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When Does Employee Turnover Matter? Dynamic Member Configurations, Productive Capacity, and Collective Performance

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  • John P. Hausknecht

    (Department of Human Resource Studies, ILR School, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853)

  • Jacob A. Holwerda

    (Department of Human Resource Studies, ILR School, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853)

Abstract

In theory, employee turnover has important consequences for groups, work units, and organizations. However, past research has not revealed consistent empirical support for a relationship between aggregate levels of turnover and performance outcomes. In this paper, we present a novel conceptualization of turnover to explain when, why, and how it affects important outcomes. We suggest that greater attention to five characteristics—leaver proficiencies, time dispersion, positional distribution, remaining member proficiencies, and newcomer proficiencies—will reveal dynamic member configurations that predictably influence productive capacity and collective performance. We describe and illustrate the five properties, explain how particular member configurations exacerbate or diminish turnover's effects, and present a new measurement approach that captures these characteristics in a collective context and over time.

Suggested Citation

  • John P. Hausknecht & Jacob A. Holwerda, 2013. "When Does Employee Turnover Matter? Dynamic Member Configurations, Productive Capacity, and Collective Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(1), pages 210-225, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:24:y:2013:i:1:p:210-225
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1110.0720
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    5. Will, Matthias Georg, 2017. "Voluntary turnover: What we measure and what it (really) means," Discussion Papers 2017-01, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
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    7. Gjerløv-Juel, Pernille, 2019. "Executive turnover – Firms’ subsequent performances and the moderating role of organizational characteristics," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 794-805.
    8. Song Wang & Bowen Dong & Steven X. Si & Junsheng Dou, 2017. "When it rains, it pours: A triple-pathway model of collective turnover based on causal mapping analysis," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 461-486, June.
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    10. Jason D. Shaw & Shuisheng Shi, 2017. "The neglected state of organizational-level turnover studies in the Chinese context: a call for research," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    11. Cacciolatti, Luca & Lee, Soo Hee, 2016. "Revisiting the relationship between marketing capabilities and firm performance: The moderating role of market orientation, marketing strategy and organisational power," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 5597-5610.
    12. Dhayanithy, Deepak & Mukherjee, Subhasree, 2020. "Network memory, cultural distance and the ebb and flow of international resources – Evidence from 20 years of professional player transfers to big-five European soccer leagues," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 255-266.
    13. Lanza, Andrea & Simone, Giuseppina & Bruno, Randolph, 2016. "Resource orchestration in the context of knowledge resources acquisition and divestment. The empirical evidence from the Italian “Serie A” football," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 145-157.
    14. Biron, Michal & Hanuka, Hagar, 2015. "Comparing normative influences as determinants of knowledge continuity," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 655-661.
    15. Gjerløv-Juel, Pernille & Guenther, Christina, 2019. "Early employment expansion and long-run survival," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 80-102.
    16. Wynen, Jan & Van Dooren, Wouter & Mattijs, Jan & Deschamps, Carl, 2019. "Linking turnover to organizational performance : The role of process conformance," Other publications TiSEM ab3fe85e-a4a2-4e2a-8058-8, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    17. Kin Fai Ellick Wong & Cecilia Cheng, 2020. "The Turnover Intention–Behaviour Link: A Culture‐Moderated Meta‐Analysis," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(6), pages 1174-1216, September.
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    19. Matthias Georg Will, 2017. "Voluntary Turnover: What We Measure and What It (Really) Means," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 897, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    20. Jake G. Messersmith & Jeong-Yeon Lee & James P. Guthrie & Yong-Yeon Ji, 2014. "Turnover at the Top: Executive Team Departures and Firm Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(3), pages 776-793, June.
    21. Rei Hasegawa & Shinji Hasegawa & Takashi Akiyama, 2023. "The Inferred Determinants of Employees’ Turnover Intention: A Comparison between Japanese and Foreign-Owned Firms in Japan," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 16(8), pages 1-96, February.
    22. Linda Argote & Brandy L. Aven & Jonathan Kush, 2018. "The Effects of Communication Networks and Turnover on Transactive Memory and Group Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(2), pages 191-206, April.

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