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Intention to stay

HR & WorkReliability: alpha 0.83–0.903 sample items

About this scale

A short measure of an employee's intention to remain with the current employer over a defined time horizon. Operationally the inverse of turnover intention, it is widely used in retention, HRM-performance, and embeddedness research. Items typically use a 5- or 7-point agreement scale.

Sample item(s)

“I plan to be working for this organization five years from now.”
“I would turn down a job offer from another company in order to stay with my present organization.”
“I intend to stay in my current organization for the foreseeable future.”

Reliability

Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.83–0.90. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.

Notes

Closely tied to Price–Mueller causal model of turnover. Avoid using simultaneously with turnover-intention items in the same model (multicollinearity).

Source & citation

Kim, S. W., Price, J. L., Mueller, C. W., & Watson, T. W. (1996): The determinants of career intent among physicians at a U.S. Air Force hospital. Human Relations, Vol. 49, No. 7, pp. 947–976.

Kim, Price, Mueller & Watson (1996): The determinants of career intent among physicians at a U.S. Air Force hospital. Human Relations, 49(7), 947–976.

Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.

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