A Meta-Analytical Structural Equations Analysis of a Model of Employee Turnover

The present study combined meta-analysis with structural equations modeling (SEM) to validate Mobley, Horner, and Hollingsworth's (1978) turnover theory as well as alternative structural networks proposed by Dalessio, Silverman, and Schuck (1986), Hom, Griffeth, and Sellaro (1984), and Bannister and Griffeth (1986). We aggregated correlations from 17 studies (N = 5,013 employees), correcting for unreliability and sampling error. Then we used SEM to assess the models, comparing their relative fits to data. SEM analyses corroborated Mobley et al.'s model better than did past research, but these analyses also showed that Dalessio et al.'s and Hom et al.'s theories explained sample data more plausibly. Additional SEM tests found that turnover base rates, time lags between turnover and model assessments, unemployment rates, and occupational differences moderated the models' pathways. The present findings suggest various implications for these theories and for turnover research.