A Systematic Review of Employee Retention: What’s Next in Pakistan?

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to review existing literature on the uncommon phenomenon of employee retention in the context of Pakistan. With that objective, this work utilizes literature on employee retention determinants. Based on the thorough literature review, it was found that human resource practices, motivation and compensation are the most highlighted factors in the banking, education and telecom sectors of Pakistan. In addition, the social exchange theory was found to be the most frequently used theory for explaining the phenomenon. Further exploration of employee retention is needed to better comprehend this concept in terms of industry, methodology and theory. For example, retail, manufacturing, hotels and healthcare sectors that have been neglected in past researches could be explored in future studies in Pakistan. Methodology wise, the application of the partial least square method could be a valuable addition to the new studies. Lastly, on the theoretical side, new theories other than the social exchange theory could be empirically incorporated such as the resource-based theory, knowledge base theory and dynamic capability theory which could provide a promising area of research.