Perceived job alternatives (PJAs) play a central role in most theoretical models of employee turnover. However, the state of the empirical literature remains confused. The present study brings clarity to the literature via a meta-analytic review, delineating the key theoretical and empirical differences between perceived alternative availability (PAA) and perceived alternative quality (PAQ).
Using meta-analysis, we estimate correlations for PAA and PAQ and turnover behavior, as well as with each other, allowing us to examine their joint and unique predictive validity.
Although PAA (r = 0.15) and PAQ (r = 0.22) exhibited somewhat similar correlations with turnover, relative weight analysis revealed that the effect of PJA on turnover was nearly three times stronger for PAQ than for PAA.
Our work is the first systematic attempt to disentangle the relative contributions of alternative availability versus alternative quality in predicting turnover, offering implications for theory, empirical research and practice.
