Circular economy in transportation: empirical evidence of economic and non-economic contributors to bus driver turnover challenges in Hanoi, Vietnam

Establishing the bus plays a vital role in formulating a circular economy in terms of transportation. However, the development of the bus system is confronting a significant challenge of a worker shortage involved in drivers’ turnover intention. Using an extension of the Job-Demands Resources model, this study investigated the antecedents of the quitting intention of 505 bus drivers on 68 routes in Hanoi, Vietnam. The results suggested the critical role of job demands and job burnout (i.e., non-economic factors) in shaping turnover intention. The relieving effect of job resources (particularly via economic aspects like salary and rewards) on the intention is significant and indirect but much lower than the (contributing) effects of job demands. Personal resources negatively moderated the relationship between job demands and the intention to stop working. Based on the findings of influential factors, some practical recommendations were proposed to mitigate the turnover intention for bus drivers. This is one of the first theory-oriented studies on turnover intention among bus drivers in developing countries. Therefore, more research is still needed to enrich the literature of this topic.