An examination of the curvilinear relationship between leader-member exchange and intent to turnover

Abstract

Based on the theoretical identification of three different motivational forces for voluntary turnover - affective, calculative, and alternative - we hypothesize that the relationship between supervisor-subordinate relationship quality (i.e., leader-member exchange) and turnover intentions is best represented as curvilinear as opposed to linear. We test this hypothesis in two organizational samples consisting of 402 employees from a water management district and 183 employees from a distribution services organization. We found support for the hypothesis in both samples. We offer directions for future research. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.