Leadership influences on turnover intentions of academic staff in tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The higher education sector relies on motivated and efficient academic staff in order to provide high levels of quality education expected for the development and nurturing of a country's human capital base. Academics leaving these organizations, impact on the institutions of higher education's capacity to offer quality education. The literature reveals that turnover is costly from both financial and competitive advantage perspectives, especially when the organization loses intellectual capital to its competitor(s) in the region as well as abroad. The broad objective of this study was to determine how leadership relations influence the turnover intentions of academic staff in tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe. The findings reveal that leadership behavior can positively or negatively influence, stay or quit decisions respectively.