Turnover intention and preparedness for change: Exploring leader-member exchange and occupational self-efficacy as antecedents of two employability predictors

Purpose: “Turnover intention” is defined as an employee's intention to voluntarily change jobs or companies. The purpose of this paper is to set “turnover intention” in relation to “preparedness for change”. The former relates to the change of jobs or companies, the latter to employees' willingness to change their current workplace. Both phenomena relate to employability, i.e. an employee's adaptability to changing internal (i.e. the current employer) and external labour market demands. The main aim of this paper is to compare both phenomena and identify antecedents of employability, namely, leader‐member exchange (LMX) and occupational self‐efficacy.

Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire study was conducted in two samples of German and Dutch employees.

Findings: Results indicate that the two concepts (turnover intention, preparedness for change) are, to some extent, related and show, to some extent, similar relationships to the antecedents.

Research limitations/implications: In both samples, self‐reported data were used as well as a cross‐sectional design.

Practical implications: The results highlight that the direct supervisor of employees may serve as an organization's agent, with a determining influence on the employees' attitudes and behaviours towards the respective organization.

Originality/value: For the first time, turnover intention and “preparedness for change” are considered in one study and the mutual relationship is investigated.