Paper Type
Short
Paper Number
PACIS2026-1241
Description
Turnover among IT professionals remains a challenge for organizations. Turnover intention is typically operationalized as a single construct, with wanting-to-stay items treated as reverse-coded indicators of wanting to leave. We posit two alternative conceptualizations: (1) wanting to leave and wanting to stay as partially overlapping scales on a single continuum, and (2) wanting to leave and wanting to stay as independent constructs. Combining theoretical perspectives from organizational behavior, labor economics, motivational psychology, and linguistics, we develop SLICER, an integrated framework that explains differences between wanting to leave and wanting to stay. Preliminary evidence from an exploratory factor analysis supports their distinctness. Our systematic literature review identifies 39 commonly used antecedents of turnover intention, which serve as the basis for a quantitative study utilizing Split Questionnaire Design, confirmatory factor analysis, and multiple regression to assess whether wanting to leave and wanting to stay are formally distinct constructs influenced by different antecedents.
Recommended Citation
Bossler, Lukas Florian; Noeltner, Markus; and Kroenung, Julia, "Wanting to Leave ≠ Not Wanting to Stay – A Critical Revisit of Turnover Intention" (2026). PACIS 2026 Proceedings. 1.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2026/adv_theory/adv_theory/1
Wanting to Leave ≠ Not Wanting to Stay – A Critical Revisit of Turnover Intention
Turnover among IT professionals remains a challenge for organizations. Turnover intention is typically operationalized as a single construct, with wanting-to-stay items treated as reverse-coded indicators of wanting to leave. We posit two alternative conceptualizations: (1) wanting to leave and wanting to stay as partially overlapping scales on a single continuum, and (2) wanting to leave and wanting to stay as independent constructs. Combining theoretical perspectives from organizational behavior, labor economics, motivational psychology, and linguistics, we develop SLICER, an integrated framework that explains differences between wanting to leave and wanting to stay. Preliminary evidence from an exploratory factor analysis supports their distinctness. Our systematic literature review identifies 39 commonly used antecedents of turnover intention, which serve as the basis for a quantitative study utilizing Split Questionnaire Design, confirmatory factor analysis, and multiple regression to assess whether wanting to leave and wanting to stay are formally distinct constructs influenced by different antecedents.
Comments
15-Method