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Relationship between employability and turnover intention: The moderating effects of organizational support and career orientation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 November 2019

Yevhen Baranchenko Open the ORCID record for Yevhen Baranchenko [Opens in a new window] ,
Yizhong Xie ,
Zhibin Lin ,
Marco Chi Keung Lau  and
Jie Ma
Yevhen Baranchenko*
Affiliation:
Northumbria University – Newcastle Business School, City Campus East, Newcastle upon TyneNE1 8ST, UK
Yizhong Xie
Affiliation:
Nanjing University of Science and Technology – School of Economics and Management, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Zhibin Lin
Affiliation:
Durham University Business School, Durham, UK
Marco Chi Keung Lau
Affiliation:
University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, Kirklees, UK
Jie Ma
Affiliation:
Northumbria University – Newcastle Business School, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This study examines the impact of employability on turnover intention by differentiating internal and external employability, and considering the possible moderating roles of perceived organizational support (POS) and career orientation. Using a sample of 411 responses to a two-wave questionnaire survey generated from six cities in China, we find that external employability positively influenced turnover intention, but internal employability negatively influenced turnover intention. The results also indicate that POS had a positive moderating effect only on the relationship between external employability and turnover intention. Furthermore, for employees with disengaged career orientation, external employability exerts a strong impact on turnover intention. This study adds to the limited research empirically linking employability and turnover intention, whereas the findings can be used by HRM practitioners to factor in organizational support and career orientation initiatives that improve the retention of employees with high external employability.

Keywords

employee relationsturnoverorganizational behaviorprotean and boundaryless careers
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , March 2020 , pp. 241 - 262
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2019

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