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Abstract
After the seminal study ofturnover, by Mobley (1977), others (Hom, Grijfeth, & Sellaro, 1984,
Hom & Grijfeth, 1988; Steers & Mowday, 1981) have placed a major emphasis upon perceptions
ofthe external labor market (expected utility o f search and evaluation ofalternatives), intentions
to search, actual job search activities and the results o f that search upon the tumover decisin.
Yet, empirical research has tended to ignore the role that the job search plays in tumover. The
present study operationalized the concepts of: perceptions o f the external labor market, the
individuals job search and the results ofthe job search upon the individuar s decisin to quit.
Subjects were 106 alumni o f a branch campus o f a large midwestern university. Respondents
were employed in a variety of managerial and professional positions. Data were collected
through phone interviews and tumover was assessed over a thirteen-month period. Tumover was
accurately predicted by the evaluation ofalternatives, the intention to search, the expected utility
o fth e search and thoughts ofquitting. Each accounted fo r unique variance in the prediction o f
tumover. Past search behavior accounted fo r unique variance in the prediction of the intention
to search, the expected utility o f search and quitting, and thoughts o f quitting.
Introduction
Most research investigatng turnover has concentrated
on the relationships between the individual, his or her
present job, and employer. Frequently, these studies
have ignored the complexity of the individuals decisin
to quit ones present job by ignoring the individuals
interactions with the environment external to the organization, i.e, the enactment of job search behaviors and
the results of any job search.
Success or failure in the job search. Mobley emphasized the "process" nature of turnover and the signifi7
The present study attempted to enrich the measurement of the job search process by a greater elucidation
of the actual activities that constituted the respndenos
job search. The absence of such descriptive measurements of the job search have been notably absent from
previous investigations of turnover (Hom & Griffeth,
1988). When actual job-seeking behaviors have been
measured, it has usually occurred among the unemployed or new labor forc entrants (Schwab, Rynes, &
Aldag, 1987). The major contribution of the present
study over previous studies is the inclusin of measurements of the search activities and outcomes that an
individual might experience in his/her search for alternative employment. The inclusin of these variables
expands upon the models of turnover that have been
previously discussed.
Measures
Method
Sample
Thoughts of quitting. Thinking of quitting was assessed by asking each respondent, "In the last 3 months,
how often have you thought about leaving both your
present job and employer?" This item was on a four
point Likert scale: (1) never to (4) constantly. This item
is similar in conten and format to items asked in
severalprevious studies assessing this variable (Atchison
& Lefferts, 1972; Mobley, et al., 1978).
Table 1
Means, Standard Deviations and Intercorrelations Among
Variable
1. Turnover
Mean
s.d.
.11
.32
2. Intention to quit
5.11
1.97
.19*
3. Evaluation of alternatives
2.81
1.17
.34*
.15
4. Intention to search
3.65
2.32
.27*
.62*
.18*
.25*
.16*
.31*
-.05
5. Expected utility of
search and quitting
6. Thoughts of quitting
2.06
.79
-.05
.44*
.08
.50*
-.09
17.93
3.28
-.14
-.18*
-.18*
-.33*
.18*
-.47*
2.66
.91
.00
-.10
-.20*
-.22*
.31*
-.21*
.24*
.49
1.02
.10
.06
-.04
.00
.23*
-.18*
.19*
.36*
.76
1.59
.11
.27*
-.04
.22*
.12
.08
-.02
.29*
.38*
------
------
.16*
.27*
-.14
.43*
-.16*
.30*
-.16*
-.07
.19*
7. Job satisfaction
8. Job search success
10
11
.28*
-----
Table 2
Amount of Unique Variance Explained by Predictors and Their Standardized Regression Coefficients
CRITERIA
PREDICTORS
Intention
to Quit
Tumover
B
AR2
ar2
-.02
--
Intention to Quit
.000
Evaluation of
Altematives
.045* .22*
.000
.02
Intention to
Search
.029* -.23*
.159*
.52*
.026
-.20
Expected Utility
of Search
.030*
.24*
.028*
-.20*
.134*
Thoughts of
Quitting
.058*
.26*
.026*
-.21*
.003
Job Satisfaction
.020
-.17
.002
-.06
.000
.05
.003
# of Job Offers
.000
-.02
# o f Job Interviews
.000
-.03
Past Search
Behavior
.023
.26*
AR2
4R2
Thoughts
of
Quitting
AR2
Job
Search
Success
AR2
AR2
_ _
.------
------
-----
------
-----
------
------
-----
-----
------
.004
-.07
-----
-----
-----
------
-----
------
-----
-.07
.074*
-.33*
.10
------
-----
-----
------
-----
.027
-.19
.008
.01
.010
.01
.130* -.38*
.07
.054*
-.27*
.022
.17
.036*
.21*
.004
-.07
.000
-.01
.000
.03
.000
.000
.022
.02
.020
-.16
.080*
.31*
.014
-.14
.000
-.01
.018
-.15
.002
.04
.006
.09
.040*
.22*
.120*
.000
-.02
.027
-.20
.056*
-.27*
.033*
-.20
.048* .24*
.007
.40*
.008
Job
Interviews
Job
Offers
-----
------
-----
_
------
-.19
------
-----
___
.035
. . .
.36*
.09
. . .
R:
.52*
.69*
.52*
.62*
.40*
.55*
.43*
.39*
R2 :
.27
.47
.27
.38
.16
.30
.19
.16
*P < .05
A R2
ar 2
Expected
Utility of
Search and
Quitting
Intention
to
Search
Evaluation
of
Altemative
Discussion
Major Findings
Limitation
12
Appendix A
13
a.
b.
Appendix B
Means, Standard Deviations, Median and Range for Job Search Behaviors
Mean
1.
2.
3.
8.
9.
Standard
Deviation
Median
32.76
34.34
12
0-99
6.62
11.81
0-90
3.88
4.84
0-25
9.19
15.63
4.5
0-99
1.65
3.34
0-24
.93
2.37
0-12
.36
1.48
0-12
2.49
5.43
0-28
.51
1.15
0-6
1.51
3.57
0-25
Range
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