How transformational leadership, psychological contract violation, empowerment and affective commitment influence employee’s intention to quit an organisation

Abstract

Purpose: The first aim of this article is to assess the influence of transformational leadership and some selected psychological constructs on employee’s intention to quit an organisation. The second aim is to develop and validate a conceptual model that depicts the linear relationships amongst the constructs of this study (i.e. transformational leadership, psychological contract violation, psychological empowerment, affective commitment and intention to quit).

Design/methodology/approach: The article employs correlational research method using quantitative research strategy. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was adopted in analysing data collected from 232 conveniently sampled respondents from various organisations in South Africa. The partial least square based SEM methodology was used to test the relationships amongst the various constructs of the study.

Findings/results: Transformational leadership showed indirect influence on intention to quit through psychological contract violation, psychological empowerment and affective organisational commitment.

Practical implications: The conceptual model of this study provides a useful psychological framework that guide organisations in the formulation and implementation of retention policies and practices. Further, it is imperative for organisations to encourage the adoption of transformational leadership at all levels of management. This is in consideration of the significant influences that this leadership behaviour exerts on individual employee’s intention to quit an organisation.

Originality/value: An extensive search of instant literature did not produce evidence of an existing literature regarding the relationship between transformational leadership and psychological contract violation as we found in this article. This is a theoretical contribution to the field of organisation psychology. Furthermore, the article developed a unique and a empirically validated model that explained the direction and strength of relationships amongst selected antecedents of intention to quit. This practical contribution provides managers with both pragmatic insights and theoretical framework in formulating an effective retention strategy for their organisations.