Date of Award

1-1-2022

Language

English

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

College/School/Department

Department of Psychology

Program

Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Content Description

1 online resource (ii, 48 pages) : illustrations

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Dev K Dalal

Committee Members

Kevin J Williams

Keywords

career commitment, organizational commitment, regulatory foci, turnover, turnover intention, work commitment, Labor turnover, Regulatory focus (Psychology), Commitment (Psychology), Vocational guidance

Subject Categories

Psychology

Abstract

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic situation that causes restructure or downsize of organizations, the annual turnover rate is increasing. Why do employees churn? This study integrates regulatory foci (i.e., promotion and prevention focus) theory with theories of work commitment (i.e., organizational and career commitment) and turnover intentions to propose that individual differences in regulator focus differentially relate to organization and career commitment, particularly highlighting career commitment, and that these work commitment variables differentially relate to turnover intentions. To test these propositions, I used a three- wave observational design with a two-week separation targeting high-tech professionals working in the United States. Based on a two-step structural equation modeling analysis, I found support for the relations between prevention focus and organizational commitment and partial support for the relation between promotion focus and career commitment. Likewise, I found partial support for the relation between career commitment and turnover intentions. The proposed indirect effects, however, were not supported. This study provided an explication for how each regulatory focus can be related to organizational and career commitment and how career planning in career commitment can be related to turnover intentions. Following the results, theoretical implications as well as limitations and future direction of this study were discussed.

Included in

Psychology Commons

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