Principals’ configuration of a bundle of human resource practices. Does it make a difference for the relationship between teachers’ fit,job satisfaction and intention to move to another school?

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore whether the relationship between teachers’ person–organisation (P-O) fit, job satisfaction and intention to move to another school varies depending on the way a bundle of human resource (HR) practices is configured in education. Drawing on strategic human resource management literature, a strategic and human resource orientation is considered to provide insight into the configuration of HR practices. A mixed methods design was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from principals and teachers in 56 Flemish primary schools. The qualitative data, which provides insight into principals’ configuration of HR practices, were converted into numerical scores and analysed, together with the quantitative teacher data, using multiple group path analysis. The key findings show that the relation between P-O fit and intention to move operates differently depending on the HR orientation of the teacher’s principal but not on their strategic orientation. This finding supports the need for closer attention to be given to the investment of new teachers and the impact this has on the direct and indirect effect of teachers’ P-O fit on teachers’ intention to move.

Keywords

Strategic human resource management principals turnover intention person–organisation fit

Introduction

Worldwide, teacher turnover is an ongoing concern (Hong, 2010) as it negatively affects student achievement, has important psychological consequences for both teachers and schools, and causes a range of organisational problems (Ronfeldt et al., 2013). A fundamental precursor of actual turnover is turnover intention (Griffeth et al., 2000; Tett and Meyer, 1993), which refers to the intention to leave the organisation one is working for or to quit one’s profession and change career paths. Over the past decade, different antecedents of teachers’ turnover intentions have been identified, such as student demographics, teacher characteristics, and/or working conditions (e.g. Borman and Dowling, 2008). Yet, only recently have educational researchers emphasised the importance of teachers’ fit within the school or, in other words, teachers’ person–organisation (P-O) fit (Youngs et al., 2015). P-O fit has been defined as “the compatibility between people and organisations that occurs when: (a) at least one entity provides what the other needs or (b) they share similar fundamental characteristics or (c) both” (Kristof, 1996: 4–5). This interest in teachers’ P-O fit is influenced by research in the field of industrial and organisational psychology, which shows the positive effects of a P-O fit on attitudinal and behavioural outcomes (Hoffman and Woehr, 2006; Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). Until now, outside of and inside the educational field, P-O fit has mostly been conceptualised as the congruence between teachers’ values or goals and schools’ shared values or goals (i.e. the school culture). Following several educational studies indicating that such a concept of P-O fit increases teachers’ job satisfaction and organisational commitment and decreases teachers’ turnover intentions (Chan et al., 2008; Jones et al., 2013; Pogodzinski et al., 2013; Vancouver and Schmitt, 1991; Vancouver et al., 1994), we believe it is important to look at the value fit of teachers within the school culture. Teachers’ P-O fit in general, and in the context of teachers’ turnover intentions more specifically, is still an emerging field when compared with the large body of P-O fit research outside of education, and it is one in which important gaps in knowledge can be identified.

First, while the majority of existing studies on teachers’ P-O fit found rather low or moderate correlations between teachers’ P-O fit and turnover intention (e.g. Pogodzinski et al., 2013; Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2011), very few studies have explored why only a weak relationship occurs. Outside the field of education, evidence has been found for a combined effect of both P-O fit and job satisfaction on turnover intention (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). However, most educational researchers tend to test teachers’ P-O fit/job satisfaction and teachers’ P-O fit/turnover relationship independently (e.g. Grogan and Youngs, 2011). Taking into account such a limitation in the current research, this study focuses on the direct and/or indirect effects of P-O fit on turnover intention through teacher’s job satisfaction.

Second, and more importantly, given that P-O fit is only moderately correlated with turnover intention, we believe, in line with Youngs et al. (2015), that it is also necessary to examine a school’s organisational context. Research outside of education shows, for example, that an organisation’s strategic human resource management (SHRM) is related to employees’ degrees of P-O fit (e.g. Boon et al., 2011). Boon et al. (2011) found that people report a better fit when human resource (HR) practices are in place, which ensure that employees have the required skills and abilities for performing their tasks (e.g. by a critical selection of new employees), employee motivation is encouraged (e.g. by a fair appraisal of employees’ performances), and that employees get the opportunity to participate (e.g. by having the opportunity to work in a team). Moreover, different studies point to a positive relationship between SHRM and job satisfaction on the one hand (Den Hartog et al., 2016) and employee turnover decisions on the other (Arthur, 1994; Huselid, 1995). However, to our knowledge, no educational research is available identifying how teachers’ P-O fit relates to their turnover intentions (through job satisfaction) while taking into account the school’s SHRM. Investigating this relationship would be insightful as it might uncover how principals could increase the positive effects of teachers’ P-O fit on turnover intention through SHRM.

Taken together, the present study investigates whether the P-O fit/job satisfaction/turnover intention relationship varies depending on the way a bundle of HR practices is configured in the school. More specifically, we focus on teachers’ intentions to move to another school, which is important to distinguish from the intention to leave the teaching profession since ‘leavers’ and ‘movers’ make turnover decisions based on different reasons (Kukla-Acevedo, 2009). While some educational researchers have defined turnover intention as ‘the willingness to leave the teaching profession’ (Liu and Onwuegbuzie, 2012), in most studies it is operationalised as the sum of ‘leavers’ and ‘movers’ (e.g. Conley and You, 2016; Martin et al., 2012; Pomaki et al., 2010; Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2011; You and Conley, 2014). Yet, as previous research has shown, the management of schools is especially important for teachers’ intentions to move to another school (rather than their intention to leave the profession) (Kukla-Acevedo, 2009); for this reason, we chose to focus explicitly on teachers’ intention to move.

This article is organised as follows. First, we set out how SHRM and the configuration of HR practices in education is conceptualised. Furthermore, in the theoretical framework, we discuss the concept of P-O fit and its relationship with teachers’ job satisfaction and the intention to move. Moreover, we discuss how we expect the relationship to be different for new teachers according to how HR practices are configured. Once this is done, we introduce our study’s setting: the context of Flemish primary education. This is followed by a discussion of our research methodology and then a presentation of our results. Finally, we conclude by discussing this study’s contribution to the literature and suggestions for further research.

Theoretical framework

SHRM and the configuration of a bundle of HR practices in education

Drawing on the literature on organisations and management, policy-makers stress the value of adopting SHRM as a key strategy for raising the quality of schools (e.g. Leisink and Boselie, 2014; Smylie et al., 2004). SHRM can be defined as “management decisions in different organisational contexts related to policies and practices that shape the employment relationship and are explicitly aimed at achieving individual employee, organisational and/or societal goals” (Boselie, 2014: 5). More specifically, SHRM includes four separate dimensions: ‘strategic’; ‘human’; ‘resource’; and ‘management’. The ‘strategic’ dimension refers to strategy, strategic decision-making, and notions of the alignment of decision-making within the internal and external contexts (Wright and McMahan, 1992). HR practices should fit the organisational goals (i.e. a vertical fit) and HR practices need to be aligned to one another (i.e. a horizontal fit) (e.g. Kepes and Delery, 2007). Second, the ‘human’ dimension refers to employees and employment relationships (Paauwe, 2004). Third, the ‘resource’ dimension represents the value of the workers with regard to achieving goals and gaining organisational success in line with the resource-based view (RBV) (Barney, 1991). The RBV paradigm states that organisations achieve value through HR practices that are aligned with employees’ characteristics (Wright et al., 2001). Finally, the ‘management’ component refers to decision-making aimed at attaining adequate employee attitudes and behaviour in view of organisational goal achievement.

Existing educational literature has increasingly focused on (S)HRM by studying single, isolated HR practices, such as hiring (e.g. Ingle et al., 2011) or induction (e.g. Ingersoll and Strong, 2011). While these studies have generated insights into the differences, constraints, and effects of these practices, little evidence is available on how several HR practices are configured as a whole (Runhaar, 2016; Smylie and Wenzel, 2006). Outside of the educational field, however, much conceptual and empirical attention has been given to bundles of HR practices. Research suggests that the effects of (S)HRM do not stem from single practices alone but from a configuration of mutually reinforcing HR practices.

Given such findings, this study looks at the configuration of a bundle of HR practices. More specifically, it focuses on the configuration of a ‘mini-bundle’ of HR practices for a specific group of teachers. In this sense, we focus on HR practices for ‘new teachers’, considering their support needs (TALIS, 2008) and the need for consistent HR practices (e.g. Koppich et al., 2013; Kwan, 2009). Three key HR practices that are critical for attracting and retaining new teachers are central to this study: teacher hiring; induction; and awarding teachers’ tenure. Furthermore, this study focuses on the role of principals in the configuration of HR practices for new teachers, given their level of responsibility and autonomy in this area (Donaldson, 2013; Milanowski and Kimball, 2010; TALIS, 2014).

To provide insight into the configuration of HR practices for new teachers, we consider a ‘strategic orientation’ (e.g. Wright and McMahan, 1992) and a ‘human resource orientation’ (e.g. Barney, 1991). Both orientations have already been used to develop a typology of HRM in non-profit organisations (Ridder et al., 2012) and in primary education (Vekeman et al., 2016) and are assumed to be influential for the configuration of a bundle of HR practices (Arthur and Boyles, 2007). We assume, in line with Ridder et al. (2012), that strategic and HR orientations can range from high to low as the degree of emphasis on each dimension can vary.

Strategic orientation

The ‘strategic orientation’ is defined by the strategic goals of an organisation. According to the SHRM literature, organisational goals help to align HR practices. Instead of being dependent on maximising shareholder value, as in for-profit organisations, for schools, goals largely depend on differences in values and missions (Bamburg and Andrews, 1991). Therefore, as with most public-sector organisations, schools reflect differences in ‘performance’ due to multiple stakeholders having heterogeneous interests and conflicting needs and views about organisational values. As a result, in contrast to for-profit organisations, it might be difficult to achieve a vertical fit in schools (Leisink and Boselie, 2014). Furthermore, both the alignment of school goals with HRM (i.e. a vertical fit) and the alignment of HR practices, such as teacher hiring and induction, with each other (i.e. a horizontal fit) can be complicated by the external (labour market) context (e.g. teacher shortage and high teacher turnover), and external (institutional) demands and rules (e.g. seniority rules and the network setting of a school). Therefore, we believe that the configuration of a bundle of HR practices for new teachers will vary according to the principal’s strategic orientation. A strategically orientated principal succeeds in achieving a vertical and horizontal fit while considering the external context. A vertical fit can be achieved, for example, when a principal makes a clear effort to recruit and select teachers who really fit into the school culture (although it might be difficult to find a perfect match as a result of a general teacher shortage). Moreover, a vertical fit is achieved by, for example, using clear selection criteria which are aligned with the school goals, by involving different colleagues (e.g. teachers and teacher leaders) into the hiring process, and by using specific and strategic interview questions or cases when interviewing candidates. Furthermore, when awarding tenure to teachers, a vertical fit can be achieved when principals make a thoughtful tenure decision, meaning they only retain teachers who fit into the school culture (although this decision might be complicated by seniority rules). A horizontal fit can be achieved when principals use the same or complementary selection criteria at the time of hiring and awarding tenure to teachers. Moreover, through the induction process, principals might supervise and observe teachers’ practices based on the same criteria or will stimulate teachers’ development and growth in order to accomplish the school’s goals.

HR orientation

The second dimension, ‘HR orientation’, is based on the RBV stating that organisations achieve value through HR practices that are aligned with employees’ characteristics. Again, in contrast with for-profit organisations, a school’s HR is decoupled from market-related logic and adopts a different view on HR investments. Research on new teachers identifies a need for support and professional development (Johnson et al., 2001; TALIS, 2008). The latter can be linked to teacher attraction and retention (e.g. Johnson et al., 2001), resulting in better classroom performance (e.g. Desimone et al., 2002) and teachers’ job satisfaction (e.g. Shen et al., 2012). In other words, a balanced HRM investment in new teachers (Boselie, 2014), which can create value for both schools and teachers, emphasises the support and professional development of new teachers. In this regard, this study suggests that HR orientated principals should configure a bundle of HR practices aimed at enhancing such attributes.

P-O fit

Despite a general consensus regarding what P-O fit is, the exact nature of “compatibility” in Kristof’s (1996) P-O fit definition (cf. introduction) has been conceptualised in various ways, including value congruence, goal congruence, needs–supplies fit, and demands–abilities fit (Kristof, 1996). In this study, we focus on the most frequently assessed dimension of P-O fit: value congruence, which involves the similarity between organisational values and those of the organisation’s employees (Kristof, 1996). Value congruence is a significant conceptualisation of fit because values are fundamental and relatively enduring (Chatman, 1991) and are the components of organisational culture that guide employees’ behaviour (Schein, 1992). Moreover, we focus on value congruence in the context of the teaching profession since it is, according to Sahlberg (2010), typically driven by values. In teachers’ daily teaching and classroom management, they communicate and represent values. Our concern is whether individual teacher’s values are congruent with the values emphasised in the school where he or she is teaching. If teachers’ values are not compatible with the prevailing values in the school where he or she is teaching (i.e. a low degree of P-O fit), those values may be perceived as a barrier against acting according to one’s values and achieving one’s goals.

Besides variations in P-O fit conceptualisations, there are three distinct ways of measuring P-O fit in research (Kristof, 1996). One approach, referred to as the ‘perceived fit’, is to ask study participants to report on their general perceptions of the degree to which they fit with their organisation. A second approach, known as the ‘subjective fit’, is to ask participants to report on their own characteristics as well as those of their organisation or colleagues throughout their organisation (e.g. school values). A third approach, referred to as the ‘objective fit’, involves asking the participant whose fit is being assessed to report on their characteristics while asking co-workers to report on the same characteristics for the organisation where the participant works (Youngs et al., 2015: 2). Both perceived and subjective P-O fit measures have been referred to as a “same-source index of fit” in order to distinguish it from a “different-source fit index”, in which referents other than the focal person are involved in providing the O-component of the fit index (van Vianen et al., 2007). Based on different meta-analyses (e.g. Kristof-Brown et al., 2005) we know that different-source fit measures typically have lower correlations with both attitudinal and behavioural outcomes (e.g. job satisfaction, commitment, performance, and turnover) than same-source measures. Yet, other more recent meta-analyses assessing the effects of these various types of fit together have yielded different results and suggest that different-source measures of fit are strongly related to behavioural outcomes (Hoffman and Woehr, 2006; van Vianen et al., 2007). These inconsistent results contribute to the debate over which type of fit is more meaningful, with strong arguments existing for both same-source and different-source fit measures (Kristof-Brown and Billsberry, 2013). According to Youngs et al. (2015), this points to a need to consider both ways of measuring fit (i.e. same-source and different-source fit). More specifically, given concerns that same-source fit is an attitudinal measure and is influenced by emotion, they encourage researchers to collect data that enable them to calculate different-source measures of fit. Therefore, in this study, we focus on different-source fit, which should be seen as a distinctly different domain than same-source fit (Kristof-Brown and Billsberry, 2013).

Relationship between P-O Fit, job satisfaction, and the intention to move

An important framework that helps to explain how P-O fit might lead to the intention to move is the attraction–selection–attrition (ASA) framework (Schneider, 1987). The main idea of this framework is that organisations attract, select, and retain those people who share their goals. Furthermore, people are selected to be a part of the organisation and remain in the organisation if they fit with the organisation, or leave if they do not fit with the organisation. In other words, the ASA framework hypothesises that fit will necessarily lead to retention (Schneider, 1987; Schneider et al., 1995) and is supported by a number of studies outside of (e.g. Hoffman and Woehr, 2006; Wheeler et al., 2007) and inside the educational context (e.g. Pogodzinski et al., 2013; Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2011). In terms of the relationship between P-O fit and job satisfaction, Kristof (1996) theorised that the higher the degree of P-O fit, the more satisfied employees will be in their job. While various studies confirm this positive relationship (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005), mixed results have been found within the educational context (Erdogan et al., 2002; Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2011). Furthermore, Chatman (1991) hypothesised that job satisfaction results in retention, which has also been supported within the educational literature (e.g. Perrachione et al., 2008). Therefore, based on previous research outside of education (Liu et al., 2010; Wheeler et al., 2007), we expect job satisfaction to mediate the relationship between P-O fit and intention to turnover. Figure 1 displays the path diagram for the hypothesised model.

Figure 1.

Path diagram for hypothesised path analysis model for the direct and indirect relationship between person–organisation fit and intention to move via job satisfaction.

Differential effect of HR configuration on the relationship between P-O fit, job satisfaction, and the intention to move

Based on the existing research outlined above, lower levels of teachers’ P-O fit is expected to increase teachers’ intention to move (by means of less job satisfaction) (Hoffman and Woehr, 2006; Pogodzinski et al., 2013; Schneider, 1987; Schneider et al., 1995; Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2011; Wheeler et al., 2007). In other words, it is expected that a negative (or inverse) relationship exists between P-O fit and the intention to move. Moreover, research outside of education suggests that an organisation’s HRM might affect the degree of employees’ P-O fit (Boon et al., 2011), job satisfaction (Den Hartog et al., 2016), and turnover intention (Arthur, 1994; Huselid, 1995). Yet, until now, it is unclear whether the direct and indirect effects of P-O fit (through job satisfaction) on the intention to move is different depending on the strategic and HR orientation of the principal. In this regard, and in order to better understand and effectively intervene in teachers’ P-O fit, the purpose of this study is to examine whether the direct and indirect negative effects of P-O fit on the intention to move varies according to the strategic orientation (low or high) or HR orientation (low or high) of the principal.

First, we suppose that the direct negative effect of P-O fit on the intention to move will be stronger in schools where the principal is identified as having a low strategic orientation than in schools were the principal is identified as having a high strategic orientation. In other words, low P-O fit levels will increase teachers’ intention to move to a larger extent in schools with a principal who has a low strategic orientation than in schools with a highly strategically orientated principal. Compared to teachers in high strategic schools, teachers in low strategically orientated schools will have less chance of fitting with the school culture because they were not hired, inducted, and tenured strategically. As a result of lower P-O fit levels, teachers’ intention to move in the low strategic orientation group will increase to a larger extent than in the high strategic orientation group. Following Werbel and Demarie (2005), we expect highly strategically orientated principals, who strive for P-O fit, to make efforts to select, develop, and retain employees who demonstrate the key values necessary to achieve competitive advantage. In this regard, strategically orientated principals are likely to hire teachers based on their compatibility with the organisational culture using hiring criteria which are school culture specific, and they will focus on school goals and subsequent behaviour compatible with those values through induction practices. Moreover, these principals will make proactive decisions about the retention of new teachers; after one or two years of appointment, they will decide to retain a teacher or not based on school specific tenure criteria. Only those teachers who really fit the school culture will be retained.

Second, we expect that the negative direct effect of P-O fit on the intention to move will be stronger in schools where the principal is identified as low HR orientated than in schools were the principal is identified as high HR orientated. In other words, low P-O fit levels will increase teachers’ intention to move to a larger extent in the low HR orientation group than in the high HR orientation group. The rationale is that the more principals invest in new teachers by taking into account their specific needs, the better teachers’ preferred values fit the school culture. In other words, we expect that teachers’ P-O fit level will be higher in the high HR orientation group. Similarly, as for the strategic orientation, we suppose that higher P-O fit levels in the high HR orientation group will decrease teachers’ intention to move to another school. As principals with a high HR orientation will take into account the developmental needs of new teachers, they will provide individualised support and stimulate the professional development of new teachers during the first years of their careers. Based on self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985), we know that management styles which support autonomy needs, reward structures or performance systems that provide feedback about one’s competency, or activities that satisfy relatedness needs would be expected to increase employee satisfaction (Deci et al., 1989). Moreover, research has shown that organisational cultures promoting psychological need satisfaction increase employees’ internalisation of organisational values (i.e. P-O fit) and norms (Lynch et al., 2005; Ryan, 1995).

Third, as we might expect that a low strategic or HR orientation decreases teachers’ P-O fit and that a lower level of P-O fit in turn decreases job satisfaction (e.g. Erdogan et al. 2002; Kristof-Brown et al. 2005), we believe that the indirect negative effect of teachers’ P-O fit on the intention to move (through teachers’ job satisfaction) will be stronger both for schools where the principal is identified as having a low strategic orientation or is low HR orientated. In other words, higher P-O fit levels (in schools with both highly strategic and HR orientated principals) will have a more positive impact on job satisfaction, which in turn will decrease the teacher’s intention to move.

Context of the study

In Flanders (Belgium), HR responsibilities are decentralised to individual school boards, which are responsible for hiring, induction, and awarding tenure (European Commission, 2013). Yet, in practice, Flemish school boards delegate most HR responsibilities to individual schools and almost always accept the principals’ HR decisions (Devos et al., 2004, 2014, 2016). Moreover, in Flanders, primary school principals acquire full autonomy to develop and implement HR practices (Devos et al., 2004). Given this autonomy, research shows that HR practices for new teachers are implemented in different ways (Devos et al., 2004, 2014, 2016). In contrast with other countries (e.g. the US), in Flanders this HR autonomy is not mirrored by systematic evaluation or an accountability system. Yet, specific regulations apply that partially limit principals’ discretion (Devos and Vanderheyden, 2002). Once hired, a teacher’s career consists of two stages. First, new teachers get a one-year (or shorter) temporary position that principals can (dis)continue. After teaching for at least three years, teachers can reach the second career stage: tenure. Once tenured, a teacher’s job is secured within any school of the same school network. A school network (scholengemeenschap) is a group of schools that provide educational services within a given geographical area. Schools within a network can make joint strategic decisions about resources, staff, and educational issues. Decisions about awarding tenure, for example, firstly take into account teachers that are already tenured within the school network (i.e. using a senority rule). A new teacher can only be selected and appointed when no tenured teachers are available/willing within the school network. This makes awarding tenure an important retention decision for principals.

Methods

Research design and participants

This study followed a convergent mixed methods design in which both qualitative and quantitative data were collected simultaneously (Creswell, 2012). Qualitative data (obtained through interviews with school principals) were converted into numerical scores, analysed statiscally and then combined with quantitative data (obtained by a teacher survey). Data were collected from 56 primary schools in Flanders, run by principals with 3 or more years of experience. In each school, the principal was interviewed about HR practices for new teachers and was asked to hand out a survey to all teachers in the school. Surveys from 847 teachers in 56 schools were returned. Teacher data were used to determine preferred school values and perceived school values. Different-source P-O fit (based on a comparison of preferred and aggregated perceived school values) was calculated and job satisfaction and turnover intention were measured for only a subset of teachers (n = 271). This subset consisted of teachers working at least three years in the school and hired by their current principal. The ‘experience’ criterion guaranteed that teachers had experienced current hiring, induction, and tenure practices. Furthermore, the criterion ‘hired by the current principal’ was critical to be sure teachers experienced the hiring, induction, and tenure practices explained by their principal during the interview. This subset of teachers was further used in the analysis. Of the 271 teachers, 264 completed the whole survey. Only completed surveys were used.

Measures

The configuration of a bundle of HR practices

Semi-structured interviews were used to identify how principals configure a bundle of HR practices for new teachers. To analyse the interview data, deductive coding was utilised based on the dimensions ‘strategic orientation’ (e.g. Wright and McMahan, 1992) and ‘human resource orientation’ (e.g. Barney, 1991). Categories developed in a previous study (Vekeman et al., 2016) were used for each dimension. Along the strategic orientation dimension, the analytical categories included: ‘school goal alignment’; and ‘coping with external challenges’. The category ‘school goal alignment’ reflects the vertical fit (i.e. the alignment between the schools’ goals and HR practices) and the horizontal fit (i.e. the degree that HR practices pursue the same or complementary school goals). The category ‘coping with external challenges’ reflects the way principals approach external challenges. The principals were scored low/high on strategic orientation when: (1) a weak/strong vertical or/and horizontal fit was noticed; and (2) a reactive/proactive approach was taken towards external challenges. The HR orientation of principals was analysed looking at the extent to which the principal considered the development needs of their new teachers in the application of HRM. The principals were scored low/high on the HR orientation when teachers were seen as resources that needed to be acquired or selected/be developed. Based on these categories, within-case analysis was conducted and all 56 schools were classified according to two possible strategic orientations (low or high) and two possible HR orientations (low or high). Twelve principals were identified as having a high strategic orientation and 44 as having a low strategic orientation. Furthermore, almost half of the principals (n = 25) were identified as high HR orientated while the other half (n = 31) were classified as low HR orientated.

A number of procedures were applied to increase the validity of this classification. First of all, we made use of peer review and debriefing (Creswell and Miller, 2000). This implied that the first two authors of this article and a third researcher were involved in designing the initial interview protocol and conducting the initial analysis of the data. This approach was particularly important during data analysis when data were being interpreted. Secondly, to attempt to draw valid conclusions from the data, considerable time was spent reading and re-reading the interview transcripts, which, according to Patton (1980), increases validity. Finally, after receiving training, a researcher who was not familiar with the study independently coded the data for both the HR and strategic orientations of principals. Ten interviews were double-coded. Coding differences were analysed and discussed and finally resolved by returning to the interview transcripts and specific codes (Miles and Huberman, 1994).

Different-source P-O fit

Different-source P-O fit, in which referents other than the focal person are involved in providing the O-component of the fit index, was measured using the school culture scale (Dumay, 2009). This scale includes four aspects of school culture reflected in different school values (i.e. the status of disciplinary guidelines and rules; the degree of emphasis placed on academic achievement; the status of innovation; and teacher collaboration and collegiality). Following a procedure by Cooke and Rousseau (1988), all teachers were asked to rate each item twice, first by following the cue ‘my school thinks it’s important’ (for perceived school values) and then ‘I think it’s important’ (for preferred school values). All items were anchored on a five-point scale, ranging from 1 = ‘strongly disagree’ to 5 = ‘strongly agree’. By comparing the aggregated mean scores for perceived school values and individual scores for preferred values, different-source P-O fit was calculated. An intraclass correlation (ICC (2)) of 0.79 and mean rwg(j) value of 0.91 justified aggregation of perceived school values (n = 847) up to the school level (n = 56). Next, the P-O fit score was calculated for the subset of teachers, building on the correlation between the 19 pairs of preferred and aggregated perceived school value items. These fit scores ranged from 0.541 to 0.925 (mean (M) = 0.342), with positive numbers pointing at a good fit and negative numbers indicating a poor fit.

Job satisfaction

Job satisfaction was assessed using a four-item scale developed by Caprara et al. (2003). Sample items are: ‘I am satisfied with my job’ and ‘I am satisfied with what I achieve at work’ (∞ = 0.83). All items were anchored on a five-point scale, ranging from 1 = ‘strongly disagree’ to 5 = ‘strongly agree’.

Intention to move

Intention to move was measured using a three-item scale by Mobley et al. (1978). A sample item is: (1) ‘I think a lot about leaving the organisation’. To measure intention to move, ‘the organisation’ was replaced by ‘my current school’. The scale demonstrated a good reliability: ∞ = 0.87. All items were anchored on a five-point scale, ranging from 1 = ‘strongly disagree’ to 5 = ‘strongly agree’.

Data analysis

Based on our theoretical framework, we analysed the data via path analysis in order to investigate relationships among variables of interest while estimating both the direct and indirect effects of P-O fit on teachers’ intentions to move. Path analysis allows us to specify that one or more variables are simultaneously dependent variables in one relationship and independent variables in another. Here, P-O fit was specified as an independent variable whereas job satisfaction was hypothesised as acting as a mediator. Moreover, path analysis allows us to estimate the magnitude and test the significance of indirect effects. Finally, the multiple group version of path analysis allows us to test whether specific paths of interest differ across groups, which was used to determine if the effect of P-O fit was different according to the HR configuration in the school.

As we cannot ignore the nested structure of our sample (teachers are nested within schools), we performed a path analysis using the R package lavaan (Rosseel, 2012) and lavaan.survey (Oberski, 2014), which takes the clustered structure of our data into account. The need to address the clustering issue in the data was shown by the ICCs for both job satisfaction and the intention to move. ICC is the proportion of the total variance explained by group membership, and larger ICCs indicate that respondents are more alike (Bliese, 2000). According to Hox (2010), in educational contexts, ICC values of 0.10 are considered as medium and those of 0.15 as large. The variables ‘job satisfaction’ and ‘intention to move’ had ICCs of 0.16 and 0.14 respectively. Ignoring the nested structure of the data would therefore lead to incorrect results.

Results

Descriptive statistics

Table 1 displays the means and standard deviations (SDs) on the three variables included in the model for both the entire sample and the strategic and HR orientation groups. As shown, teachers’ preferred values moderately fit the perceived school values. The mean P-O fit score of 0.342 (SD = 0.304) is comparable with mean scores reported in previous research (e.g. van Vianen et al., 2007). According to French et al. (1982), moderate levels of correlation between P and O components are likely to occur, and correlations of 0.40 and lower are acceptable. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that teachers are, in general, satisfied with their jobs (M = 4.234; SD = 0.603). The mean score for the intention to move (M = 1.403; SD = 0.586) is comparable with the mean score found in earlier research in different countries (Jones et al., 2013; McInerney et al., 2015; Pogodzinski et al., 2013), indicating that teachers have a low intention of moving. Furthermore, the statistics show that teachers in schools with a principal who has a high strategic orientation or is high HR orientated on average have a significantly better P-O fit when compared with teachers from schools with a low strategic (F = 10.026, p ≤ 0.01, Cohen’s d = -0.549) or a low HR orientated principal (F = 22.344, p ≤ 0.001, Cohen’s d = -0.577). Moreover, it was found that teachers from schools with a high HR orientated principal have significantly higher levels of job satisfaction (F = 3.848, p ≤ 0.05, Cohen’s d = -0.242) and a lower intention of moving when compared with teachers from schools with a low HR orientated principal (F = 5.540, p ≤ 0.05, Cohen’s d = 0.291).

Table 1.

Estimated means, standard deviations, and differences between human-resource (HR) configuration groups.

	Overall mean (standard deviation (SD))	Low strategic orientation mean (SD)	High strategic orientation mean (SD)	Analysis of variance (ANOVA)	Effect size (Cohen’s d)
Person–organisation (P-O) fit	0.342 (0.304)	0.317 (0.305)	0.473 (0.261)	F=10.026**	-0.549
Job satisfaction	4.234 (0.603)	4.209 (0.623)	4.358 (0.474)	F=2.248	-0.269
Intention to move	1.403 (0.586)	1.422 (0.606)	1.303 (0.465)	F=1.524	0.221
		Low HR orientation mean (SD)	High HR orientation mean (SD)	ANOVA	Effect size (Cohen’s d)
P-O fit		0.261 (0.271)	0.430 (0.313)	F=22.344***	-0.577
Job satisfaction		4.164 (0.627)	4.309 (0.568)	F=3.848^*	-0.242
Intention to move		1.483 (0.642)	1.315 (0.506)	F=5.540*	0.291

Note: *p ≤ 0.05; **p ≤ 0.01; ***p ≤ 0.001.

Direct and indirect contributions of P-O Fit

Single group model

First, the direct and indirect effects of P-O fit on the intention to move for the entire sample were tested. Therefore, the path model displayed in Figure 1 was fitted into a single group model, in which relationships were assumed to be the same across the strategic orientation and HR orientation groups. After controlling for the main effect of job satisfaction, P-O fit had no significantly direct effect on the intention to move (z = -1.914, p = 0.056). Yet, since the significance level lies between 0.05 and 0.10, the direct effect of P-O fit on the intention to move can be seen as ‘marginally significant’. This means that this is a potentially interesting effect which should be interpreted with caution (Beins and Beins, 2012). Moreover, the path model showed there was a significant indirect path between P-O fit and the intention to move via job satisfaction (z = -4.623, p ≤ 0.001). This model explained 34% of the variation in teachers’ intention to move.

Multiple group model

Second, a series of multiple group path models were fitted to the data. We report the unstandardised regression weights, significance levels, and explained variances of the multiple group path analysis for the strategic orientation and HR orientation groups in Figures 2 and 3 respectively.

Figure 2.

A model for intention to move with teachers from high strategic orientated and low strategic orientated schools with unstandardised regression coefficients; ^a =0.099; *p ≤ 0.05; **p ≤ 0.01; ***p ≤ 0.001. R² = explained variance. Solid lines indicate significant relationships (p ≤ 0.05), dashed lines indicate non-significant relationships.

Figure 3.

A model for intention to move with teachers from high human-resource (HR) orientated and low HR orientated schools with unstandardised regression coefficients; *p ≤ 0.05; **p ≤ 0.01; ***p ≤ 0.001. R² = explained variance. Solid lines indicate significant relationships (p ≤ 0.05), dashed lines indicate non-significant relationships.

Using multiple group path analysis, a model in which all parameters differed across the low and the high strategic orientation group was compared with a model in which all parameters were fixed to be the same across both groups. Results showed the models did not significantly differ (Δχ²(3) = 1.131, p ≥ 0.05). On the other hand, a model in which all parameters differed across the low and the high HR orientation group was compared with a model in which all parameters were fixed to be the same across both groups. The results showed that the models significantly differed (Δχ²(3) = 8.667, p ≤ 0.05). In this sense, a model with a specific path of interest that was allowed to differ by HR orientation group was compared to a model in which all parameters were fixed to be the same across both groups. The model comparison results indicated that the direct effect of P-O fit on the intention to move (Δχ²(1) = 4.042, p ≤ 0.05) and the effect of job satisfaction on the intention to move significantly differed (Δχ²(1) = 6.761, p ≤ 0.01). The effect of P-O fit on job satisfaction did not significantly differ (Δχ²(1) = 0.000, p ≥ 0.05).

To facilitate interpretation, direct, indirect, and total effects of both models in Figure 3 are presented in Table 2. As illustrated in Table 2, the low HR orientation group demonstrated a significant direct effect of P-O fit on the intention to move (z = -2.202, p ≤ 0.05) while the high HR orientation group demonstrated no significant direct effect of P-O fit on the intention to move (z = -0.879, p ≥ 0.05). Moreover, as expected, the negative relationship between teachers’ P-O fit and the intention to move was stronger for the low HR orientation group (β = -0.421) than for the high HR orientation group (β = -0.250).

Table 2.

Direct and indirect unstandardised effects of person–organisation (P-O) fit on intention to move, from multiple-group path analysis.

Human-resource (HR) orientation	Low HR orientation		High HR orientation
Direct effects on intention to move	β	z	β	z
P-O fit	-0.384	-2.202*	-0.129	-0.879
Job satisfaction	-0.611	-8.036***	-0.363	-4.780***
Indirect effects on intention to move
P-O fit via job satisfaction	-0.421	-3.071**	-0.250	-3.418***
Total effects on intention to move
P-O fit	-0.805	-3.651***	-0.379	-2.566*

Note: *p ≤ 0.05; **p ≤ 0.01; ***p ≤ 0.001.

Discussion

First, the single group (or full sample) path analysis results indicated that the proposed theoretical model performed as expected. In line with others, we found a direct relationship between P-O fit and the intention to move. More specifically, the results showed that the more teachers’ values fit the school culture, the less teachers have the intention to move to another school. Put differently, lower levels of teachers’ P-O fit increase teachers’ intention to move. However, the direct relationship between P-O fit and the intention to move was found to be only marginally significant in this study, meaning we should interpret this result with caution. The limited educational research that exists in this field has shown a significant effect of P-O fit on the intention to move (although only low to moderate correlations were found) (e.g. Pogodzinski et al., 2013). Yet, it is difficult to compare the results of this study with previous studies as previous research in this field mostly measured and conceptualised P-O fit in a different way. Pogodzinski et al. (2013), for example, conceptualised P-O fit as a fit with the ‘organisational preferences for attitudes and practices which permeate throughout a school’ (i.e. fit with the approach to teaching, fit with professional interests, fit with professional goals, etc.), which deviates from the way it was conceptualised here. Moreover, they measured same-source fit, which is different from the different-source fit measure used in this study. Based on previous research, we know that the effects of different-source fit on behavioural outcomes might be smaller than for same-source fit (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). These diverging results point to the need for further research on the relationship between P-O fit and the intention to move using various measures of P-O fit. Moreover, in line with previous research (e.g. Wheeler et al., 2007), we found that the relationship between P-O fit and the intention to move was mediated by job satisfaction. This means that as long as teachers’ levels of job satisfaction are high, the following is true: the more a teacher’s own values fit the school culture, the lower his/her intention to move to another school. This result points to the importance of job satisfaction for teachers’ intentions to move to another school.

Second, while the results of the single group model analysis are interesting, the primary aim of this study was to examine variation in the direct and indirect effects of P-O fit on the intention to move by means of the school’s HR configuration. As expected, the results showed that the direct effect of teacher’s P-O fit on the intention to move was found to operate differently according to the HR orientation group. More specifically, for teachers in schools with a low HR orientated principal, lower levels of P-O fit increased teachers’ intentions to move. This direct effect was absent for the high HR orientated group. In other words, for teachers in schools with a high HR orientated principal, lower levels of P-O fit did not increase teachers’ intentions to move. As we stated in the theoretical framework, we believe this can be explained by a higher P-O fit level of teachers in schools with high HR orientated principals. High HR orientated principals give new teachers individual support, stimulate professional development, make enough time for (in)formal talks, listen to new teachers’ needs, or give them time to work on weaknesses, all of which increases teachers’ P-O fit. This was also supported by the significant difference we found in the P-O fit level between those in low versus high HR orientated schools, highlighting that teachers’ fit the school culture more in schools with a high HR orientated principal. Furthermore, the results suggest that P-O fit reduces the intention to move because of job satisfaction, both for teachers in low and high HR orientated schools, though the magnitude of the indirect effect differed. The indirect negative effect of P-O fit on intention to move was stronger in the low HR orientation group than in the high HR orientation group. We believe this might be explained by a significant lower level of teachers’ P-O fit and job satisfaction in the low HR orientation group.

Third, in contrast to our expectations, no differences were found in the direct and indirect effect of P-O fit on the intention to move depending on the strategic orientation of the principal. Nevertheless, the mean difference in P-O fit between those in low versus high strategically orientated schools was found to be significant, illustrating that teachers in a school with a principal who has a low strategic orientation fit the school culture less than teachers in a school with a highly strategically orientated principal. Yet, this difference in P-O fit level does not cause a difference in the direct or indirect effect of P-O fit on the intention to move.

Based on the results above, we might conclude that being supported as a new teacher by HR practices which take into account new teachers’ needs (i.e. HR orientation) seems to be more important than aligning these HR practices with schools’ goals (i.e. strategic orientation) for the effect of teachers’ fit with the school culture on their intention to move. In other words, while SHRM incorporates both ‘hard’ HRM aspects, such as school goal alignment and formulation, and ‘soft’ features of communication and consultation with teachers, the absence of the ‘soft’ aspect seems to have a bigger negative effect on the inverse relationship between P-O fit and the intention to move; schools that do not invest in new teachers will increase the negative effect of low levels of P-O fit (or misfit) on teachers’ intention to move. This might imply that schools which are not able to make strategic hiring decisions, are not able to strategically induct new teachers, or are not able to make proactive tenure decisions can still lower the effect of fit on the intention to move through the investment in new teachers by giving them chances to learn and adjust to the school culture.

Limitations

While the results of this study offer useful evidence, there are some limitations to our analysis that warrant discussion. First, the measurement of different-source P-O fit was based on the correlation between preferred and perceived school values. Though widely adopted, some authors stress the shortcomings of the nature of correlations. For example, Edwards (1994) suggests adopting polynomial regression in order to avoid collapsing the personal and organisational measures into a single score. Nevertheless, our estimate remains valid since we aimed for a holistic assessment of fit (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005). Second, it should be noted that job satisfaction and intention to move were measured with short item scales. Although our scales demonstrate satisfactory reliability, it is important to test our results with more extensive and wide-ranging scales. Finally, a future longitudinal research design would be better suited to addressing the causal status of the research variables.

Suggestions for further research

Beyond addressing the study limitations, the present analysis suggests other interesting directions for future research. First, in further studies, the combination of both the strategic orientation and HR orientation in schools, as explained in a previous study (Vekeman et al., 2016), could be taken into account. Answering the following question might be interesting: Is there a difference in the relationship between P-O fit, job satisfaction, and the intention to move in schools with a low strategic and a high HR orientation when compared with schools with a high strategic and high HR orientation? Second, in order to investigate how HR practices are configured, future research should observe principals’ HR practices and, as HRM is influenced by everyday interactions (Pogodzinski, 2016), take into account the perspectives of other actors (e.g. teachers). Third, we believe the integration of both subjective data on turnover intentions and objective information on actual turnover would add value to further research. We did not examine actual turnover; we merely asked about the intention for moving among teachers who had not yet moved. Yet, as the focus of this study was on how we can keep teachers within schools, it was crucial to get insight into how a shift in teachers’ ideas to stay within the school can be realised before they actually moved. Fourth, further research could consider investigating whether other factors (e.g. leadership style) might cause a difference in the relationship between P-O fit and turnover intention. Finally, further research could include other possible mediating variables apart from job satisfaction, such as commitment or burnout, which have previously been linked to P-O fit and turnover intentions (e.g. McInerney et al., 2015; Pietarinen et al., 2013).

Implications

In light of this study’s results, different practical implications can be listed. First, this study implies that principals, who wish to retain teachers, need to make sure that teachers fit with the school culture in order to improve their job satisfaction and ultimately to lower their intentions of moving. In this regard, principals should be aware of the importance of teachers’ fit within the school culture. Moreover, it seems important that principal training programmes teach and guide principals how to develop and install a school policy that pays attention to teachers’ P-O fit. Second, as this study demonstrates the importance of a principal’s HR configuration for teachers’ P-O fit and its effects on job satisfaction and the intention to move, we believe more emphasis on SHRM skills should be given in principal training (Hallinger and Lu, 2013). More specifically, this study shows that principals’ investment in new teachers through professional development and support is important in order to increase teachers’ P-O fit and job satisfaction and, in turn, to decrease teachers’ intentions to move. Yet, in order to invest in new teachers, we believe that principals should collaborate more with their teacher teams and consult colleagues about SHRM. This suggests that principals could start developing teacher leaders to assist them with school leadership (e.g. mentorship) and thus facilitate a professional learning community.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

Arthur

(1994) Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turnover. Academy of Management Journal 37(3): 670–687.

Arthur

Boyles

(2007) Validating the human resource system structure: A level-based strategic HRM approach. Human Resource Management Review 17(1): 77–92.

Bamburg

Andrews

(1991) School goals, principals, and achievement. School Effectiveness and School Improvement 2(3): 175–191.

Barney

(1991) Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management 17(1): 99–120.

Beins

(2012) Effective Writing in Psychology: Papers, Posters and Presentations. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Bliese

(2000) Within-group agreement, non-independence, and reliability: Implications for data aggregation and analysis. In: Klein

Kozlowski

(eds) Multilevel Theory, Research, and Methods in Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, pp.349–382.

Boon

Den Hartog

Boselie

Paaue

(2011) The relationship between perceptions of HR practices and employee outcomes: examining the role of person-organisation fit and person-job fit. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 22(1): 138–162.

Borman

Dowling

(2008) Teacher attrition and retention: A meta-analytic and narrative review of research. Review of Educational Research 78(3): 367–409.

Boselie

(2014) Strategic Human Resource Management: A Balanced Approach. London, UK: McGraw-Hill Education.

10.

Caprara

Barbaranelli

Borgogni

Steca

(2003) Efficacy beliefs as determinants of teachers’ job satisfaction. Journal of Educational Psychology 95(4): 821–832.

11.

Chan

Lau

Nie

Lim

Hogan

(2008) Organizational and personal predictors of teacher commitment: The mediating role of teacher efficacy and identification with school. American Educational Research Journal 45(3): 597–630.

12.

Chatman

(1991) Matching people and organizations – selection and socialization in public accounting firms. Administrative Science Quarterly 36(3): 459–484.

13.

Conley

You

(2016) Key influences on special education teachers’ intentions to leave: The effects of administrative support and teacher team efficacy in a mediational model. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. Epub ahead of print 15 April 2016. DOI: 10.1177/1741143215608859.

14.

Cooke

Rousseau

(1988) Behavioral norms and expectations: A quantitative approach to the assessment of organizational culture. Group and Organization Studies 13(3): 245–273.

15.

Creswell

(2012) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. Boston, MA: Pearson.

16.

Creswell

Miller

(2000) Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into Practice 39(3): 124–131.

17.

Deci

Ryan

(1985) Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York, NY: Plenum.

18.

Deci

Connell

Ryan

(1989) Self-determination in a work organization. Journal of Applied Psychology 74(4): 580–590.

19.

Den Hartog

Boon Verburg

(2016) HRM, communication, satisfaction, and perceived performance: A cross-level test. Journal of Management 39(6): 1637–1665.

20.

Desimone

Porter

Garet

Yoon

Birman

(2002) Effects of professional development on teachers’ instruction: Results from a three-year longitudinal study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 24(2): 81–112.

21.

Donaldson

(2013) Principals’ approaches to cultivating teacher effectiveness: Constraints and opportunities in hiring, assigning, evaluating and developing teachers. Educational Administration Quarterly 49(5): 838–882.

22.

Devos

Vanderheyden

(2002) Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers. Background Report for Flanders. Paris: OECD.

23.

Devos

Verhoeven

Stassen

Warmoes

(2004) Personeelsbeleid in Vlaamse scholen [Personnel policy in Flemish schools]. Mechelen: Wolters Plantyn.

24.

Devos

Van Petegem

Vanhoof

Declercq

Delvaux

(2014) Evaluatie van het evaluatiesysteem voor leerkrachten in het basisonderwijs en het deeltijds kunstonderwijs [Evaluation of the evaluation system for teachers in primary education and part-time arts education]. Antwerpen-Apeldoorn: Garant.

25.

Devos

Tuytens

De Coninck

Staelens

(2016) Uitdagingen voor personeelsbeleid: aanwerving en opdrachttoewijzing in Vlaamse basis- en secundaire scholen [Challenges for personnel policy: hiring and assignment in Flemish primary and secundary schools]. Brussels: Department of Education.

26.

Dumay

(2009) Origins and consequences of schools’ organizational culture for student achievement. Educational Administration Quarterly 45(4): 523–555.

27.

Edwards

(1994) The study of congruence in organizational behavior research: Critique and a proposed alternative. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 58(1): 51–100.

28.

Erdogan

Kraimer

Liden

(2002) Person-organisation fit and work attitudes: The moderating role of leader-member exchange. Academy of Management Proceedings 1; F1–F6.

29.

European Commission (2013) Key Data on Teachers and School Leaders in Europe. 2013 Edition. Eurydice Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Available at: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/key_data_series/151EN.pdf (accessed February 2015).

30.

French

JRP

Caplan

Harrison

(1982) The Mechanisms of Job Stress and Strain. Chichester, UK: Wiley.

31.

Griffeth

Hom

Gaertner

(2000) A meta-analysis of antecedents and correlates of employee turnover: Update, moderator tests, and research implications for the next millennium. Journal of Management 26(3): 463–488.

32.

Grogan

Youngs

(2011) Fitting In: Person–Organization, Person–Job, and Person–Group Fit as Drivers of Teacher Mobility. Working paper No. 21, The Education Policy Center, Michigan State University, Michigan, USA. Available at: https://education.msu.edu/epc/publications/documents/WP%2021%20Grogan-Youngs-2011-Fitting-in.pdf (accessed February 2015).

33.

Hallinger

(2013) Preparing principals: What can we learn from MBA and MPA programmes? Educational Management Administration & Leadership 41(4); 435–452.

34.

Hoffman

Woehr

(2006) A quantitative review of the relationship between person-organization fit and behavioral outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior 68: 389–399.

35.

Hong

(2010) Pre-service and beginning teachers’ professional identity and its relation to dropping out of the profession. Teaching and Teacher Education 26(8): 1530–1543.

36.

Hox

(2010) Multilevel Analysis: Techniques and Applications. New York, NY: Routledge.

37.

Huselid

(1995) The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate financial performance. Academy of Management Journal 38(3): 635–672.

38.

Ingersoll

Strong

(2011) The impact of induction and mentoring for beginning teachers: A critical review of the research. Review of Educational Research 8(2): 201–233.

39.

Ingle

Rutledge

Bishop

(2011) Context matters: principals’ sensemaking of teacher hiring and on-the-job performance. Journal of Educational Administration 49(5): 579–610.

40.

Johnson

Birkeland

Kardos

Kauffman

Liu

Peske

(2001) Retaining the next generation of teachers: The importance of school-based support. Harvard Education Letter 17(4).

41.

Jones

Youngs

Frank

(2013) The role of school-based colleagues in shaping the commitment of novice special and general education teachers. Exceptional Children 79(3): 365–383. Available at: https://www.msu.edu/user/kenfrank/TheRoleofSchool-Basedcolleaguesinshapingcommitmentofnovicespecialandgeneraleducationteachers.pdf (accessed February 2015).

42.

Kepes

Delery

(2007) HRM systems and the problem of internal fit. In: Boxall

Purcell

Wright

(eds) Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, pp.385–404.

43.

Koppich

Humphrey

Bland

Heenan

McCaffery

Ramage

Stokes

(2013) California’s Beginning Teachers: The Bumpy Path to a Profession. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.

44.

Kristof

(1996) Person–organization fit: An integrative review of its conceptualizations, measurement and implications. Personnel Psychology 49(1): 1–49.

45.

Kristof-Brown

Billsberry

(2013) Fit for the future. In: Kristof-Brown

Billsberry

(eds) Organizational Fit: Key Issues and New Directions. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, pp.1–18.

46.

Kristof-Brown

Zimmerman

Johnson

(2005) Consequences of individuals’ fit at work: A meta-analysis of person–job, person–organization, person–group, and person–supervisor fit. Personnel Psychology 58(2): 281–342.

47.

Kukla-Acevedo

(2009) Leavers, movers, and stayers: The role of workplace conditions in teacher mobility decisions. Journal for Educational Research 120(6): 443–452.

48.

Kwan

(2009) Beginning teachers’ perceptions of school human resource practices. Asia Pacific Journal of Education 29(3): 373–386.

49.

Leisink

Boselie

(2014) Strategisch HRM voor beter onderwijs: Een bijdrage aan de professionalisering van schoolleiders in het voorgezet onderwijs [Strategic HRM for better education: A contribution to the professionalization of school leaders in secondary education]. Departement voor Bestuurs- en Organisatiewetenschap, Universiteit Utrecht, Utrecht. Available at: http://www.voion.nl/downloads/d28c1df8-da1b-4ecc-88dd-13c77becacc0 (accessed January 2015).

50.

Liu

(2010) Person-organization fit, job satisfaction, and turnover intention: An empirical study in the Chinese public sector. Social Behavior and Personality 38(5): 615–625.

51.

Liu

Onwuegbuzie

(2012) Chinese teachers’ work stress and their turnover intention. International Journal of Educational Research 53: 160–170.

52.

Lynch

Plant

Ryan

(2005) Psychological needs and threat to safety: Implications for staff and patients in a psychiatric hospital for youth. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 36(4): 415–425.

53.

Martin

Sass

Schmitt

(2012) Teacher efficacy in student engagement, instructional management, student stressors, and burnout: A theoretical model using in-class variables to predict teachers’ intent-to-leave. Teaching and Teacher Education 28(4): 546–559.

54.

McInerney

Ganotice

King

Morin

AJS

(2015) Exploring commitment and turnover intentions among teachers: What we can learn from Hong Kong teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education 52(1): 11–23.

55.

Milanowski

Kimball

(2010) The principal as human capital manager: Lessons from the private sector. In: Curtis

Wurtzel

(eds) Teaching Talent: A Visionary Framework for Human Capital in Education. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press, pp.69–109.

56.

Miles

Huberman

(1994) Qualitative Data Analysis. London, UK: SAGE Publications.

57.

Mobley

Horner

Hollingsworth

(1978) An evaluation of precursors of hospital employee turnover. The Journal of Applied Psychology 63(4): 408–414.

58.

Oberski

(2014) lavaan.survey: An R package for complex survey analysis of structural equation models. Journal of Statistical Software 57(1): 1–27.

59.

Paauwe

(2004) HRM and Performance: Achieving Long Term Viability. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

60.

Patton

(1980) Qualitative Evaluation Methods. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE Publications.

61.

Perrachione

Rosser

V J

Petersen

(2008) Why do they stay? Elementary teachers’ perceptions of job satisfaction and retention. The Professional Educator 32(2): 25–41.

62.

Pietarinen

Pyhältö

Soini

Salmela-Aro

(2013) Reducing teacher burnout: A socio-contextual approach. Teaching and Teacher Education 35(1): 62–72.

63.

Pogodzinski

(2016) The microfoundations of human resources management in US public schools. Journal of Educational Administration 54(5): 537–557.

64.

Pogodzinski

Youngs

Frank

(2013) Collegial climate and novice teachers’ intent to remain teaching. American Journal of Education 120(1): 27–54.

65.

Pomaki

DeLongis

Frey

Woehrle

(2010) When the going gets tough: Direct, buffering and indirect effects of social support on turnover intention. Teaching and Teacher Education 26(6): 1340–1346.

66.

Ridder

Piening

McCandless

(2012). The third way reconfigured: How and why nonprofit organizations are shifting their human resource management. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 23(3): 605–635.

67.

Ronfeldt

Loeb

Wyckoff

(2013) How teacher turnover harms student achievement. American Educational Research Journal 50(1): 4–36.

68.

Rosseel

(2012) Lavaan: An R package for structural equation modelling. Journal of Statistical Software 48(2): 1–36.

69.

Runhaar

(2016) How can schools and teachers benefit from human resources management? Conceptualising HRM from content and process perspectives. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. Epub ahead of print 26 May 2016. DOI: 10.1177/1741143215623786.

70.

Ryan

(1995) Psychological needs and the facilitation of integrative processes. Journal of Personality 63(3): 397–427.

71.

Sahlberg

(2010) Rethinking accountability in a knowledge society. Journal of Educational Change 11(1): 45–61.

72.

Schein

(1992) Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

73.

Schneider

(1987) The people make the place. Personnel Psychology 40(3): 437–453.

74.

Schneider

Goldstein

Smith

(1995) The ASA framework: An update. Personnel Psychology 48(4): 747–779.

75.

Shen

Leslie

Spybrook

(2012) Are principal background and school processes related to teacher job satisfaction? A multilevel study using schools and staffing survey 2003–04. American Educational Research Journal 49(2): 200–230.

76.

Skaalvik

(2011) Teacher job satisfaction and motivation to leave the teaching profession: Relations with school context, feeling of belonging, and emotional exhaustion. Teaching and Teacher Education 27(6): 1029–1038.

77.

Smylie

Miretzky

Konkol

(2004) Rethinking teacher workforce development: A strategic human resource management perspective. Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education 103(1): 34–69.

78.

Smylie

Wenzel

(2006) Promoting Instructional Improvement: A Strategic Human Resource Management Perspective. Chicago, IL: Consortium on Chicago School Research.

79.

TALIS (2008) The Experience of New Teachers. Results from TALIS 2008. Paris, France: OECD.

80.

TALIS (2014) Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). Paris, France: OECD.

81.

Tett

Meyer

(1993) Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention, and turnover: Path analyses based on meta-analytic findings. Personnel Psychology 46(2): 259–293.

82.

van Vianen

AEM

De Pater

Van Dijk

(2007) Work value fit and turnover intention: same-source or different-source fit. Journal of Managerial Psychology 22(2): 188–202.

83.

Vancouver

Schmitt

(1991) An exploratory examination of person–organisation fit: organizational goal congruence. Personnel Psychology 44(2): 333–352.

84.

Vancouver

Milsap

Peters

(1994) Multilevel analysis of organizational goal congruence. Journal of Applied Psychology 79(5): 666–679.

85.

Vekeman

Devos

Valcke

(2016) Human resource architectures for new teachers in flemish primary education. Educational Management Administration & Leadership 44(6): 970–995.

86.

Werbel

DeMarie

(2005) Aligning strategic human resource management and person-environment fit. Human Resource Management Review 15(4): 247–262.

87.

Wheeler

Gallagher

Brouer

Sablynski

(2007) When person–organization (mis)fit and (dis)satisfaction lead to turnover. Journal of Managerial Psychology 22(2): 203–219.

88.

Wright

McMahan

(1992) Theoretical perspectives for strategic human resource management. Journal of Management 18(2): 295–320.

89.

Wright

Dunford

Snell

(2001) Human resources and the resource based view of the firm. Journal of Management 27(6): 701–721.

90.

You

Conley

(2014) Workplace predictors of secondary school teachers’ intention to leave: An exploration of career stages. Educational Management Administration & Leadership 43(4): 561–581.

91.

Youngs

Pogodzinski

Grogan

Perrone

(2015) Person-organization fit and research on instruction. Educational Researcher 44(1): 37–45.