Moderators of the relationship between turnover intentions and performance

Purpose Drawing from the theory of reasoned action, this study investigated the moderators of the relationship between turnover intentions and performance at work. Design/methodology/approach This study employed hierarchical multiple regression to test three proposed hypotheses regarding the above relationship. It used 1,011 dyad data from employees and their supervisors from eight professional organizations in Vietnam from employees and their supervisors to reduce research bias. Findings Employee attitude toward change and the level of job engagement of the employee affected the nature of the relationship between turnover intentions and job performance. When the attitude toward change was less favorable, the relationship between turnover intentions and job performance was positive. However, when the attitude toward change was more favorable, the relationship between turnover intentions and job performance was non-significant. For the moderating role of job engagement, we found that for employees with a high level of job engagement, the relationship between turnover intentions and job performance was positive. However, for employees with a low level of job engagement, the relationship between turnover intentions and job performance was non-significant. Practical implications Unlike the implications from previous research, turnover intentions of employees might not adversely affect their performance. Under two conditions – a high level of job engagement and a less favorable attitude toward change - employees with turnover intentions might actually perform better. Originality/value Unlike the vast number of studies that have investigated the relationship between job performance and turnover intentions (as a proxy of turnover), this paper focuses on the relationship between turnover intentions and job performance to show evidence for two important boundary conditions.