This paper explores the directions of causality between selected work-related variables and quitting intentions. Based on the premise that quitting intentions may stem from predispositions that affect work-related variables, longitudinal data collected from a direct sales population were analyzed. When compared with previous literature, the results show the existence of reverse causality, indicating that quitting intentions are more likely to effect the perceptions of such variables as organizational climate, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BagozziRichard P.1980. “Performance and Satisfaction in an Industrial Sales Force: An Examination of their Antecedents and Simultaneity.” Journal of Marketing44 (Spring): 65–77.
2.
BatemanThomas S., and StrasserStephen1984. “A Longitudinal Analysis of the Antecedents of Organizational Commitment.” Academy of Management Journal27 (March): 95–112.
3.
BellengerDanny N., BernhardtKenneth L., and WaymanWilbur S.Jr.1974. “Student Attitudes Toward Selling as a Career: Implications for Marketing Education.” In 1974 Combined Proceedings. Ed. CurhanRonald C.. Chicago: American Marketing Association, 180–184.
4.
BluedornAllen C.1982. “The Theories of Turnover: Causes, Effects, and Meaning.” In Research in the Sociology of Organizations. Vol. 1. Ed. BacharachSamuel. Greenwich, CT: JAI, 75–128.
CaldwellDavid F., and O'ReillyCharles A.III1982. “Task Perceptions and Job Satisfaction: A Question of Causality.” Journal of Applied Psychology61 (June): 361–369.
7.
CampbellDonald T.1963. “From Description to Experimentation: Interpreting Trends as Quasi-experiments.” In Problems in Measuring Change. Ed. HarrisChester W.. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 212–242.
8.
ChonkoLawrence B.1986. “Organizational Commitment and the Sales Force.” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management6 (November): 19–27.
9.
ChurchillGilbert A.Jr., FordNeil M., and WalkerOrville C.Jr.1976. “Organizational Climate and Job Satisfaction in the Sales Force.” Journal of Marketing Research13 (November): 323–332.
10.
CookRobert W.1987. “College Student Interest in a Sales Career: The Gap Narrows But Problems Remain.” In Developments in Marketing Science X. Eds. HawesJon M., and GlisanGeorge B.. Akron, OH: Academy of Marketing Science, 359–362.
11.
CornwellJeffrey R., and GrimesAndrew J.1987. “Cosmopolitan-local: A Cross-lagged Correlation Analysis of the Relationship between Professional Role Orientations and Behaviors in an Academic Organization.” Human Relations40 (May): 281–298.
12.
CottonJohn L., and TuttleJeffrey M.1986. “Employee Turnover: A Meta Analysis and Review with Implications for Research.” Academy of Management Review11 (January): 55–70.
13.
DitzGerhard W.1967. “Status Problems of the Salesman.” MSU Business Topics15 (Winter): 68–80.
14.
DubinskyAlan J.1980. “Recruiting College Students for the Salesforce.” Industrial Marketing Management9 (February): 37–46.
15.
EwingJohn S.1962. “Honesty, Salesmen, and College Students.” Sales Managements89 (September 7): 67–69.
16.
FarkasArthur J., and TetrickLois E.1989. “A Three Wave Longitudinal Analysis of the Causal Ordering of Satisfaction and Commitment on Turnover Decisions.” Journal of Applied Psychology74 (December): 855–868.
17.
FishbeinMartin, and AjzenIcek1975. Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research.Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
18.
FutrellCharles M., and ParasuramanA.1984. “The Relationship of Satisfaction and Performance to Salesforce Turnover.” Journal of Marketing48 (Fall): 33–40.
19.
HackmanJ. Richard, and OldhamGreg R.1976. “Motivation Through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory.” Organizational Behavior and Human Performance16 (August): 250–279.
20.
HackmanJ. Richard, and OldhamGreg R.1980. Work Redesign.Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
21.
HallDouglas T., and LawlerEdward E.III1969. “Unused Potential in Research and Development Organizations.” Research Management12 (September): 339–376.
22.
HomPeter W., and GriffethRodger W.1991. “Structural Equations Modeling Test of a Turnover Theory: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analyses.” Journal of Applied Psychology76 (June): 350–366.
23.
HomPeter W., GriffethRodger W., and SellaroC. Louise1984. “The Validity of Mobley's (1977) Model of Employee Turnover.” Organizational Behavior and Human Performance34 (October): 141–174.
24.
HomPeter W., KaterbergRalphJr., and HulinCharles L.1979. “Comparative Examination of Three Approaches to the Prediction of Turnover.” Journal of Applied Psychology64 (June): 280–290.
25.
HulinCharles L.1966. “Job Satisfaction and Turnover in a Female Clerical Population.” Journal of Applied Psychology50 (August): 280–285.
26.
HulinCharles L.1968. “Effects of Changes in Job-Satisfaction Levels on Employee Turnover.” Journal of Applied Psychology52 (April): 122–126.
27.
HuselidMark A., and DayNancy E.1991. “Organizational Commitment, Job Involvement, and Turnover: A Substantive and Methodological Analysis.” Journal of Applied Psychology76 (June): 380–391.
28.
JamesLawrence R., and JonesAllan P.1976. “Organizational Climate: A Review of Theory and Research.” Psychological Bulletin81 (December): 1096–1112.
29.
JamesLawrence R., HartmanAlan, StebbinsMichael W., and JonesAllan P.1977. “Relationship between Psychological Climate and VIE Model for Work Motivation.” Personnel Psychology30 (Summer): 229–254.
30.
JohnstonMark W., ParasuramanA., FutrellCharles M., and BlackWilliam C.1990. “A Longitudinal Assessment of the Impact of Selected Organizational Influences on Salespeople's Organizational Commitment During Early Employment.” Journal of Marketing Research27 (August): 333–344.
31.
JohnstonMark W., VaradarajanP., FutrellCharles M., and SagerJeffrey1987. “The Relationship between Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Among New Salespeople.” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management7 (November): 29–38.
32.
JonesAllan P., JamesLawrence R., BruniJohn R., HornickChris W., and SellsS. B.1977. “Psychological and Organizational Climate: Dimensions and Relationships.” In Technical Report 76–4.Fort Worth: Institute of Behavioral Research, Texas Christian University.
33.
KaczkaEugene, and KirkRoy V.1967. “Managerial Climate, Work Groups, and Organizational Performance.” Administrative Science Quarterly12 (September): 253–272.
34.
KennyDavid A.1975. “Cross-lagged Panel Correlation: A Test for Spuriousness.” Psychological Bulletin82 (November): 887–903.
35.
KennyDavid A.1979. Correlation and Causality.New York: John Wiley.
36.
KochJames L., and SteersRichard M.1978. “Job Attachment, Satisfaction, and Turnover among Public Employees.” Journal of Vocational Behavior12 (February): 119–128.
37.
LaFolletteWilliam R., and SimsHenry P.Jr.1975. “Is Satisfaction Redundant with Organizational Climate?” Organizational Behavior and Human Performance13 (April): 257–278.
38.
LeighJames H., LucasGeorge H.Jr., and WoodmanRichard W.1988. “Effects of Perceived Organizational Factors on Role Stress-Job Attitude Relationships.” Journal of Management14 (March): 41–58.
39.
LeonardMyron J., StephensKeith T., and GrossWalter1983. “Male vs. Female Student Attitudes Toward Careers in Professional Selling.” In Developments in Marketing Science VI. Ed. RogersJohn C.III. Logan, UT: Academy of Marketing Science, 232–236.
40.
LevinIra, and StokesJoseph P.1989. “Dispositional Approach to Job Satisfaction: Role of Negative Affectivity.” Journal of Applied Psychology74 (October): 752–758.
41.
LockeEdwin A.1979. “The Supervisor as ‘Motivator’: His Influence on Employee Performance and Satisfaction.” In Motivation and Work Behavior. Eds. SteersRichard M., and PorterLyman W.. New York: McGraw-Hill, 377–390.
42.
MasonJohn L.1965. “The Low Prestige of Personal Selling.” Journal of Marketing29 (October): 7–10.
43.
MeyerJohn P., and AllenNatalie J.1988. “Links between Work Experiences and Organizational Commitment During the First Year of Employment: A Longitudinal Analysis.” Journal of Occupational Psychology61 (September): 195–209.
44.
MeyerJohn P., AllenNatalie J., and GellatlyIan R.1990. “Affective and Continuance Commitment to the Organization: Evaluation of Measures and Analysis of Concurrent and Time-Lagged Relations.” Journal of Applied Psychology75 (December): 710–720.
45.
MobleyWilliam H.1977. “Intermediate Linkages in the Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Employee Turnover.” Journal of Applied Psychology62 (April): 237–240.
46.
MobleyWilliam H., GriffethRodger W., HandH. H., and MeglinoB. M.1979. “Review and Conceptual Analysis of the Employee Turnover Process.” Psychological Bulletin86 (May): 493–522.
47.
MobleyWilliam H., HornerStanley O., and HollingsworthA. T.1978. “An Evaluation of Precursors of Hospital Employee Turnover.” Journal of Applied Psychology63 (August): 408–414.
48.
MotowidloStephan J.1983. “Predicting Sales Turnover from Pay Satisfaction and Expectation.” Journal of Applied Psychology68 (August): 484–489.
49.
MuehlingDarrel D., and WeeksWilliam A.1988. “Women's Perceptions of Personal Selling: Some Positive Results.” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management8 (May): 11–20.
O'ReillyCharles A.III, and CaldwellDavid F.1981. “The Commitment and Job Tenure of New Employees: Some Evidence of Post-Decisional Justification.” Administrative Science Quarterly26 (December): 597–616.
52.
O'ReillyCharles A.III, ParletteG. Nicholas, and BloomJoan R.1980. “Perceptual Measures of Task Characteristics: The Biasing Effects of Differing Frames of Reference and Job Attitudes.” Academy of Management Journal23 (March): 118–131.
53.
ParasuramanA., and FutrellCharles M.1983. “Demographics, Job Satisfaction, and Propensity to Leave of Industrial Salesmen.” Journal of Business Research11 (March): 33–48.
54.
PaulGordon W., and WorthingParker1970. “A Student Assessment of Selling.” Southern Journal of Business5 (July): 57–65.
55.
PierceJon L., and DunhamRandall B.1987. “Organizational Commitment: Pre-Employment Propensity and Initial Work Experiences.” Journal of Management13 (Spring): 163–178.
56.
PorterLyman W., SteersRichard M., MowdayRichard T., and BoulianP. V.1974. “Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover among Psychiatric Technicians.” Journal of Applied Psychology59 (October): 603–609.
57.
PriceJames L.1977. The Study of Turnover.Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press.
58.
PriceJames L., and MuellerCharles W.1981. “A Causal Model of Turnover for Nurses.” Academy of Management Journal24 (September): 543–565.
59.
PritchardRobert D., and KarasickBernard W.1973. “The Effects of Organizational Climate on Managerial Job Performance and Satisfaction.” Organizational Behavior and Human Performance9 (February): 126–146.
60.
PulakosElaine D., and SchmittNeal1983. “A Longitudinal Study of a Valence Model Approach for the Prediction of Job Satisfaction of New Employees.” Journal of Applied Psychology68 (May): 307–312.
61.
RandolphW. Alan.1981. “Cross-Lagged Correlational Analysis in Dynamic Settings.” Journal of Applied Psychology66 (August): 431–436.
62.
RogosaDavid.1980. “A Critique of Cross-Lagged Correlation.” Psychological Bulletin88 (September): 245–260.
63.
RucksConway.1978. “It's Time for Salespeople's Lib.” Sales & Marketing Management120 (March): 51–58.
SchneiderBenjamin.1975. “Organizational Climate: An Essay.” Personnel Psychology28 (Winter): 447–479.
66.
SheridanJohn E., and SlocumJohn W.Jr.1975. “The Direction of the Causal Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Work Performance.” Organizational Behavior and Human Performance14 (October): 159–172.
67.
SmithFrank J.1977. “Work Attitudes as Predictors of Specific Day Attendance.” Journal of Applied Psychology62 (February): 16–19.
68.
StawBarry M., and RossJerry1985. “Stability in the Midst of Change: A Dispositional Approach to Job Attitudes.” Journal of Applied Psychology70 (August): 469–480.
69.
StawBarry M., BellNancy E., and ClausenJohn A.1986. “The Dispositional Approach to Job Attitudes: A Lifetime Longitudinal Test.” Administrative Science Quarterly31 (March): 56–77.
70.
SteelRobert P., and OvalleNestor K.1984. “A Review and Metaanalysis of Research on the Relationship between Behavioral Intentions and Employee Turnover.” Journal of Applied Psychology69 (November): 673–686.
71.
SteersRichard M.1977. “Antecedents and Outcomes of Organizational Commitment.” Administrative Science Quarterly22 (March): 46–56.
72.
SteersRichard M., and MowdayRichard T.1981. “Employee Turnover and Post-Decision Accommodation Processes.” In Research in Organizational Behavior. Vol 3. Eds. StawBarry M., and CummingsL. L.Greenwich, CT: JAI, 235–281.
73.
StraussGeorge.1977. “Managerial Practices.” In Improving Life at Work. Eds. HackmanJ. Richard, and SuttleJ. Lloyd. Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear, 297–363.
74.
SwanJohn E., and AdkinsRobert T.1980–1981. “The Image of the Salesperson: Prestige and Other Dimensions.” Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management1 (Fall/Winter): 48–56.
75.
SwinyardWilliam R.1982. “On Campus, Selling is Still a Tough Sale.” Sales and Marketing Management129 (August 16): 58–59.
76.
ThompsonDonald L.1972. “Stereotype of the Salesman.” Harvard Business Review50 (January-February): 20–21.
77.
TyagiPradeep K.1982. “Organizational Climate and Salesperson Motivation.” Journal of Marketing Research19 (May): 240–254.
78.
WanousJohn P.1974. “A Causal-Correlational Analysis of the Job Satisfaction and Performance Relationship.” Journal of Applied Psychology59 (April): 1391–144.
79.
WilliamsonNicholas C.1983. “A Method for Determining the Causes of Salesperson Turnover.” Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management3 (May): 26–35.
80.
WotrubaThomas R.1992. “Direct Selling in the Year 2000.” In The Future of U.S. Retailing: An Agenda for the 21st Century. Ed. PetersonRobert A.. New York: Quorum Books, 187–211.
