David Allen

• University of Memphis

Changes in modern organizations toward shorter tenures and faster employee socializations have shifted the mentoring landscape away from dyadic programs toward more collective approaches where mentoring is provided on an ongoing basis informally and idiosyncratically. However, little is known about how this shift has impacted the ways in which empl...

The retention of human capital remains a vital point of interest for both organizations and scholars today, as it has for over a century. While many models of voluntary turnover exist, we identify two turnover theories, Steel's (2002) Evolutionary Job Search Model of Turnover and Lee and Mitchell's Unfolding Model of Turnover, that we believe offer...

Relational perspectives on turnover antecedents have gained momentum in recent years, highlighting three distinct relational forces underlying employees' turnover decisions—notably, job embeddedness, social capital, and turnover contagion. However, these distinct perspectives are typically examined independent of one another, with little theoretica...

Two important contributions to the understanding of voluntary turnover are the ideas that employees become embedded in a net or web of restraining forces on‐ and off‐the‐job and that they experience varying degrees of control and desire that yield proximal withdrawal states explaining turnover motivations. We build on these ideas in two multi‐wave...

This paper integrates field theory with a social network perspective to show that perceptions of the quality of the organization's change communication become collectively shared in friend groups, and that these collective perceptions positively influence collective job performance in those friend groups. Findings from two studies show that these c...

Employee “water cooler conversations” with coworkers, as well as interpersonal interactions outside of one's employing organization, are key sources of information about the labor market. Although the value of network ties for job search is well recognized, research to date has tended to focus on how network ties relate to job search outcomes, prov...

Although turnover intentions are the strongest predictors of voluntary turnover behaviours, many employees who express intentions to leave do not. To explain why some employees translate turnover intentions into behaviour and others do not, this study examines the moderating effect of temporal focus (i.e. the degree to which one thinks about the pa...

We focus on former entrepreneurs’ employment in established firms. Understanding the retention of former entrepreneurs—those who were previously founders of business ventures—is important to firms hoping to reap the benefits of their entrepreneurial experience. We compare the duration of their retention to other employees without entrepreneurial ex...

Previous research has focused on general best practices for onboarding organizational newcomers. In this study, we shift the conversation to address the question: for whom are certain socialization tactics more or less beneficial? Whereas institutionalized socialization tactics provide considerable structure and help newcomers adjust, less is known...

Although greater on- and off-the-job embeddedness are both predominately assumed to constrain voluntary turnover, we theorize how greater off-the-job embeddedness could lead employees facing high interrole conflict to be more likely to quit, though greater on-the-job embeddedness would reduce turnover likelihood in the face of conflict. Accordingly...

Although social network methods have proven valuable for predicting employee turnover, an informed use of network methods for turnover management requires an integration and extension of extant networks-turnover research. To that end, this article addresses two relatively neglected issues in the networks-turnover literature: the lack of integration...

The family-centric priorities of family firms often disadvantage nonfamily employees and make retaining them problematic. Our study posits organizational identification, or internalizing the firm's identity as one's own, as a key factor in overcoming this challenge. We adopt a social network perspective to examine the differential impact of friends...

Since the turn of the century, a growing body of research has systemically examined the role of fun in the workplace. In general, the extant body of research has demonstrated that fun in the workplace has a beneficial impact for individuals and organizations, but some evidence has been mixed. To help advance research in this area, the aims of this...

Purpose This study examined a “change of scenery” effect on performance in major league baseball (MLB). We also tested this effect for voluntary versus involuntary employee departures, as well as employees returning to a past employer. Design/Methodology/Approach This study uses publicly available MLB performance data from 2004 to 2015. The data c...

Much of organizational justice research has tended to take a static approach, linking employees’ contemporaneous justice levels to outcomes of interest. In the present study, we tested a dynamic model emphasizing the interactive influences of both justice levels and trajectories for predicting behavioral social exchange outcomes. Specifically, our...

The past two decades have seen a significant rise in both frequency and size of mergers and acquisitions in the US, many of which have been associated with considerable interruption of organizational activities and a host of negative outcomes for employees. In this study of 763 US-based airline employees, we identify threat appraisal as a key mecha...

The flow of human capital into and out of organizations is a crucial aspect of organizational functioning. Recruitment is the primary mechanism for attracting human capital to the organization, whereas retention involves keeping desired employees in the fold once they are employed. Although extensive research explores and informs recruitment and re...

Job embeddedness is predominately assumed to benefit employees, work groups, and organizations (e.g., higher performance, social cohesion, and lower voluntary turnover). Challenging this assumption, we examined the potentially negative outcomes that may occur if employees are embedded in an adverse work environment—feeling “stuck,” yet unable to ex...

As evidenced by the publication of three meta-analyses in 2013, the importance of collective turnover is garnering increasing attention. Although each of these meta-analyses delivers a unique and significant impact to the HR literature, there remain opportunities to expand and build upon their contributions. In a comparison of the three extant meta...

Drawing from existing research and concepts in social psychology, we identify “positive illusions” as an important construct for understanding long-term, stable, and satisfying employment relationships. We argue that the cognitive processes that modify the way in which individuals view their world can aid in promoting and enhancing the quality of e...

Psychological individual differences, such as personality, affectivity, and general mental ability, have been shown to predict numerous work-related behaviors. Although there is substantial research demonstrating relationships between psychological individual differences and withdrawal behaviors (i.e., lateness, absenteeism, and turnover), there is...

This paper integrates psychological and sociological perspectives to provide a more complete explanation of the link between intended and actual turnover. Findings from two studies suggest that the translation of intentions to leave one's job into turnover behavior is attenuated by centrality in organizational advice and friendship networks. Our re...

The validity-adverse impact tradeoff associated with the relationships among general mental ability (GMA), ethnicity, and employee performance represents one of the most pressing concerns in organizational staffing. We conducted four studies with 273 bank employees and 197 university students designed to assess the extent to which executive attenti...

Purpose Our purpose was to inductively examine how employees’ perceptions of stressor and resource work characteristics relate to nine distinct facets of job satisfaction, in accordance with the demand–control (–support) [JDC(S)] theory. Job satisfaction is a multidimensional construct composed of various facets that differ greatly from one other....

Newcomers are likely to have job satisfaction decline after they change their jobs and get familiar with their new jobs. This is called “hangover effect”. This article examined how to reduce newcomers’ hangover effect by organizational socialization tactics. We explored the dynamic attitude change among newcomers in multiple jobs with four waves of...

Extending the growing body of research on fun in the workplace, this article reports on a study examinining the relationship between fun and employee turnover. Specifically, this research focused on the influence of three forms of fun on turnover - fun activities, coworker socializing and manager support for fun. With a sample of 296 servers from 2...

We propose that theory and research on how individuals deal with loss or potential loss of personal relationships can inform our understanding of how employees deal with the loss or potential loss of the employment relationship. In particular, we examine the possibility that attachment theory – which plays a central role in explaining an individual...

Pro-social rule breaking (PSRB), rule-breaking to promote the interests of the organization, is a burgeoning topic on the scholarly landscape, but drivers of this behavior remain largely unexplained. This paper seeks to extend theory on PSRB by conceptualizing this behavior as an ethical decision requiring tradeoffs and ethical assessments. Specifi...

We propose that there is a dominant analytical mindset (DAM) influencing employee turnover scholarship. We broaden the conceptualization of analytical mindsets to incorporate elements of research design, data collection, and measurement in addition to analytical strategies, and we argue that analytical mindsets are manifested in the methodological...

Employee turnover is recognized as costly and disruptive. The costs of employee turnover often exceed 100% of the annual salary for the vacated position. Yet managers are often unaware of the full range of tools and tactics available for effectively managing employee turnover. Based on award-winning research and professional experience, the article...

This study takes a person-centered approach to enhance our understanding of job search and intentions to leave among currently employed individuals. Four categories of seekers and stayers in the organization were identified based on their unique patterns of turnover intentions, behaviors, and reasons: Embedded Stayers, Detached Stayers, Dissatisfie...

We propose and test a comprehensive model of burnout, as influenced by justice and support, and as it impacts the turnover process. Deriving our conceptual model from conservation of resources theory, augmented by several domain-specific theories, we investigate three forms of justice (distributive, procedural, and interactional justice) and two so...

Background: Retention of nursing staff remains an important issue for health care managers. Turnover research has focused primarily on motivational and social factors as keys to retention, whereas the role of the physical work conditions has received considerably less attention. However, work design theory suggests that physical work conditions ma...

Retention of new hires is a critical issue for organizations. We propose that relationships are important mechanisms through which socialization tactics influence commitment and turnover. The key theoretical mechanisms connecting socialization tactics to turnover in our model are the extent to which newcomers perceive their relationship with the or...

Although studies indicate that perceived social exclusion is positively related to self-defeating behavior (SDB) and turnover intentions, studies have not integrated this research to examine the potential links among perceived social exclusion at work, SDB, and actual turnover. Using multisource data obtained from 246 employees and their immediate...

Previous research has primarily revealed a negative relationship between collective employee turnover and organizational performance. However, this research also suggests underlying complexity in the relationship. To clarify the nature of this relationship, the authors conduct a meta-analytic review in which they test and provide support for a port...

Purpose We investigate job seeker visual and verbal attention, and perceptions regarding company web sites in the applicant generation phase of recruitment. Design/Methodology/Approach We report three studies using varied methodological approaches including eye-tracking, verbal protocol analysis (VPA), and survey data. Findings Eye-tracking resul...

This study evaluates the meaning behind the different approaches to measuring dual commitment in a sample of 2568 unionized South Korean electronics employees. Results show that individuals can be simultaneously committed to both the union and the organization. We then examine the utility of dual commitment by examining its prediction of intention...

A meta-analytic path analysis with k = 52 studies and sample size of roughly 17,000 showed that enhanced perceptions of organizational hon-esty is the primary mechanism by which realistic job previews (RJPs) influence voluntary turnover. This suggests revisions to RJP theory to incorporate social exchange and the way RJPs lead individuals to feel a...

A meta-analytic path analysis with k = 52 studies and sample size of roughly 17,000 showed that enhanced perceptions of organizational honesty is the primary mechanism by which realistic job previews (RJPs) influence voluntary turnover. This suggests revisions to RJP theory to incorporate social exchange and the way RJPs lead individuals to feel ab...

The individual-level personality-based theory of self-management failure posits that personality predisposes individuals to self-defeating behavior that, in turn, leads to self-management failure (Renn, Allen, Fedor, & Davis, 2005). To provide a partial test of the theory, a model is hypothesized that operationalized personality with neuroticism an...

Despite extensive scholarly research and organizational interest in employee turnover, there remains a gap between science and practice in this area. This article bridges this gap and replaces several misconceptions about turnover with guidelines for evidence-based retention management strategies focused on shared understanding of turnover, knowled...

Entrepreneurship is important to capitalistic economies, and in management studies. Additionally, organizations recognize that human resources are imperative to survival. Although human resources is an important field, sparse theory has been applied to human resources in emerging organizations. Recognizing that emerging organizations are different...

With globalization intensifying, knowledge of cultural differences becomes increasingly critical. In the area of recruitment, a cross-cultural knowledge base is vital as the demand for international talent poses escalating challenges to effectively attracting desirable applicants. However, we know very little about the effectiveness of recruitment...

A model proposed and empirically tested by Aquino, Griffeth, Allen, and Hom (1997) using employees of a hospital in the northeastern United States was replicated in samples of Korean factory workers from two divisions of a large organisation. Results in both samples suggested that the relationships among model variables and relationships with withd...

The decision to leave a job has long been infused with risk for the worker deciding whether or not to leave the organization. However, the role of risk in employee turnover decisions has been largely unexplored in the turnover literature. This article integrates concepts from the turnover and risk literatures to better understand the decision proce...

Based on signaling theory, this study examines the impact of Web-site design and content characteristics on applicants' intentions to pursue employment, the mediating effects of engagement with the Web site and attitude toward the organization, and the moderating effects of applicant race on these relationships. The design characteristics of ease o...

Dynamic web-based multimedia communication has been increasingly used in organizations, necessitating a better understanding of how it affects their outcomes. We investigated factor structures and relationships involving media and information richness and communication outcomes using an experimental design. We found that these multimedia contexts w...

This study examines mediated effects of perceived supervisor support (PSS) and perceived organizational support (POS) on turnover cognitions, and their interactive effects on turnover behavior in a sample of 225 social services workers. In this study, we address a seeming contradiction in current findings regarding support and attachments to manage...

Recruitment theory and research show that objective characteristics, subjective considerations, and critical contact send signals to prospective applicants about the organization and available opportunities. In the generating applicants phase of recruitment, critical contact may consist largely of interactions with recruitment sources (e.g., newspa...

Abstract: One aspect of turnover decision-making that turnover models have not adequately considered is the risk associated with quitting one"s job and the potential that research on risky decision-making has for advancing understanding of turnover. We define risk and present turnover as a risky decision; review previous applications of risk in tur...

An unanswered question in recruitment research is whether and how the media used to communicate recruitment messages influence important outcomes. Drawing from research and theory on persuasive communication and media richness and features, we propose and test a model of the effects of media and media features (amount of information, opportunities...

Family-owned businesses face a unique obstacle: continuation of the business through intergenerational transfer. Most family-owned businesses cease when the next generation does not enter the business. This paper develops parallels between failed intergenerational transfer and voluntary turnover. Based on past research, we develop a taxonomy of cha...

The author proposes that socialization tactics influence newcomer turnover by embedding newcomers more extensively into the organization. Hypotheses are tested with a sample of newcomers in a large financial services organization. Results reveal that socialization tactics enable organizations to actively embed new employees; collective, fixed, and...

This article proposes an individual-level theoretical framework of self-management failure. First, the authors introduce six self-defeating behaviors (SDBs) to the organizational literature. Second, they explain how personality may predispose employees to engage in these SDBs. Third, they define self-management failure and analyze how each SDB can...

This article explores moderators of the relationship between turnover intentions and turnover behavior to better explain why some employees translate intentions into behavior and other employees do not. Individual differences in self-monitoring, locus of control, proactive personality, and risk aversion were examined. Results indicate that self-mon...

The purpose of this research was to develop a multidimensional measure of job market perceptions based on a meta-analysis. Item sets were developed to operationally define the dimensions and were tested among 3 samples. Results of a series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in 3 samples indicated that the 5 scales have satisfactory psy...

The decision of how many factors to retain is a critical component of exploratory factor analysis. Evidence is presented that parallel analysis is one of the most accurate factor retention methods while also being one of the most underutilized in management and organizational research. Therefore, a step-by-step guide to performing parallel analysis...

As more companies and employees become involved in telecommuting, researchers and managers will need to understand the effects of this relatively new working arrangement on the work perceptions and behaviors of the individual telecommuter. The extant empirical literature provides mixed results and is limited by a lack of theory; consequently, neith...

A model investigating antecedents of perceived organizational support (POS) and the role of POS in predicting voluntary turnover was developed and tested in two samples via structural equation modeling. Both samples of employees (N=215 department store salespeople; N=197 insurance agents) completed attitude surveys that were related to turnover dat...

A model investigating antecedents of perceived organizational support (POS) and the role of POS in predicting voluntary turnover was developed and tested in two samples via structural equation modeling. Both samples of employees (N = 215 department store salespeople; N = 197 insurance agents) completed attitude surveys that were related to turnover...

Web site design involves anticipating and understanding receivers' reactions to various web site attributes and using this information to make web Sites more useful and satisfying for them. The study assessed objective and subjective characteristics via surveys of information technology experts and non-experts. Results from the study demonstrated a...

Despite the importance of understanding the conditions under which high performing employees are more likely or less likely to voluntarily leave an organization, the nature of the relationship between job performance and voluntary turnover has proven to be elusive. A model of the performance-turnover relationship that highlights important moderator...

Contract Number: N00014-00-1-0769

Research and theory on the elusive yet important relationship between individual job performance and employee turnover is reviewed. An integrative model of the relationship is proposed which argues that performance may lead to turnover through three different routes. One, performance may influence turnover through cognitive and affective evaluation...

This study investigated the conditions under which employees are more or less likely to become targets of coworkers' aggressive actions. Results from a field survey showed people high in negative affectivity more often perceived themselves as victims, as did people who were low in the self-determination component of empowerment. In addition, hierar...

In the model tested, we posit that employees' outcome and supervisor satisfaction result froni referent outcomes, justifications, and the like-tihood of amelioration. These satisfaction facets are then related to turnover through withdrawal cognitions. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the fit ofthis model and alternalives. Although t...

Data from 666 employees of a large midwestern telephone company were analyzed to identify communication pattern differences between: (a) males and females; (b) exempt and nonexempt employees; and (c) employees using rich and lean communication media. MANOVA and discriminant function analyses results indicated females sent less information to superv...