The effect of employee perception of management cheap talk on ethical climate and turnover intent: Evidence from store and employee-level analyses

This study investigates the impact of employee perceptions of management cheap talk on ethical climate and turnover intent within the context of diversity. I define diversity cheap talk as the discrepancy between management’s communication and actual workplace practices. Drawing on the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory and utilizing both store-level and employee-level longitudinal analysis, I find that diversity cheap talk negatively influences the ethical climate and increases turnover intent. To address endogeneity concerns, I employ a cross-lagged variable test and exploit hate crime occurrences near employee residences. The adverse effects of diversity cheap talk on ethical climate and turnover intent are more pronounced in stores with employees who have a heightened interest in diversity and have undergone formal diversity training, and less pronounced in stores with diversity-aligned hiring practices. Furthermore, store-level analyses suggest an increase in employee turnover following diversity cheap talk, while employee-level tests suggest that exposure to discrimination and lack of management remedial action may be a potential mechanism for identifying diversity cheap talk.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Accountancy

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Baik, Young Il

Contributors dc:contributor

• Chen, Clara
• Du, Fei
• Godsell, David
• Brown, Nerissa
• Leiby, Justin
• Almeida, Heitor

• Employees
• Culture

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Young Il Baik

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124639

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F124639