Unwilling to leave the good Samaritans: How peer interpersonal-oriented citizenship behaviors retains “me”

Abstract

An emerging body of turnover literature has adopted a relational perspective with a focus on peer influence. In this study, by drawing on the social information processing perspective, we attempt to explain how and when other team members’ interpersonal-oriented citizenship behavior (ICB), as symbolic cues, reduced focal member’s turnover intention. Based on a sample of 462 employees across 80 teams from 13 Chinese organizations, we found the symbolic cues of peer ICB enhanced team cohesion and then reduced focal employees’ turnover intention. In addition, servant leadership weakened the negative effect of peer ICB on turnover intention through team cohesion. These findings expand current theorization of the relational perspective and knowledge about how and when peer interpersonal citizenship behavior thwarts focal employee turnover intentions.