The talented employees’ retention strategy of the e-commerce enterprises: A study of the MOA theoretical framework

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Abstract

In the context of modern business, e-commerce is becoming an inevitable trend and gradually reaching new heights in Vietnam. There are many businesses that know how to take advantage of young human resources to build brands, create competitive advantages, increase profits, and expand business operations. However, this advantage is somewhat affected by the wave of employee resignations that is currently increasing. This study aims to fill these gaps by applying the motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) theoretical framework proposed by MacInnis and Jaworski (1989) to retain talented employees. The dataset was collected by the authors through an online survey method, obtaining 732 survey responses from employees working in e-commerce businesses between September 2024 and December 2024. By employing quantitative research, the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was conducted using the SPSS and AMOS 20 software. The results provide clear evidence that the factors influencing long-term talent retention include two key elements: 1) opportunities for learning and career development, and 2) flexible working hours. This study refuted previous findings on the role of compensation in employee retention and provided evidence of optimal solutions for e-commerce businesses with limited salary budgets in retaining and developing human resources.

Keywords: Employee Satisfaction, Employee Engagement, MOA Theoretical Framework, E-Commerce, Modern Business

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — L.K.D. and T.B.T.; Methodology — L.K.D. and T.B.T.; Validation — L.K.D. and T.B.T.; Formal Analysis — L.K.D. and T.B.T.; Resources — L.K.D. and T.B.T.; Writing — Review & Editing — L.K.D. and T.B.T.; Supervision — L.K.D. and T.B.T.; Project Administration — L.K.D. and T.B.T.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: F14, O15

Received: 08.02.2025
Revised: 11.04.2025; 03.06.2025; 27.10.2025
Accepted: 17.11.2025
Published online: 21.11.2025

How to cite this paper: Khuc Dai, L., & Bui Thi, T. (2025). The talented employees’ retention strategy of the e-commerce enterprises: A study of the MOA theoretical framework. Corporate and Business Strategy Review, 6(4), 173–183. https://doi.org/10.22495/cbsrv6i4art16