An exploratory study on factors contributing to job dissatisfaction of retail employees in India

Abstract The study aimed to explore factors contributing to job dissatisfaction among frontend retail employees in India. It broadly contributes to the problem of talent retention and employee turnover which is one of the biggest challenges of the Indian retail industry. The study adopted mixed-method approach to inductively identify the contextual factors leading to job dissatisfaction. Qualitative data were analyzed using grounded theory approach followed by a survey based quantitative study, using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to validate the qualitative findings. Qualitative study revealed seven factors-customer aggression, abusive supervision, perceived job image, perceived unethical climate, lack of autonomy, work exhaustion and inter-role conflicts contributing to job dissatisfaction. Findings of quantitative study showed all factors except lack of autonomy were significantly related to job dissatisfaction. Theoretical contributions, managerial implication, limitations, and scope for future work are discussed.