Title: The role of internal marketing and employee well-being in explaining job satisfaction and retention of millennial accountants

Authors: Carmen Pérez-Cabañero; MiKayla Lumpkin

Addresses: Department of Marketing, Universitat de València, Av. Tarongers s/n. 46022 Valencia, Spain ' Department of Marketing, Universitat de València, Av. Tarongers s/n. 46022 Valencia, Spain

Abstract: Millennial employees (Generation Y) are contributing to the continuous rise in employee turnover rates in the USA. The purpose of this study is to examine which factors affect millennials' job satisfaction which in turn affects retention in the context of a low-contact service industry: public accounting. A quantitative research design was employed using a survey distributed via social media platforms, yielding 1,502 valid responses from Millennials employed in the USA public accounting firms. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4. The results confirm a direct relationship between job satisfaction and retention as well as three main antecedents of millennials' job satisfaction: work environment conditions, relationships with superiors, and compensation (pay and benefits). The study also reveals a moderating effect of employee well-being which intensifies the positive impact of employee satisfaction on retention. Managerial implications include insights from additional online interviews with millennial CPAs.

Keywords: internal marketing; retention; turnover; satisfaction; millennials; public accounting.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBSR.2026.154658

International Journal of Business and Systems Research, 2026 Vol.20 No.3, pp.319 - 340

Received: 19 Feb 2025
Accepted: 20 Nov 2025
Published online: 09 Jul 2026 *

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