Effect of High-Performance Human Resource Practice in Colleges and Universities in China on Teachers’ Turnover Intention: A Moderated Mediation Model

Previous studies have demonstrated that high-performance human resource practice (HPHRP) can reduce employees’ turnover intention (TI). However, only a few studies have investigated this relationship in the context of Chinese culture. Using a sample of 740 teachers from five colleges and universities in Hebei Province, China, this study assessed the effect of HPHRP in colleges and universities on teachers’ TI in the context of Chinese culture. Furthermore, the mediating effects of teachers’ organizational commitment (OC) and the moderating effects of teachers’ organizational justice (OJ) were investigated. The results revealed that HPHRP in colleges and universities had a significant negative effect on teachers’ TI. Teachers’ OC played a partial mediating effect in the relationship between HPHRP in colleges and universities and teachers’ TI. In addition, the moderation analysis indicated that HPHRP in colleges and universities enhanced OC for teachers with high levels of OJ. This study contributed to a better understanding of the role of HPHRP in colleges and universities in reducing teachers’ TI, suggesting that HPHRP implementation and improving teachers’ OC and OJ can reduce teachers’ TI.


Introduction
Building a first-class faculty is the primary task for colleges and universities in China to develop world-class universities and disciplines. Colleges and universities can consolidate their superior academic disciplines rapidly through talent acquisition. As a result, a tough competition for talents exists among colleges and universities in China, leading to an increasing turnover rate of teachers in colleges and universities in the country (Liu et al., 2022). According to surveys, one-fifth of the teachers in colleges and universities in China have turnover intention (TI) (Luo & Shen, 2017). TI refers to the thought and expectation of an employee to leave his/her organization and is a thinking process that precedes the act of leaving (Namin et al., 2021). In the long-term, the normal turnover rate leads to a reasonable flow of talents. However, excessively high turnover rate indicates draining of talents and breaking of the talent cultivation chain (Zhou et al., 2018). Moreover, turnover of teachers in colleges and universities not only exerts negative impacts on the teaching quality and students' academic performance but also leads to halting of major projects. Furthermore, it leads to imbalanced discipline and interruption of relevant courses (Sorensen & Ladd, 2020;Yimer et al., 2017). Therefore, the TI of teachers in colleges and universities, who are the major force undertaking the task of cultivating talents for the country, has been the focus of concern.
upon perceiving the implementation of HPHRP in their colleges and universities. Meanwhile, teachers' OC, expressed as teachers' identification with the development objective of their colleges and universities, has been demonstrated to have a significant negative effect on teachers' TI (Ababneh, 2020;Maryam et al., 2021). In addition, organizational justice (OJ), as an organizational environment, affects the mutual trust between teachers and their colleges and universities, thus mediating the effect of HPHRP in colleges and universities on teachers' OC (Mahmood & Iqbal, 2021).
In this study, through literature review, we summarize the current gaps in empirical studies related to HPHRP, OC, and TI. First, previous studies have mostly focused on enterprises (Chadwick & Li, 2018;Zeebaree et al., 2019), and only a few of them are from an education perspective. However, some studies have suggested that HPHRP is better suited to knowledge-based organizations (Lepak & Snell, 2002). Second, "individualism" in western culture emphasizes positive incentives such as encouragement and rewards for employees. However, "collectivism" in Chinese culture focuses on negative incentives such as constraints and punishment for employees, in addition to positive incentives. This may align better with the multifaceted nature of HPHRP (Liang et al., 2012). Third, although previous studies have reported that HPHRP can reduce employees' TI through OC (Ramaprasad et al., 2021;Valé au et al., 2021), it remains unclear whether a moderating variable exists in this relationship.
In conclusion, with teachers in colleges and universities of China as the subjects, we assessed the mediating effect of teachers' OC in the relationship between HPHRP in colleges and universities and teachers' TI and the moderating effect of teachers' OJ in the relationship between HPHRP and teachers' OC. This study further revealed the mechanism underlying the role of HPHRP in colleges and universities in reducing teachers' TI in the context of Chinese culture and enhanced our theoretical understanding, thereby providing a reference for colleges and universities in China to improve the management level and reduce teachers' TI.

HPHRP in Colleges and Universities and Teachers' TI
HPHRP comprises a complete set of specific human resource practices, and it emphasizes not only on employees' occupational stability and development but also on building a scientific and efficient management system. Furthermore, it aims to improve employees' capacity and motivation, eventually improving organizational performance (Huselid, 1995). HPHRP mainly functions through correct perception of employees; hence, it is usually measured with employees' perception (Manuti et al., 2020). In the field of education research, HPHRP in colleges and universities refers to the perception of teachers toward a series of human resource practices implemented by their colleges and universities. These practices are designed to motivate teachers and eventually address the strategic objectives of colleges and universities (Rao, 2009;Shen et al., 2014).
HPHRP can stimulate employees' positive attitude toward the organization and can effectively reduce employees' TI (Ma et al., 2020). Some empirical studies have concluded that HPHRP has a significant negative effect on TI (Aburumman et al., 2020;Jyoti & Rani, 2019). Some education studies suggest that input of sufficient human capitals by colleges and universities can satisfy teachers' materialistic and emotional needs and encourage them to work more actively and become loyal to their colleges and universities, rendering them less reluctant to leave (Gadi & Kee, 2018). Previous studies have reported that HPHRP can exert a significant negative impact on teachers' TI (Jyoti & Rani, 2019). Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed: H1: HPHRP in colleges and universities has a significant negative effect on teachers' TI.

The Mediating Role of Teachers' OC
Meyer and Allen (1991) defined OC as the degree to which an employee is identified with and accepts the objectives and values of their organizations and consciously follows norms, takes responsibility, and fulfills obligations. Reyes (1992) applied the concept of OC to the education field and defined teachers' OC as the degree to which teachers are identified with and participate in the work of their colleges and universities. Some empirical studies have demonstrated that HPHRP can significantly and positively affect employees' OC (Andersé n & Andersé n, 2019; Jawaad et al., 2019;Xi et al., 2019). In addition, according to some education studies, teachers with a high level of human resource practice perception often exhibit a high level of OC (Aboramadan et al., 2019). HPHRP in colleges and universities is manifested in fair, impartial, and efficient management measures. This practice enables teachers to develop a mutual trust relationship with their colleges and universities, and in the process of completing teaching task, teachers gradually develop identification with the objectives of their colleges and universities, which, in turn, enhances their OC (Nandan et al., 2018).
Furthermore, OC has been suggested to reflect employees' overall view on their organizations, which, to a large extent, can impact their TI (Hussain et al., 2020;Rawashdeh & Tamimi, 2020;Shahzad et al., 2020). Meyer and Allen (1991) opined that OC is mainly reflected in the employees' high identification with their organizations and the resulting sense of responsibility, motivating them to serve for their organizations for a long term and making them reluctant to leave the organization. In the field of education research, teachers' OC is a key variable for reducing the turnover rate of teachers in colleges and universities. Teachers with a high level of OC are emotionally and morally tied to their colleges and universities and are often reluctant to leave (Orvis et al., 2008). Such teachers are often loyal to their positions and have a low degree of TI (McInerney et al., 2015). Some empirical studies have reported that teachers' OC can negatively affect their TI (Zhou et al., 2020;Maryam et al., 2021).
Hence, it can be concluded that HPHRP in colleges and universities enables teachers to understand their personal value and enhance their identification with the development objectives and values of their colleges and universities. This enhances teachers' OC and strengthens their willingness to continue working for their colleges and universities, which, in turn, reduces their TI. Accordingly, this study hypothesizes that teachers' OC may be a significant mediating variable between HPHRP in colleges and universities and teachers' TI, leading to the formulation of the following hypothesis: H2: Teachers' OC plays a mediating role in the relationship between HPHRP in colleges and universities and teachers' TI.

The Moderating Role of Teachers' OJ
Although HPHRP may affect employee's OC, the effect may vary in environments with different levels of OJ, which refers to employees' perception of the justice of their organizational environment (Adams, 1965). Hoy and Tarter (2004) applied the concept of OJ to the education field and defined teachers' OJ as teachers' personal evaluation regarding the justice of resource allocation and outcome of their colleges and universities. It focuses on teachers' perception of the environmental justice of their colleges and universities. Salancik and Pfeffer (1978) reported that the organizational environment provides information on employees' attitude toward their organizations and their corresponding behaviors. Teachers' OJ was reported to be positively correlated with their OC (Jameel et al., 2020). Teachers' OJ can promote positive behavior and attitude toward their colleges and universities. With a high level of OJ, teachers feel rewarded for their efforts and respected by their colleges and universities, which enhances their identification with their colleges and universities, leading to a higher level of OC (Donglong et al., 2020). Moreover, OJ is positively correlated with HPHRP (Miao et al., 2021). Although this relation has not yet been validated in the education research, some studies have reported that a high level of mutual trust between teachers and their colleges and universities is developed under a high level of teachers' OJ. In this context, teachers maintain positive beliefs about their colleges and universities even under uncertainties, which is conducive to the effective function of the role of HPHRP. When the level of OJ is low, teachers will behave negatively in response to the degree of injustice they feel. Consequently, the action of HPHRP is inhibited (Hoy & Tarter, 2004). Therefore, it can be inferred that the effect of HPHRP in colleges and universities on teachers' OC may be enhanced when the level of teachers' OJ is high. Conversely, the effect may be weakened when the level of teachers' OJ is low. Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed: H3: Teachers' OJ exerts a moderating effect in the relationship between HPHRP in colleges and universities and teachers' OC.
Accordingly, this study proposes a hypothetical model, as shown in Figure 1.

Participants and Procedure
In this study, convenience sampling was adopted to investigate the teachers from five colleges and universities in Hebei Province, China. Hebei Province encircles Beijing and Tianjin, which are developed regions of the country. Due to the "Siphon effect" of these developed regions, teachers in colleges and universities of Hebei Province often chose to leave the organization, and the problem has become increasingly severe (Xue & Li, 2023). Hence, teachers from colleges and universities in Hebei Province, China, were selected as representatives to discuss the TI of teachers in colleges and universities and the influencing factors. Before conducting the questionnaire survey, the participants were informed regarding the purpose of this study and anonymous recording of their answers; further, they were informed that strict confidentiality would be maintained and that they could refuse or quit at any time. The questionnaires were answered and collected online at www.wjx.cn. After signing the informed consent form, the participants could scan the QR code to answer the questionnaires. The questionnaires comprised HPHRP scale, teachers' OC scale, teachers' OJ scale, and teachers' TI scale. In this study, a total of 740 effective responses were collected. The demographic information of the participants was as follows: male teachers: 356 (48.1%) and female teachers: 384 (51.9%); undergraduates: 51 (34.5%), masters: 82 (55.4%), and doctors: 15 (10.1%); teachers with no title: 8 (5.4%), teachers with junior professional title: 15 (10.1%), teachers with an intermediate professional title: 76 (51.4%), teacher with an associate senior title: 43 (29.1%), and teachers with a senior title: 6 (4.1%).

HPHRP in Colleges and Universities
This study employed the HPHRP scale developed by Rao (2009). This scale was developed in an university setting in China and is specifically designed to measure the college teachers' perception of HPHRP. The reliability and validity of the scale have been shown to be good. The scale contains 28 questions and five dimensions, namely talent selection and cultivation, career and job security, performance assessment and compensation incentives, participative management, and significant motivation. The scoring is performed on a 5-point Likert scale (1 means strongly disagree and 5 means strongly agree). The higher the scores, the higher the levels of perceived high performance of human resource practice. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in this study indicated that NFI = 0.874, IFI = 0.886, TLI = 0.873, and CFI = 0.886, reaching the standard of >0.800 (Hsiao et al., 2016). This indicated that the model fit meets the acceptable criteria. The values of composite reliability (CR) were in the range 0.678-0.904 (all >0.600), and the average variance extracted (AVE) values were in the range 0.440-0.558 (all >0.400), suggesting the presence of convergent validity (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988). The Cronbach's α-values of the five dimensions on this scale were 0.944, 0.962, 0.965, 0.970, and 0.914, respectively (all >0.700), indicating good reliability of this scale (Nunnally, 1978).

Teachers' OC
In this study, the OC scale developed by Meyer, Allen and Smith (1993) was applied. As a mature scale measuring OC, this scale has been applied in many related studies, and its reliability and validity have been shown to be good (Chanana, 2021;Erlangga et al., 2021). In addition, this scale is often used in the education field and to measure college teachers' OC (Donglong et al., 2020;Uniyal et al., 2022). To ensure better fit of this scale in this study, it was modified to suit the college and university setting. For example, the word "company" on the scale was modified to "college or university." This scale contains three dimensions: affective commitment, normative commitment, and continuance commitment, with a total of 18 questions. It is scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1 means complete non-compliance and 5 means complete compliance). Higher scores indicate higher levels of OC. CFA in this study indicated that GFI = 0.860, NFI = 0.862, IFI = 0.870, TLI = 0.849, and CFI = 0.870, reaching the standard of >0.800, indicating that the model fit meets the acceptable criteria (Hsiao et al., 2016). The values of CR were in the range 0.783-0.840 (all >0.600), and the AVE values were in the range 0.443-0.478 (all >0.400), suggesting the presence of convergent validity (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988). The Cronbach's α-values of the three dimensions on this scale were 0.954, 0.931, and 0.912, respectively (all >0.700), indicating good reliability of this scale (Nunnally, 1978).

Teachers' OJ
This study also used the OJ scale developed by Colquitt et al. (2001). This scale has been widely used and demonstrated to have good reliability and validity (Halbusi et al., 2022;Turhan & Üzümcüoğlu, 2022). The applicability of this scale to colleges and universities has also been validated (Na'imah et al., 2022). To ensure better fit of this scale in this study, it was modified to suit the college and university setting. For example, the word "company" on the scale was modified to "college or university." This scale contains four dimensions: distributive justice, procedural justice, informational justice, and interactional justice, with a total of 20 questions. The scoring is done on a 5-point Likert scale (1 means strongly disagree and 5 means strongly agree). Higher scores indicate higher levels of OJ. CFA in this study indicated that GFI = 0.911, NFI = 0.917, IFI = 0.924, TLI = 0.912, and CFI = 0.924, indicating good model fit (Hsiao et al., 2016). The values of CR were in the range 0.671-0.874 (all >0.600), and the AVE values were in the range 0.438-0.500 (all >0.400), suggesting the presence of convergent validity (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988). The Cronbach's α-values of the four dimensions on this scale were 0.945, 0.955, 0.967, and 0.974, respectively (all >0.700), indicating good reliability of this scale (Nunnally, 1978).

Teachers' TI
In this study, the TI scale developed by Cheng, Su and Wang (2015) was used. This scale was developed in the context of Chinese culture and has good reliability and validity. This scale contains two dimensions: resignation idea and resignation plan, with a total of 6 questions. A 7-point Likert scale is used for scoring (1 means complete non-compliance and 7 means complete compliance). Higher scores indicate clearer TI. CFA in this study indicated the following: GFI = 0.934, AGFI = 0.827, NFI = 0.956, IFI = 0.958, TLI = 0.921, and CFI = 0.958, indicating good model fit (Hsiao et al., 2016). The values of CR were in the range 0.666-0.680 (all >0.600), and the AVE values were in the range 0.406-0.411 (all >0.400), suggesting the presence of convergent validity (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988). The Cronbach's α-values of the two dimensions on this scale were 0.911 and 0.886, respectively (all >0.700), indicating good reliability of this scale (Nunnally, 1978).

Statistical Analysis
First, this study adopted Harman's one-factor test for common method bias and performed unrotated principal component factor analysis on the items of all variables. A total of 13 factors with characteristic roots >1 were obtained. The amount of variance explained by the first factor was 41.483%, which is less than the critical standard value of 50%. This indicated that the common method variance in this study was not serious (Podsakoff & Organ, 1986). Next, descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation analysis were performed using SPSS 21.0. Further, validated factor analysis was conducted using AMOS 25.0, followed by examination of the mediation model and moderated mediation model with the SPSS PROCESS program. Finally, Bootstrap confidence intervals were applied to confirm the significance of the mediating and moderating effects (Hayes, 2012).

Mediating Effect of Teachers' OC
This study applied Model 4 of SPSS PROCESS to examine the mediating effect of OC. HPHRP in Model 1 could significantly negatively affect TI (Table 2; B = −0.555, p < 0.001). HPHRP in Model 2 could significantly positively affect OC (B = 0.527, p < 0.001). After adding OC as a mediating variable, HPHRP in Model 3 could still significantly negatively affect TI (B = −0.328, p < 0.001). However, the degree of effect was lower compared with that in Model 1. Moreover, OC could significantly negatively affect TI (B = −0.429, p < 0.001). This suggested that HPHRP exerts a partial mediating effect on TI. A further validation of the mediating effect was performed using the bias-corrected non-parametric percentile Bootstrap method with 5000 random replicates. The results indicated that the direct effect value was −0.328, and 95% confidence interval (CI) did not contain 0 (LLCI = −0.467, ULCI = −0.190). The indirect effect value was −0.226, and 95% CI did not contain 0 (LLCI = −0.317, ULCI = −0.147). The total effect value was −0.555, and 95% CI did not contain 0 (LLCI = −0.664, ULCI = −0.445). The mediating effect accounted for 40.721% of the total effect.

Moderated Mediation Model
This study applied model 7 of SPSS PROCESS to test the moderated mediation model constructed in this study. The results are shown in Table 3. The interaction term between HPHRP and OJ has a significant positive effect on OC (B = 0.098, p < 0.001), demonstrating that OJ moderates the effect of HPHRP on OC.   We illustrated the moderating effect of OJ through simple slope test (Figure 2). The results indicated that HPHRP is more strongly associated with OC for teachers with a high level of OJ (simple slope = 0.310, t = 8.044, p < 0.001) than for teachers with a low level of OJ (simple slope = 0.442, t = 9.420, p < 0.001). This implied that the effect of HPHRP in colleges and universities on teachers' OC will be enhanced for teachers with a high level of OJ and diminished for teachers with a low level of OJ. A further validation of the moderating effect was performed using the bias-corrected non-parametric percentile Bootstrap method with 5000 random replicates. The results revealed that the INDEX of moderated mediation was −0.042 (LLCI = −0.073, ULCI = −0.016), and the CI did not contain 0, indicating a significant moderating effect.

Discussion
Using teachers in colleges and universities of China as the samples, in this study, we assessed the relationship among HPHRP, teachers' OC, teachers' OJ, and teachers' TI. The results showed that HPHRP in colleges and universities negatively affected teachers' TI. This finding is consistent with those of previous studies (KaluÇ et al., 2020;Mumtaz et al., 2020) and can be explained by the hierarchy of needs theory. This theory classifies human needs into five levels: physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization. When employees' higher-level needs (esteem and self-actualization) are satisfied, they show positive behaviors and attitudes and their TI can be reduced (Hanif, 2013). HPHRP in colleges and universities precisely focuses on respect for teachers and their self-development (Shen et al., 2014). Therefore, HPHRP in colleges and universities can help satisfy teachers' high-level needs, thus reducing their TI.
In addition, we observed that HPHRP in colleges and universities can influence teachers' TIs through their OC, which is consistent with the findings of a previous study (Fragoso et al., 2022). Based on the mutual benefit principle of social exchange theory, when universities implement HPHRP, teachers' self-development is valued by their colleges and universities, which makes teachers feel the respect and care from their colleges and universities and strengthen their belief that their interests are being considered by their colleges and universities. In return, teachers exhibit strong emotional belonging to their colleges and universities, which increases their OC. A high level of OC represents teachers' identification with the values and development objectives of their colleges and universities, which ultimately reduces their TI (Tumwesigye et al., 2020).
In addition to the mediating mechanism, we observed that teachers' OJ moderates the effect of HPHRP in colleges and universities on teachers' OC. Specifically, the higher is the level of teachers' OJ, the stronger is the effect of HPHRP in colleges and universities on teachers' OC. This finding can be explained by equity theory. Teachers maintain their sense of justice by changing their work attitude. Teachers with a high level of OJ often hold a strong belief that they will receive what they deserve for their efforts and will show more trust and support for their colleges and universities. By contrast, under a lower level of OJ, teachers will balance their sense of injustice by working and behaving negatively (Taris et al., 2004), thus weakening the effect of HPHRP in colleges and universities.
Notably, this study investigated the relationship among HPHRP, teachers' OC, teachers' OJ, and TI in the Chinese cultural context. In contrast to the Western culture, the "collectivism" in Chinese culture emphasizes more on the sense of group belongingness, which may motivate employees to sacrifice their individual interests to achieve the collective good. In return for employee loyalty, organizations will provide safety and protection to employees in difficulties (Huang et al., 2016). By feeling safe in the group, employees exhibit higher OC and lower TI (Brougham & Haar, 2020). Furthermore, the "collectivist" cultural environment places more emphasis on equality and equitable distribution and includes the idea of equal distribution in a hierarchical structure (Carpenter, 2000;Chen et al., 2013). Therefore, the moderating effect of OJ may be more pronounced in the Chinese cultural context. In summary, we provide empirical evidence for the application of the moderated mediation model proposed in this study in China's university setting.

Conclusion and Suggestions
Based on the study findings, the following conclusions can be drawn: First, HPHRP in colleges and universities negatively affects teachers' TI. Second, teachers' OC plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between HPHRP in colleges and universities and teachers' TI. Third, teachers' OJ moderates the effect of HPHRP in colleges and universities on teachers' OC. Specifically, the higher the level of teachers' OJ, the stronger the association between HPHRP and teachers' OC.
Furthermore, the study offers some suggestions. First, to improve the human resource management performance in colleges and universities, greater importance must be attached to the individual growth and career development of teachers, communication with teachers must be enhanced, and teachers should be encouraged to participate in the management of their colleges and universities, which will improve their capacity and motivation and reduce their TI. Second, to improve teachers' OC, colleges and universities can build an interaction platform to establish their emotional ties with teachers and to enhance teachers' sense of responsibility toward their colleges and universities. Finally, colleges and universities should pay attention to improving teachers' OJ. It is suggested to fully consider teachers' opinions, formulate scientific distribution plan, respect teachers, listen to them carefully, and inform them of the handling results promptly.

Limitations
This study has some limitations. First, this study was conducted only in the teachers from five colleges and universities in Hebei Province, China. Future studies can select more teachers from a broader range of colleges and universities in China to validate the results of this study. Second, only a partial mediating effect of teachers' OC in the relationship between HPHRP and teachers' organizational turnover was observed in this study, indicating that other mediating variables influencing this relationship may exist. For instance, HPHRP produces good work emotion for employees, which may in turn reduce employees' TI (He et al., 2018;Chau et al., 2009). Hence, teachers' emotional labor may mediate the effect of HPHRP on teachers' TI. The mechanism and other possible mediating mechanisms should be investigated in future studies. Third, this study employed cross-sectional data, and the findings only confirm the relationship among these variables within a specific timeframe. Future studies should apply longitudinal data to further understand the dynamic process of the relationship among these variables.