EFFECTIVENESS OF ORGANIZATIONAL EFFORTS TO LOWER TURNOVER INTENTIONS: THE MODERATING ROLE OF EMPLOYEE LOCUS OF CONTROL

In the current career climate characterized by change and turbulence, em-ployees may demonstrate limited psychological attachment to their employ-ers. Rousseau (1998) suggested that organizations can elicit psychological attachment from employees by reinforcing perceptions of organizational membership and demonstrating care and support for them. The effective-ness of these strategies, however, may depend on individuals ’ personality traits. In this study, we examined the moderating effect of locus of control in the relationship among four valued aspects of the work environment—infor-mation sharing, job signifi cance, opportunity for learning, and availability of rewards for performance—and employees ’ intentions to stay. In two empiri-cal studies, we found that information sharing, job signifi cance, and locus of control interacted to positively affect intentions to stay and that opportunity for learning, availability of rewards for performance, and locus of control also interacted to increase intentions to stay. Implications of these results for theory building and practice are discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc