Extending working lives: how age-inclusive HR practices shape the older workers’ willingness to delay retirement

作者：Xiqiang Peng, Xizhou Tian, Xiaoping Peng · 发表于：Chinese Management Studies · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1108/cms-05-2024-0301

Purpose Drawing on the social information processing theory, this study aims to investigate the effect of age-inclusive HR practices (AIHRP) on older workers’ willingness to delay retirement and explore how and when this effect occurs. Design/methodology/approach Three waves of survey data are collected from 272 older workers in China. PROCESS MACRO and Bootstrapping were used to test theoretical hypotheses. Findings Results show that AIHRP positively affects older workers’ willingness to delay retirement both directly and indirectly through perceived internal marketability. Essentialist beliefs about cognitive aging (EBCA) negatively moderate these effects, with the indirect effect being weaker for employees with higher EBCA. Research limitations/implications First, the authors take the lead in linking AIHRP and older employees’ willingness to delay retirement. This provides a new explanation of AIHRP’s impact and broadens the AIHRP’s outcome. Second, by exploring the mediating role of perceived internal marketability, the authors not only provide new insights on the mechanisms of increasing delay retirement willingness but also reveal the “black box” between the AIHRP and willingness to delay retirement. Third, the moderating role of EBCA broadens the AIHRP’s boundary conditions and enriches the EBCA literature. All variables were measured through self-reports, which is the limitation of this study. Practical implications The findings have several practical implica...