Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1996

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Major Professor

Joyce E. A. Russell

Committee Members

Michael Rush, John Lounsbury, H. Dudley Dewhirst, Greg Dobbins

Abstract

The present study developed a theory-based framework of factors related to employee willingness to relocate and empirically examined a series of hypotheses related to this framework. Employee willingness to relocate was operationalized as an employee's general propensity to engage in intra-organizational mobility opportunities requiring relocation. It was proposed that a variety of factors, both with and outside the employee's job sphere would be related to his or her willingness to relocate for the organization. Using Fishbein and Ajzen’s (1975) Reasoned Action Model as a point of departure, it was proposed that the following classes of variables would be important in understanding employee willingness to relocate: background characteristics, relocation experiences, beliefs about relocation and advancement, and employee and spouse work attitudes. Several variables were also investigated as possible moderators: employees’ self-efficacy for advancement, employees’ desire for career mobility, and employee age. In addition, two exploratory research questions were examined; the effect of employee sex on willingness to move and whether employees in single-income, dual-earner, and dual-career relationships differed in terms of their willingness to relocate. A large scale, cross-organizational research effort provided data for the present study. Participants were 879 couples from 76 organizations throughout the United States and Canada. This sample represented a diverse group employees and spouses who were working in a variety of functional areas (e.g., production, engineering, human resources). In addition, the participants varied with respect to age, education, and pay level. Two separate questionnaires, one designed for the employee and the other for the spouse, provided data for the study. Questionnaires were distributed by each organization and employees and spouses returned completed surveys in separate pre-addressed, stamped envelopes. Using several different data analytic techniques, results indicated that three of the four classes of variables were important in understanding employee willingness to relocate: demographic factors, relocation experiences, and beliefs about relocation and advancement. More specifically, employee willingness to move was negatively related to employee age and spouse adjustment to the most recent relocation. Employee willingness to relocate was positively related to spouse willingness to relocate, employee desire for career mobility, and employee beliefs that relocation is a path to advancement within the organization. Furthermore, employees in single-income relationships and those without children living at home were more willingness to move than those in dual income relationships or those with children living at home. The final class of variables, employee and spouse work attitudes, were not important in understanding employee willingness to relocate. Moreover, no support was found for the proposed moderator variables. In term of the exploratory research questions, no difference were found between male and female employees in terms of their willingness to relocate. In contrast, employees in single-earner relationships were more willing to relocate than those in dual career relationships in terms of willingness to relocate. No differences were found between employees in single-income and dual-earner relationships or between employees in dual-earner and dual-career relationships. Limitations of the present study are presented, in addition to a discussion of the practical and theoretical implications of the current study’s findings. Directions for future research are also discussed.

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