I am `better' than you! the influence of upward social comparison on the intention to work abroad among doctors in Iraq: the mediating mechanism of attitude towards leaving
The primary objective of the study was to verify the possibility that social comparisons occurred between professionals (i.e. doctors) in their country of origin to similar others in different hospitals, healthcare systems, and countries. In addition, this study also examined whether these social co...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis
2022
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/101760/ |
| _version_ | 1848863625643556864 |
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| author | Mundher Oraibi, Bha-Aldan Ho, Jo Ann Raja Yusof, Raja Nerina Idris, Khairuddin |
| author_facet | Mundher Oraibi, Bha-Aldan Ho, Jo Ann Raja Yusof, Raja Nerina Idris, Khairuddin |
| author_sort | Mundher Oraibi, Bha-Aldan |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The primary objective of the study was to verify the possibility that social comparisons occurred between professionals (i.e. doctors) in their country of origin to similar others in different hospitals, healthcare systems, and countries. In addition, this study also examined whether these social comparisons resulted in an intention to work abroad among these professionals who remained in their home country. On a sample of 450 Iraqi doctors, we used Structural Equation Modeling through partial least squares (PLS-SEM) to analyse the data. Our study found that upward comparison and attitude towards leaving positively affected the intention to work abroad among doctors who remained in Iraq. Further, the relationship between upward comparison and intention to work abroad was mediated by attitude towards leaving. Our study extends the brain drain literature by examining the role of social comparison, specifically upward comparison, in the migration of professionals and how such a comparison leads to intention to work abroad. The implications for theory and practices to reduce such a comparison among professionals are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:35:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-101760 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:35:54Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1017602024-05-02T07:10:58Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/101760/ I am `better' than you! the influence of upward social comparison on the intention to work abroad among doctors in Iraq: the mediating mechanism of attitude towards leaving Mundher Oraibi, Bha-Aldan Ho, Jo Ann Raja Yusof, Raja Nerina Idris, Khairuddin The primary objective of the study was to verify the possibility that social comparisons occurred between professionals (i.e. doctors) in their country of origin to similar others in different hospitals, healthcare systems, and countries. In addition, this study also examined whether these social comparisons resulted in an intention to work abroad among these professionals who remained in their home country. On a sample of 450 Iraqi doctors, we used Structural Equation Modeling through partial least squares (PLS-SEM) to analyse the data. Our study found that upward comparison and attitude towards leaving positively affected the intention to work abroad among doctors who remained in Iraq. Further, the relationship between upward comparison and intention to work abroad was mediated by attitude towards leaving. Our study extends the brain drain literature by examining the role of social comparison, specifically upward comparison, in the migration of professionals and how such a comparison leads to intention to work abroad. The implications for theory and practices to reduce such a comparison among professionals are discussed. Taylor & Francis 2022 Article PeerReviewed Mundher Oraibi, Bha-Aldan and Ho, Jo Ann and Raja Yusof, Raja Nerina and Idris, Khairuddin (2022) I am `better' than you! the influence of upward social comparison on the intention to work abroad among doctors in Iraq: the mediating mechanism of attitude towards leaving. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 33 (11). 2316 - 2338. ISSN 0958-5192; ESSN: 1466-4399 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09585192.2022.2033297 10.1080/09585192.2022.2033297 |
| spellingShingle | Mundher Oraibi, Bha-Aldan Ho, Jo Ann Raja Yusof, Raja Nerina Idris, Khairuddin I am `better' than you! the influence of upward social comparison on the intention to work abroad among doctors in Iraq: the mediating mechanism of attitude towards leaving |
| title | I am `better' than you! the influence of upward social comparison on the intention to work abroad among doctors in Iraq: the mediating mechanism of attitude towards leaving |
| title_full | I am `better' than you! the influence of upward social comparison on the intention to work abroad among doctors in Iraq: the mediating mechanism of attitude towards leaving |
| title_fullStr | I am `better' than you! the influence of upward social comparison on the intention to work abroad among doctors in Iraq: the mediating mechanism of attitude towards leaving |
| title_full_unstemmed | I am `better' than you! the influence of upward social comparison on the intention to work abroad among doctors in Iraq: the mediating mechanism of attitude towards leaving |
| title_short | I am `better' than you! the influence of upward social comparison on the intention to work abroad among doctors in Iraq: the mediating mechanism of attitude towards leaving |
| title_sort | i am `better' than you! the influence of upward social comparison on the intention to work abroad among doctors in iraq: the mediating mechanism of attitude towards leaving |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/101760/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/101760/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/101760/ |