The analysis of intercity migration behavior of IT professionals in China

IT professionals are considered as high-skilled and high-income groups, with a higher turnover rate and greater flexibility in terms of inter-city migration than others. With the widely adoption of IT innovations in organizations as well as the fast growth of IT industry in China, the demand for IT professionals increases exponentially which results in a fierce competition among cities in China. Yet the migration behavior of IT professionals has been overlooked. Based on the human-capital migration theory, this research examines the roles of external characteristics, personal characteristics and IT characteristics on IT professional's migration behavior. Based on 8012 samples from the database of a hunting company in China, the results of our empirical analysis supported that both external characteristics and IT characteristics play important roles in IT professional's migration behavior. Interestingly, our results show that male IT professionals in China are more likely to migrate. This study extends the human capital theory by introducing IT characteristics of IT professionals and provides insights for HR practitioners of IT industry as well as policy makers for attracting IT professionals.