Abstract

Although intention to quit an organizationrepresents one of the better predictors of actualturnover behavior, the intention behavior relationshipvaries widely across studies. This study argues that one reason for the variability is that individualspossess different motives for stating a high intentionof leaving, and it is the motive that accounts in partfor when the intention will manifest itself in actual turnover. Using a longitudinal design,expectations were supported in that only thoseintentions motivated by disaffection with theorganization and its values resulted in the loss ofemployees.