Role of basic psychological need satisfaction in retaining talent: an investigation in the Indian context

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association of the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness with affective commitment and turnover intentions among retail employees in India while also examining the mediating role of job satisfaction in these associations. Design/methodology/approach Research hypotheses were tested using a cross-organizational sample of 244 employees. Existing, established scales were used to measure the research constructs. Findings The results of this study show that the satisfaction of the needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness was positively related to affective commitment and negatively related to turnover intentions. Moreover, the results indicate that job satisfaction mediated the association of basic psychological need satisfaction with affective commitment and turnover intentions. Practical implications This study highlights the significant role of basic psychological need satisfaction in retaining employees in a rapidly growing economy that is experiencing very high employee turnover. The findings of this study may be helpful for organizational leaders in taking appropriate actions to create working conditions that facilitate the satisfaction of employees’ basic psychological needs. Satisfaction of employees’ basic psychological needs at work may help in retaining them in the current economic scenario, which is witnessing very high employee turnover. Originality/value This research tested the applicability of basic psychological need satisfaction to Eastern collectivistic cultures, particularly to India. Recent socio-economic changes, unique workforce demographics and a predominantly collectivistic culture make India distinct from western and European countries, where most of the earlier research on understanding the nature, antecedents, and consequences of basic psychological need satisfaction has been conducted. This research provides an important contribution not only to basic psychological need satisfaction theory, but also to international business literature.