Perceptions of the organizational climate and staff turnover in microenterprises in Huachi Chico
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47187/mktdescubre.27.81Keywords:
job perceptions, organizational climate, staff turnover, micro-enterprises, qualitative researchAbstract
This article presents a qualitative study with a phenomenological-hermeneutic design on organizational climate and employee turnover in three formal microenterprises in Huachi Chico, Ambato. Fifteen participants took part through semi-structured interviews, six non-participant observation sessions, and document review, until theoretical saturation was reached. Thematic analysis yielded four categories: internal communication, leadership, informal recognition, and interpersonal relationships. The central finding is that, in the absence of formal human resource management systems, workers place greater weight on symbolic dimensions than on the material conditions of the job. Triangulation also revealed a systematic gap between management's perception of the organizational climate and the actual operational experience, marked by work overload and lack of feedback, which fuels turnover intention, even if not always acted upon. The study provides situated evidence on how the decision to stay is constructed in Ecuadorian commercial microenterprises and proposes management guidelines adapted to their scale.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Jorge Álvarez Calderón, Mauricio Chávez Haro, José Viñán Carrera, Javier Viñán Carrera
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