A catalog to support perceived organizational support to reduce turnover in distributed software development
Abstract
The competitiveness and dynamism of the technology sector require organizations to implement strategies for retaining qualified professionals, especially in distributed software development. Employees' perception of organizational support directly impacts their satisfaction and intention to stay. This study explores this relationship and proposes a best practices guide for this context. The research included a Systematic Literature Review and two surveys with professionals and experts in the field. The findings were organized into three dimensions, 16 aspects, 103 practices, and 138 subcategories, along with 300 suggested tools and artifacts. The results provide valuable insights for talent acquisition and retention professionals, guiding practices that enhance employee satisfaction and engagement while synthesizing the literature on organizational support and turnover in distributed development.
References
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ALZOUBI, Y. I.; GILL, A. Q.; AL-ANI, A. Empirical studies of geographically distributed agile development communication challenges: A systematic review. Information & Management, v. 53, n. 1, p. 22–37, jan. 2016
ARMSTRONG, Deborah J.; RIEMENSCHNEIDER, Cynthia K.; GIDDENS, Laurie G. The advancement and persistence of women in the information technology profession: An extension of Ahuja's gendered theory of IT career stages. Information Systems Journal, v. 28, n. 6, p. 1082-1124, 2018.
BASS, Julian M. et al. Employee retention and turnover in global software development. Proceedings Of The 13Th International Conference On Global Software Engineering, [S.L.], v. 18, n. 18, p. 1-10, 27 maio 2018.
CHAMAKIOTIS, Petros; PANTELI, Niki; DAVISON, Robert M. Reimagining e-leadership for reconfigured virtual teams due to Covid-19. International Journal of Information Management, v. 60, p. 102381, 2021.
EISENBERG, Robert et al. Perceived organizacional support. Jounal of Applied Psychology, v. 71, n. 3, p. 500-507, 1986.
EISENBERGER, Robert; RHOADES SHANOCK, Linda; WEN, Xueqi. Perceived organizational support: Why caring about employees counts. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, v. 7, p. 101-124, 2020.
ERTÜRK, Alper; VURGUN, Levent. Retention of IT professionals: Examining the influence of empowerment, social exchange, and trust. Journal of Business Research, v. 68, n. 1, p. 34-46, 2015.
HERBLEB, J. D., & MOITRA, D. (2001). Global software development. IEEE Software, 18(2), 16-20.
KITCHENHAM, B.A., CHARTERS, S., Guidelines for performing systematic literature reviews in software engineering. Tech. Rep. EBSE-2007-01, Keele University, 2007.
LOTFI, Mojgan et al. Turnover intention among operating room nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak and its association with perceived safety climate. Perioperative Care and Operating Room Management, v. 26, p. 100233, 2022.
QI, Lei et al. Impact of inclusive leadership on employee innovative behavior: Perceived organizational support as a mediator. PloS one, v. 14, n. 2, p. e0212091, 2019.
RAMESH, V.; DENNIS, A. R. The object-oriented team: Lessons for virtual teams from global software development. Proceedings of the 35th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Anais...IEEE Comput. Soc, 2003.
SHARMA, Gaurav G.; STOL, Klaas-Jan. Exploring onboarding success, organizational fit, and turnover intention of software professionals. Journal of Systems and Software, v. 159, p. 110442, 2020.
SHORE, Lynn M.; WAYNE, Sandy J. Commitment and employee behavior: Comparison of affective commitment and continuance commitment with perceived organizational support. Journal of applied psychology, v. 78, n. 5, p. 774, 1993.
SUÁREZ-ALBANCHEZ, Julio et al. Occupational health and safety, organisational commitment, and turnover intention in the Spanish IT consultancy sector. International journal of environmental research and public health, v. 18, n. 11, 2021
Published
2025-07-20
How to Cite
CHAVES, Karla Thais; FARIAS JUNIOR, Ivaldir Honório de; SANTOS, Wylliams Barbosa.
A catalog to support perceived organizational support to reduce turnover in distributed software development. In: PROCEEDINGS OF WORKSHOP ON SOCIAL, HUMAN AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOFTWARE (WASHES), 10. , 2025, Maceió/AL.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2025
.
p. 96-107.
ISSN 2763-874X.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/washes.2025.8573.
