Intentions to turnover: Testing the moderated effects of organizational culture, as mediated by job satisfaction, within the Salvation Army

The purpose of this paper is to advance the knowledge base by testing the hypothesis that job satisfaction mediates the relationship between perceived organizational culture and intentions to turnover, and that employee characteristics moderate this relationship.

Data were drawn from a cross-sectional online survey of employees at one Area Command of The Salvation Army in the USA (N=250, 66.8 percent female, 26.4 percent African American). The study implemented two different techniques to incorporate methodological triangulation to test the mediation model: a three-step regression analysis and a bootstrapping technique in which direct and indirect effects are tested at once. Also, a conditional process analysis was used to test the moderated mediation model.

Results supported the hypothesized mediation relationship and showed that lower mean organizational culture scores were significantly associated with lower job satisfaction, and thus, higher intentions to turnover. Additionally, office location moderated the indirect effect of organizational culture on intentions to turnover through job satisfaction.

Findings highlight the variability in how organizational culture affects employees across the work environment. Interventions, which are subtly tuned to the variation in workplaces, may be the most effective at building strong and positive organizational cultures.

The current study extends prior empirical work by testing the hypothesis that employee characteristics moderate the mediating effect of organizational culture and job satisfaction on intentions to turnover. Results showed that work location moderated the relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction; organizational culture had a stronger effect on job satisfaction among employees working at the administrative office compared to those in community-based centers. Findings underscore the need for leadership to create a strong culture that permeates all work sectors in order for it to be effective.