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University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Understanding voluntary turnover from an intentional change theory perspective

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The present study used the intentional change theory to understand why so many people choose to leave their jobs, by exploring the possible influence of a discrepancy between a person’s ideal and real selves (RISG) and their perceptions of the learning and development resources that their employers provided. These two predictors were hypothesized to predict turnover intentions and organizational commitment over and above the effect of key covariates. Perceived barriers to learning and development was also expected to moderate these relationships. Results supported these hypotheses, from analyses of data gathered from a sample of 248 insurance workers. RISG and perceived adequacy of learning and development resources predicted approximately 60% of the variance in turnover intentions and organizational commitment. These effects disappeared when accounting for barriers. The implications of this study are that understanding a workforce's RISG is a critical aspect to take into consideration when designing learning and development systems.

Degree

thesis:*
Grantor dc:publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Year dc:date.available
2026

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Mariani, Mark
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Cunningham, Christopher J. L.
  • Deepak, Pratibha; O'Leary, Brian J.
  • College of Arts and Sciences

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Language dc:language
English, eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/1009
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2194

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Tennessee - Chattanooga
Base URL
scholar.utc.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Mariani, Mark. Understanding voluntary turnover from an intentional change theory perspective. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 2026. https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/1009