A review and meta-analysis of research on the relationship between behavioral intentions and employee turnover.

Abstract

Behavioral intentions have an expanding role in the field of turnover research They are becoming increasingly indispensable to empirical and theoretical work linking turnover behavior to psychological antecedents A literature review of published and unpublished works was undertaken to examine the magnitude and consistency of intent-turnov er relationships . Meta-analysis was used to cumulate and average results over studies A weighted average correlation of 50 was calculated between behavioral intentions and employee turnover Intentions were more predictive of attrition than overall job satisfaction, satisfaction with the work itself, or organizationa l commitment Furthermore, an analysis of potential moderator variables indicated that the length of time between procurement of predictor and criterion data influences the magnitude of intent-turnover relationships Behavioral intentions have rapidly come into vogue in the field of turnover research Prior to 1974, few published references to behavioral intentions existed in industrial and organizational psychology research domains (Locke, 1968; Lyons, 1971). However, since that date a veritable explosion of intentturnover research has taken place (Horn, Katerberg, & Hulin, 1979; Kraut, 1975; Mobley, Griffeth, Hand, & Meglino, 1979; Price & Mueller, 1981). Added impetus for the study of behavioral intentions stems m part from theoretical arguments that have singled them out as the most direct and immediate cognitive antecedents of overt behavior (Fishbem & Ajzen, 1975; Tnandis, 1977). The present investigation reviews the published literature linking behavioral intentions and employee turnover to determine the average magnitude of these correlations and to identify potential moderators of this relationship. Average va

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