Studying the effects of future-oriented factors and turnover when threatened

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to examine the nascent stream of literature connecting grit and protean career orientation to job attitudes, turnover intentions and job embeddedness and how job insecurity moderates the aforementioned associations.Design/methodology/approachBased on the threat-rigidity hypothesis and self-determination theory, a series of hypotheses were developed and tested among 1,151 current employees in the hotel/lodging industry in the USA. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data and explain the results.FindingsJob insecurity played a key moderating role between the lower-order dimensions of grit and the outcome variables, but not with protean career orientation. Specifically, passion and perseverance were associated with job attitudes and turnover intentions differently, questioning the validity of grit as a higher-order construct.Originality/valueThe study explains how the lower-order dimensions of grit explain turnover and job embeddedness while also suggesting that the validity of grit as a higher-order construct needs to be further examined. The results of this study also may advise managers on how to recruit new hires that will remain with their organizations for the long run.