The Effect of Public Service Motivation on Turnover Intention in Consultancy Firms: a moderated mediation model

Abstract

(PSM) has been found to decrease turnover intention in the public sector, the effect of PSM on turnover intention in the private sector is still unclear. Though some studies find that PSM increases turnover intention in the private sector, this thesis argues that it is not the sector that determines the effect of PSM, but rather the publicness of the organization. This study looks at the mediating effect of Person-Organization fit (PO fit) and Person-Job fit (PJ fit) for the relationship between PSM and turnover intention. To account for publicness, Public Values and Societal Impact Potential (SIP) are included as moderators for the relationship between PSM and fit, creating a theoretical model of moderated mediation. Employees of various consultancy firms were subjected to a quantitative survey (N = 85). The analysis found that the model of moderated mediation did not hold, though SIP did moderate the relationship between PSM and PJ fit. The results of this study are limited due to a low sample size, and recommendations are made for future research, for a better data collection approach.