| Follow the Leader? Initial and Longer-Term Effects of Mid-Level Leader Succession on Unit-Level Turnover Rates |
Received:October 10, 2017 Revised:October 10, 2017 |
Key Words: leader succession, turnover, longitudinal methods, unit level |
| Author Name | Affiliation | | Huisi (Jessica) Li* | Cornell University | | John P Hausknecht | Cornell University | | Lisa Dragoni | Wake Forest University |
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Abstract: |
| Leader exits at the work-unit level are prevalent, yet little attention has been devoted understanding the impact of mid-level leader succession on employee turnover. In this paper, we develop and test theory to explain the conditions under which mid-level leader succession affects unit members’ voluntary turnover. Drawing from uncertainty management and functional leadership theories, and using 36 months of data from 287 locations (6,357 unit-month observations) of a U.S. hospitality organization, we show that three key attributes of the succession context—i.e., those that signal the leader’s competence in managing unit functioning—moderate the effects of leader departures on initial turnover rates as well as longer-term turnover trends. Results show that work units experience a spike in the voluntary turnover rate of employees shortly after a high performing leader departs. Over time, turnover rate trends become more steep and positive when the unit loses a high performing leader, when replacements lack role experience, and when replacements were internally promoted. Overall, we find that leader succession events have predictable initial and longer-term effects on the turnover of remaining unit members. |
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