29) (Hofstede &
Hofstede, 2004, p. 211). Thus, China provides a good example to test if the theory of JE can be generalized to other cultural set-
tings. Because Hom et al. (2009) revised the measure of on-the-job embeddedness and found the revised measure worked ade-
quately in China, we focus on two issues of generalization of community embeddedness.

7.1. The less important role of community embeddedness

Aryee and coauthors argue that in Chinese society, work may be viewed as a means of enhancing the family's well-being (Aryee,
Field, & Luk, 1999). Yang and associates used the theory of individualism/collectivism to explain work–family priority in a comparative
study between American and Chinese (Yang, Chen, Choi, & Zou, 2000). She and coauthors argued that Chinese are more inclined to give
priority to work than are Americans because collectivism encourages Chinese to have family-based work ethic which means working
for the long-term welfare of the family (Yang et al., 2000). According to this family-based work ethic, work overtime is a self-sacrifice
made for the benefit of the family rather than a sacrifice of the family for the selfish pursuit of one's own career development. Moreover,
Chinese are likely to view sacrificing family time for work as a short-term cost incurred to gain long-term benefits (Yang et al., 2000).
Apart from cultural values, Chinese firms are implementing “expectations-enhancing” human resources management (HRM) sys-
tems (moving away from state-owned bureaucracies) as they strive to be more competitive in global markets (Hom et al., 2009;
Wang, Tsui, Zhang, & Ma, 2003). Unlike traditional HRM systems (furnishing broad benefits, such as housing, and lifetime jobs for
meager employee contribution), contemporary systems demand greater workforce productivity in exchange for inducements, and
job security. Thus, Chinese employees are likely to be more on-the-job embedded than ever before—by having to meet more stringent
performance standards and perform duties for teams and superiors than go beyond their job duties (Hom et al., 2009).
Wang and colleagues found that work interference with family was not associated with turnover intentions among Chinese
employees, though this stressor often induced withdrawal among American employees (Wang, Lawler, Walumbwa, & Kan,
2004). Apparently, Chinese employees assign higher priority to work over family, as they do not form withdrawal cognitions
when their job interferes with family activities and time (Wang et al., 2004). Following the logic of work priority, we speculate
that some items in the composite measure of community embeddedness would have negligible effect on Chinese employees'
quit decision (e.g., “the weather where I live is suitable for me”). Future studies could test whether nationality moderates the re-
lationship between community embeddedness and turnover. We hypothesize that, for Chinese people, community embedded-
ness is likely to be less negatively associated with turnover.

7.2. Revision of community embeddedness in cultural analysis

We argue that the measurement items of community embeddedness are likely to need revision in other cultural settings. For ex-
ample, many citizens of China are likely to have difficulty understanding “community” because the concept is not indigenous.
 M. Zhang et al. / Human Resource Management Review 22 (2012) 220–231 229

Sociologists argue that Chinese society has a tradition of family rather than community orientation (Fei, 1992; Fukuyama, 1995),
while cross-cultural scholars often note that the Chinese—a collectivist people—differentiate between in-group (often family mem-
bers) and out-group members (acquaintances) (Hofstede, 2001). Hence, Chinese people are unlikely to feel much embeddedness
in the broader community than to their family, form fewer links and less fit with those who are not in-group members.

7.2.1. Suggestion
Because the measure of community links contains items assessing people's connections to their family and friends, the mea-
sure is likely to make sense among Chinese people. The measures of community fit and sacrifice, however, exclude items refer-
ring to family and friends and some other important factors such as living place in the school district with excellent education
for children. Hence, community fit and sacrifice may have less effect on Chinese people's turnover behavior. To keep the pre-
dictive validity of community embeddedness, researchers should find the relevant factors in the specific cultural settings by
conducting qualitative studies before the measurement items are used in empirical studies. Future research may consider re-
vising the scale of community fit and sacrifice for research with the Chinese. For example, community fit may contain items
assessing the relationships with relatives and close friends. Community sacrifice may include the cost of leaving relatives
and close friends.

8. Conclusion

The creation of JE has made a significant contribution to the extant turnover literature. Most of the prevailing theory and research on
voluntary turnover came from the ideas of March and Simon (1958), which is related to the perceived ease and desirability of leaving
one's job. The traditional wisdom was that people become dissatisfied with their jobs, search for alternatives, compare those options
with their present jobs using a rational cost–benefit decision process, and leave if any of the alternatives are judged to be better than
their current situation (Mobley, 1977). The construct of JE, however, emphasizes the important roles of non-attitudinal and off-the-job
factors in understanding employees' attachment to their organizations. To truly capture JE, we believe it is crucial that future researchers
use instruments that include both non-attitudinal and off-the-job factors above and beyond attachment to the organization.
Responding to Mitchell and colleagues' proposition of improving JE's conceptualization and measurement, we summarized
five possible areas of deficiency with regard to JE. We focused on conceptual and measurement problems associated with the
scale developed by Mitchell, Lee and their colleagues. We then provide avenues and suggestions for future research for the
topic of JE. It should be acknowledged that the work of Mitchell, Lee and their colleagues points to a promising new direction.
JE contributes to understanding turnover beyond intra-organizational attitudes and extra-organizational alternatives. These vir-
tues notwithstanding, there is a need to improve the measurement of JE. We hope this paper will inspire research efforts to im-
prove the conceptualization and measurement of JE.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments. We also thank Sean Robinson and
Justin Weinhardt for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. The authors gratefully acknowledge financial sup-
port for this research from the grants by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 70972023 and 71121001).

Appendix A. The sample items of job embeddedness composite measure a

Links, community
Are you currently married?
Do you own the home you live in? (mortgaged or outright)
Links, organization
How long have been in your present position? (years)
How many co-workers do you interact with regularly?
Fit, community
I really love the place where I live.
I like the family-oriented environment of my community.
Fit, organization
My job utilizes my skills and talents well.
I feel like I am a good match for this organization.
Sacrifice, community
Leaving this community would be very hard.
My neighborhood is safe.
Sacrifice, organization
I have a lot of freedom on this job to decide how to pursue my goals.
The perks on this job are outstanding.
a
Note: The full version can be obtained in Lee et al. (2004, p.721–722).
230 M. Zhang et al. / Human Resource Management Review 22 (2012) 220–231

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