Reducing turnover intentions of Black employees in the accounting profession: The roles of racial centrality, racial identity affirmation and supervisor closeness

Abstract

Within the accounting profession, a persistent organizational issue is higher turnover rates among Black employees compared to White employees. Yet, there is currently no clear theoretical understanding of the reasons behind this higher turnover and how to reduce it. Drawing from focus groups of Black certified public accountants and in-depth interviews with both Black accountants and White supervisors of Black accountants, we developed a theoretical framework highlighting crucial psychological, behavioral, and relational factors that we predict are associated with reduced turnover intentions by Black employees. We propose that Black employees' racial centrality is associated with racial identity affirmation—attempts to affirm one's racial identity by expressing and highlighting positive aspects of one's racial group. Furthermore, we posit that the relationship between racial identity affirmation and reduced turnover intentions is weaker for Black accountants who feel less close to their supervisors, as their affirmations are less likely to be validated. We tested these hypotheses using a sample of 222 Black accountants, and our findings supported our predictions. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory, practice, and future research.