🎙️ Welcome to Revise and Resubmit – the podcast where cutting-edge research meets real-world curiosity, and where today's published work could shape tomorrow's big decisions. I'm your host, and today we're diving into the fascinating world of... employee mobility 🚶♂️➡️🏢🛑
You’ve heard of the talent war. You’ve heard of the great resignation. But have you heard of mobility barriers? 🧱💼
Today’s episode unpacks an integrative review that doesn't just summarize the literature—it bridges entire academic fields across careers, HR, and strategic management. ✨🔗 From individual-level motivations to organizational tactics and even societal forces, this research maps out ten types of barriers that stop employees from walking out the door—and shows us exactly how firms weaponize or work around them.
Think non-competes. Think organizational culture. Think national regulations. Now, think about how a company can use all that strategically 🧠📊. Sounds like a corporate chess game? Well, you’re not far off.
In their paper, Lauren E. Aydinliyim and Deepak Somaya introduce a bold new framework—an "architecture of strategic modes" 🏗️—to explain how companies juggle control and context when responding to mobility barriers. It’s a powerful way to understand how firms both retain talent and retain power.
Published in the prestigious Journal of Management, a proud member of the FT50 list, and brought to you by SAGE Publications, this article isn’t just theory—it’s a roadmap for research, practice, and policy in the age of talent fluidity. 📚🌍
So here’s what we’re asking today:
🤔 If human capital is the most valuable asset... why are we working so hard to keep it from moving?
A huge thank you to the authors Lauren E. Aydinliyim and Deepak Somaya, and to the Journal of Management and SAGE Publications for making this vital research available.
🔥 Don’t forget to subscribe to Revise and Resubmit on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, catch us on Amazon Prime, and join the growing community of curious minds on our YouTube channel Weekend Researcher 📺🔔
Until next time… keep questioning, keep learning, and don’t be afraid to revise — and resubmit ✍️🔄
Reference
Aydinliyim, L. E., & Somaya, D. (2025). Employee Mobility Barriers: An Integrative Review Across Careers, Human Resources, and Strategic Management Research. Journal of Management, ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063251331002
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