Corporate entrepreneurship and information technology towards employee retention: a study of New Zealand firms

Abstract

While the benefits of entrepreneurship towards firm performance are established, the role of information technology (IT) is mixed. The present study of 158 New Zealand firms responds to calls to extend performance measures to include non-financial outcomes and focuses on employee retention. Direct and substantial relationships between corporate entrepreneurship and employee retention were found. Furthermore, moderating effects were tested from IT dimensions, and high IT objects (hardware software and personnel) had the greatest interaction with an entrepreneurial culture, reporting a 10 per cent higher retention rate than similar entrepreneurial firms with low IT objects. However, IT was not universally positive, with high IT knowledge interacting with entrepreneurial culture, leading to lower employee retention. The study highlights the way some IT dimensions can enhance entrepreneurial capabilities, although cautions the effects of others, highlighting the potential complexities of IT that may repel rather than retain employees.