Corporate Reputation Review

Volume 13 Number 4

The Relationship between Perceived

External Prestige and Turnover Intention:
An Empirical Investigation
Aydem Ciftcioglu
Faculty of Economics and Administration, Business Administration
Department, Uludag University, Gorukle/BURSA, Turkey

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to investigate the

relationship between students external university prestige perception and their intention to
remain or drop out. This study was carried out
among 318 university students. Structural
equation modeling was used to estimate the
relationship between perceived external prestige
and turnover intention using competing configuration models. The results reveal that perceived external prestige has an indirect and
negative impact on turnover intention through
the partially mediating effect of affective commitment to their universtity and group-based
self-esteem. Analysis also showed that cognitive organizational identification did not have
any impact on students turnover intention,
which was an unexpected result. The implications of the findings and directions for future
research are also discussed.
Corporate Reputation Review (2010) 13, 248263.
doi:10.1057/crr.2010.22
KEYWORDS: affective commitment; group-

based self-esteem; organizational identification;

perceived external prestige; turnover intention
INTRODUCTION

Corporate Reputation Review,

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The main problem faced by any modern

organization is how to provide an environment that facilitates the development of
emotional bonds between members to
keep talented individuals in the organization. The type and degree of attachment that

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individuals manifest toward their organization is a topic that continues to be of interest to researchers and practitioners alike. In
recent years, several papers have been published debating the factors that affect an individuals attachment to the organization or
why they voluntarily leave an organization,
the phenomenon known as employee turnover in organizational behavior concepts
and one that is given great importance. The
turnover act, that is, the leaving of an organization, is a time-specific event marked
by physical separation from the organization.
(Mobley, 1982: 111) Thus, turnover behavior described by causal process has been
explained by a number of psychological concepts (Porter et al., 1974; Cotton and Tuttle,
1986; Griffeth et al., 2000; Cohen, 1993),
and research has cited that some determinants such as organizational (organizational
characteristics, opportunity, routinization,
participation, instrumental communication,
integration, pay, distributive justice, promotional opportunity, professionalism, general
training, kinship responsibility), individual
(individual characteristics), job or work (perceived job alternatives, job expectations,
job satisfaction, commitment to the organizations) factors have produced variations in
turnover (Price and Mueller, 1981; Lee and
Mowday, 1987; Marsh and Mannari, 1977;
Price, 1977; Mobley, 1977; Cotton and Tuttle,
1986; Curry et al., 1986), where job satisfaction, organizational commitment and

Ciftcioglu

organizational identification are defined as

the main variables of the turnover process
(Steers, 1977; Mowday et al., 1982; Mathieu
and Zajac, 1990; Randall, 1990; Cohen,
1993; Somers, 1995; Riketta, 2002; Meyer
et al., 2002).
In addition to those well-known models
of turnover, research that focused on social
identity theory assumptions pointed out that
an individuals prestige perceptions about
their organization influenced their turnover
behavior or intention. According to social
identification and social categorization theories, positive prestige perception about
working organization fosters positive selfesteem among individuals. The more prestigious the organization, the greater the
potential boost to self-esteem through identification, which was associated with intention to remain in the organization (Van
Knippenberg and Van Schie, 2000; Van
Dick and Wagner, 2002; Bamber and Iyer,
2002; Herrbach, 2006; Gautam et al., 2004;
Riketta, 2005; Mael and Ashforth, 1995; Van
Knippenberg and Sleebos, 2006; Mignonac
et al., 2006; Cole and Bruch, 2006; Van
Dick et al., 2004). Thus, this new causal interaction between perceived external prestige
and identification has been considered as an
alternative variable that prevents turnover.
As in organizational literature, the same
topic has also been discussed in educational
literature. As is well known, student involvement-engagement is necessary for
learning. Thus, educators and parents have
been investigating the factors that affect students withdrawing or dropping out of
school. In this sense, retention rates for
entire colleges have been extensively studied
by many researches to understand their
effect on community, youth population, the
education system and opportunity costs of
the intellectual workforce (Cone and Owens,
1991; Kirschenbaum and Perri, 1982). In
educational literature, a variety of students
behaviors, attitudes and feelings have been
studied empirically under the concept of

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engagement. The construct of engagement

is central to most theories of school dropout.
(Tinto, 1975, Finn, 1989) Student engagement has been used to depict students willingness to participate in routine school
activities, such as attending classes, submitting required work and following teachers
directions in class. Natriello (1984) defined
student engagement as participating in the
activities offered as part of the school program (Natriello 1984: 14). Students who
are engaged show sustained behavioral involvement in learning activities accompanied by a positive emotional tone. Thus,
engagement covers term attachment, commitment and involvement. The opposite of
engagement is disaffection. Disaffected students are passive, do not try hard and give
up easily in the face of challenges; they can
be withdrawn from learning opportunities
or splay retention (Skinner and Belmont,
1993: 572). According to Tintos wellknown Student Integration Model (1975),
school dropout is influenced by a wide variety of factors associated with individual characteristics (family background, sex, ability,
region, money), prior experiences (past education experiences) and commitments (commitment to the goal of college and commitment
to institution) (Tinto, 1975: 95). Whereas
Finns (1989) participation-identification model of school withdrawal also considers the construct of student engagement, in this model
the absence of identification causes low or absent participation, which predicts gradual disengagement and eventual school withdrawal
(Finn, 1989: 123125).
Although major similarities emerge from
the apart educational and organizational
behavior literature about turnover process,
there could be a negative influence on individuals turnover decision since the literature
does not strike into external factors like organizational prestige and reputation. The aim
of the study is to adapt the social identity
theorys assumptions to students dropout
model since negative influence of prestige

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Perceived External Prestige and Turnover Intention

perceptions on turnover process was detected

in the literature. The social identity theory
cited that individuals positive perceptions or
evaluations about group which they have
favoured to membership, has negative association with their leaving decision of that
group. Consequently, the main aim of this
article is to investigate whether perceived
organizational prestige would be a new
determinant of turnover intention, and how
this relationship formed or occurred.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND
HYPOTHESES
Turnover and Turnover Intentions

A concentration on determining the causes

of employee intentions to stay or leave has
been one of the most recent research
approaches in organizational turnover literature. The corresponding costs to the firm
regarding employees quitting the organization and the subsequent hiring of replacement employees can be significant in terms
of personal, work-unit and organizational
readjustments (Casio Wayne, 1991; Mobley,
1982). As a result, voluntary employee turnover or labor force dropout has long been
a salient managerial issue (Lee and Mitchell,
1994). Turnover theories hold that quitting
involves three main components. First, job
dissatisfaction initiates the process. Second,
employees search for alternatives prior to
leaving their organizations. Third, people
evaluate these alternatives using a subjective
expected utility (SEU) decision model (Lee
et al., 1996). On the other hand, some
researchers have argued that employee retention has consistently been viewed as an
important consequence of organizational
commitment. Commitment binds an individual to an organization, has a psychological structure that maintains employees
interactions with their organizations and
helps employees to take decisions about
remaining in the organization. Thus it was
assumed in organizational behavior literature

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that job satisfaction and organizational commitment were the more affective determinants of turnover intention. (Steers, 1977;
Mowday et al., 1982; Mathieu and Zajac,
1990; Randall, 1990; Cohen, 1992; Cohen,
1993; Somers, 1995; Riketta, 2002; Meyer
et al., 2002). In organizational behavior literature, most turnover research has been
guided by the following well-established
turnover sequence: job satisfaction, organizational commitment job search, intention
leave, turnover.
Turnover intention is accepted as the
main antecedent or stronger cognitive precursor of actual turnover behavior of individuals (Moore, 2000; Lee and Mowday,
1987; Tett and Meyer, 1993). The labor
forces turnover intention is taken overall as
withdrawn behavior of individuals and is
defined as individuals withdrawn to the organization and looking for other job alternatives (Martin, 1979; Mobley, 1982; Moore,
2000; Marsh and Mannari, 1977; Blau, 1987,
1988, 2007; Blau et al., 2003). Price and
Muller defined this intention as the estimated likelihood of continuous or discontinuous membership in an organization
(Price and Mueller, 1981: 546). In general,
turnover intention can be described as the
probability of extending the individuals
membership of the organization. Thus, most
research favors to measure the turnover intention of the labor force with the actual
turnover rates in order to investigate work
variables effect on turnover process (Cohen,
1992: 12; Steers, 1977: 50).Therefore, in this
study turnover intention is defined as students withdrawn to the university and looking for other school alternatives, and measured
for understanding student college dropout.
Within this framework, the educational
literature turnover concept was discussed as
student college dropout (withdrawing or
retention). Student dropout has been discussed under the concept of students attachment. Theoretically, engagement, involvement
and attachment are related to one another

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Ciftcioglu

and to a students achievement. Student engagement was defined as an individuals feelings of attachment and belongingness to the
social institution where educational institutions are indicated as social institutions
(Archambault et al., 2009: 652). Student
involvement refers to the quantity and quality of the physical and psychological energy
that students invest in the college experience
(Astin, 1999). Involvement is a part of school
attachment and school bonding. A student
who feels more embedded in his or her
school is more likely to exert effort, while
one who participates in school and classroom activities is more likely to develop
positive feelings about his or her school.
Students who are engaged with and attached
to their schools do better academically, have
a higher level of achievement and a lower
level of withdrawal (Finn, 1989).
The opposite of engagement is disaffection. Disengagement could result from a
weakened relationship between the individuals and the educational institution. Disaffected students are passive, do not try hard
and give up easily in the face of challenges.
They can be withdrawn from learning opportunities and eventually drop out (turnover) from school (Skinner and Belmont,
1993: 572).
A conceptual model of the factors affecting dropout syndrome which was a combination of the intention to leave, discussing
leaving and actual attrition, retention, attrition or turnover was developed by emphasizing academic, social and personal
outcomes of the selection or socialization of
students at an institution (Bean, 1985). A
students withdrawal from a degree program
may be compulsory or voluntary. Compulsory disengagement can result from, for example, failing too many units within a
degree, from serious illness, from having
to look after a family member or from not
having enough money to continue (Medway
and Penney, 1994; Davies, 2000). Voluntary
dropout is the consequence of a conscious

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decision to withdraw. Voluntary dropout or

turnover generally depends on students unsatisfied college expectations or inadequate
psychological attachment, commitment or
bond to their college or university.
Perceived External Prestige Organizational Identication and Turnover Intention Linkage

Perceived External Prestige (PEP) which is

defined as individual level interpretation or
evaluation of organizational prestige based
on their own information (Bergami and
Bagozzi, 2000; Smidts et al., 2001). PEP
is conceptualized by Duttons studies
(1991, 1994) as construct external image,
which was a specific form of organizational
image and defined as assessments of the
members of organizations about what others
think about their organization (Dutton
and Dukerich, 1991; Dutto n et al., 1994).
Some research based on social identity
theory mentioned that favorable prestige
perception among employees fosters a positive attitude toward the organization, such
as identification (Mael and Ashforth, 1995;
Bhattacharya et al., 1995; Smidts et al., 2001;
Dukerich et al., 2002; Liponnen et al.,
2005; Carmeli et al., 2006) and commitment
(Herrbach et al., 2004; Carmeli and Freund,
2002; Carmeli, 2005a, b; Freund, 2006). In
their empirical research, Herrbach et al.
(2004) reported that PEP has an indirect
negative effect on employee turnover intention through job satisfaction and an organizational commitment mediating role
(Herrbach et al., 2004), while Mael and
Ashforth cited that PEP fosters individual
organizational identification (Mael and
Ashforth, 1992). Thus, in general it was
assumed that PEP has a positive effect on
an individuals attachment to their organization (Mael and Ashforth, 1992; Dutton
and Dukerich, 1991; Dutton et al., 1994;
Wan-Huggins et al., 1998).
The theoretical background of the relationships between PEP and attachment to

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institution are configured in social identity

theory. On the basis of Tajfel and Turners
Social Identity Theory (SIT), individuals
tend to look for positive social identity and
self-image for social approval. (Turner et al.,
1979; Dutton et al., 1994) Hence, when
members believe that outsiders see their organization in a positive light, their organization
becomes more attractive to them and they
are proud to be a member of it and bask in
its glory (Cialdini et al., 1976). Also in the
same framework, the Social Categorization
Theory cited that an individuals self-image
was influenced by the characteristics that
others inferred based on their social category prestige or salience of a social category
such as X organization membership, or
Y school or university student (Hogg and
Terry, 2000). According to categorization
theory, an individual generally wants to be
different or exceptional. Every individual
wants to be a member of the winning team
or of a well-known group. Hence, Perceived Organizational Prestige (POP) fosters
positive evaluation of ones self-image. In
their research, Mael and Ashforth (1992)
reported that alumni identification with
their alma mater related to organizational
prestige ( = 0.26, p0.001) and organizational distinctiveness ( = 0.13, p0.05). Authors also mentioned that identified alumni
were willing to participate in various school
functions. Thus, if an employees perceptions about the working organization are
positive or socially valued, they identify
themselves with their working organization,
which is informed organizational identification (Mael and Ashforth, 1992: 114; Elsbach
and Kramer, 1996: 468; Whetten and
Mackey, 2002: 403404; Bhattacharya et al.,
1995: 53; Mignonac et al., 2006: 485;
Bartels et al., 2007: 180). Studies have also
postulated that identified members may be
more likely to remain within the organization and expend effort on behalf of the
organization (Dutton et al., 1994; Van
Knippenberg and Van Schie, 2000: 137).

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Organizational identification, defined as a

perception of oneness with or belongingness
to some human aggregation (Mael and
Ashforth, 1992), is the process of incorporating the perception of oneself as a member
of a particular organization into ones general self-definition (Dutton et al., 1994) so
that individuals cognitively adapt organizational values and goals to their own identity and use those features to described
themselves (Pratt, 1998; Herrbach, 2006).
Thus, organizational identification is a cognitive structure that consists of a relationship
between membership of the group and the
individuals self-concept and self-definition
(Herrbach, 2006: 633). In this framework,
if an individual identified himself with the
organization, he would necessarily experience some psychological loss upon leaving
the organization (Ashforth and Mael, 1989:
23; Mael and Ashforth, 1992: 105) resulting
in loss of self-definition. Therefore, research
has postulated that organizational identification is negatively associated with the
turnover intention of individuals (Van
Knippenberg and Van Schie, 2000; Van
Dick and Wagner, 2002; Bamber and Iyer,
2002; Herrbach, 2006; Gautam et al., 2004;
Riketta, 2005; Mael and Ashforth, 1995;
Van Knippenberg and Sleebos, 2006;
Mignonac et al., 2006; Cole and Bruch,
2006; Van Dick et al., 2004). Consequently,
in the light of the findings of those studies,
we could assume that the turnover process
is guided by perceived external prestige organizational identification, turnover intention
and actual turnover.
Commitment, identification and university image concepts have been investigated
in educational literature. Two well-known
approaches, the Student Integration Model
and the Participation-Identification Model,
note that commitment to and identification
with an educational institution have a negative influence on retention of students. In
Tintos Student Integration Model (1975),
school dropout represents an ongoing and

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Ciftcioglu

unfolding process. Tinto theorizes that the

social integration of students increases their
institutional commitment, ultimately reducing the likelihood of student attrition. As
Tinto writes, It is the interplay between the
individuals commitment to the goal of
college completion and his commitment to
the institution that determines whether or
not the individual decides to drop out
(Tinto, 1975: 94). According to the author,
the background of individuals (social status,
past school experiences, community of residence, etc), individual attributes (sex, ability, race and ethnicity) and expectations and
motivational attributes of individuals must
be take into consideration for development
of a dropout model. Individuals background
characteristics precollege experiences, (eg,
grade-point averages, academic and social
attainments), family background (eg, social
status attributes, value climates, expectational climates) and individual attributes (sex,
race, ability) influence the development of
the educational expectations and commitments the individual brings with him into
the college environment. It is these goals
and institutional commitments that are both
important predictors of and reflections of
the persons experiences and his disappointments and satisfactions in that collegiate
environment. In Tintos model, an individuals commitment to specific academic goals
is directly influenced by involvement in
school-related tasks and activities. In turn,
commitment to school influences the time
invested in this institution (Tinto, 1975: 96).
Finns (1989) participation-identification
model of school withdrawal also considers
the construct of student engagement. In this
model, engagement was defined by identification and participation at school. Identification refers to a sense of belongingness
and the perceived worth of schooling. Students
who identify with school have an internalized conception of belongingness: that they
are discernibly part of the school environment and that school constitutes an impor-

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tant part of their own experience. These

individuals value success in school-relevant
goals. Participation comprises three distinct
components that range from minimum to
maximum engagement: responsiveness to
requirements, participation in class-related
initiatives and extracurricular activities, and
decision making. On the basis of Finns assumptions, low or absent participation predicts gradual disengagement and eventual
school withdrawal (Finn, 1989: 123125).
Aside from the modeling of the turnover
process with similar variables (such as commitment and identification), the impact of
students prestige perceptions on their turnover intention has not yet been investigated
by researchers in educational literature. However, some research has investigated university image among the community (Landrum
et al., 1999; Ivy, 2001), examining a universitys image among its stakeholder groups
(ie, students, faculty and staff) (Treadwell
and Harrison, 1994), factors that affect
university image (size of the institution,
location, appearance, scope of offerings,
excellence of faculty, extent of endowments,
diversity of students, campus morale, athletic prowess, service to the community,
institutional visibility and prestige) (Arpan
et al., 2003), and how the university image
influences students beliefs about university
performance (Parameswaran and Glowacka,
1995). In this framework, research findings
showed that a students positive (affective
and cognitive) university image and reputation
provided satisfaction with university (Palacio
et al., 2002: 498), and initial assessment of
the reputation of the course or university
in which he or she is enrolled may affect
the decision to drop out. It is known that
high-status universities (eg Oxford and
Cambridge) experience very low withdrawal rates (Select Committee on Education and
Employment, 2001), although statistically
significant links between reputation and
retention have yet to be found. Thus,
reputation or positive prestige might be a

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critical determinant of student attitude toward a course or university in the early

stages of a program when the student has no
experience upon which to base an assessment of the merits of the program or institution (Davies, 2000). In their study,
Morrow et al. (1995) found in a survey of
adults that reputation of university was an
important factor in deciding to enroll in a
particular health education program. Hence,
these findings, which allow a social identity
assumption that positive prestige perception
has a negative effect on turnover intention,
can be adapted to a student dropout or retention model. Consequently, research has
concluded that students perceptions about
their school will affect their retention decision at an early stage as an undergraduate.
The previous theoretical and empirical
findings lead us to propose that disregarding
the influence of other factors or determinants (such as cost of education, teaching
quality and expectation, individual and environmental factors) on turnover intention,
there might be a relationship between university reputation or prestige perception
among students and identification, which in
turn affects their turnover intention at an
early stage as undergraduates.

defined as a person considering himself as a

member of a certain category, the evaluative
component describes a situation where the
person has perceived a certain evaluation of
the category from the outside, and the emotional component was defined as a sense of
emotional involvement with the group, also
known as affective commitment (Ellemers
et al., 1999: 385; Van dick and Wagner, 2002:
131; Ouwerkerk et al., 1999). The results of
Ellemers et al. indicate that the three components of identification were related but distinct from each other. Bergami and Bagozzi
used different scales than Ellemers et al.,
(1999) to test the cognitive (self-categorization), affective (affective commitment) and
evaluative (group self-esteem) components of
organizational identification on workers, and
found that each component was affected by
PEP differently. On the basis of this conceptualization, we postulated that three distinct
aspects of organizational identification would
play a mediating role between PEP and individuals turnover intention. Thus, we propose the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis
with an
taking a
zational

1: PEP is negatively associated

individuals turnover intention by
mediating role in cognitive organiidentification.

Hypotheses Development

As mentioned earlier, identification with an

organization was assumed as the key for
mediating variables between PEP and turnover intention. However, recent studies have
drawn attention to the complex construct of
identification. Ellemers et al. (1999) conceptualize identification with three components.
The authors proposed a multidimensional
identification process based on Tajfels (1982)
classical identification definition that states
that identification is cognitive awareness of
membership of a group and its emotional
value and meaning to this membership
(Tajfel, 1982: 2; Turner and Haslam, 2001:
28). Within the social identity approach, the
cognitive component of identification was

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Hypothesis 2: PEP is negatively associated

with an individuals turnover intention by
taking a mediating role in the emotional
component of identification, that is, affective
commitment.
Hypothesis 3: PEP is negatively associated
with an individuals turnover intention by
taking a mediating role in the evaluative
component of organizational identification,
which is group-based self-esteem.
METHOD
Participants

The data for this study were collected at

Uludag University, which is a state university

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Ciftcioglu

located in Bursa, Turkey. The university

includes 10 faculties, 2 colleges of higher
education, 15 vocational colleges of higher
education, 1 music conservatory, 3 institutes, 18 research centers and 5 departments
under the authority of the Rectorate. As of
academic year 20082009, the University
has a total of 42,443 students, 787 professors,
1257 lecturers and 1739 administrative staff.
Questionnaires were sent to 400 accountancy students, and 318 usable questionnaires were received. Among the
participants 79.4 percent were first-year
students, 50 percent female and 50 percent
male, with a mean age of 20 years (range:
56.4 percent, 1921 years, 27.5 percent < 18
years).
Measures

All items were measured on a 5-point

scale, ranging from 1 = strongly disagree
to 5 strongly agree. All the scale items
were translated from English to Turkish
and back translated to English based on a
standard translationback translation procedure in order to preclude any misunderstandings beyond the control of an English
lecturer.
Perceived External Prestige (PEP): This measure is based on Mael and Ashforths Perceived Organizational Prestige eight-item
scale, a measure that has been used by numerous scholars, including Mael, 1988
(: 0.79), Mael and Ashforth, 1992 (: 0.77),
Smidts et al., 2001 (: 0.73), Herrbach et al.,
2004 (: 0.86), Bhattacharya et al., 1995
(: 0.69) and Lipponen et al., 2005 (: 0.83).
The eight PEP items were subjected to
principal components analysis. Results
showed that all items loaded one factor and
eigenvalue greater than 1, which together
accounts for 48 percent of the variance in
the separate questions. The Cronbachs  of
0.838 of the scale and confirmatory factor
analysis results (GFI = 0.947, AGFI = 0.905,
CFI = 0.943, RMSR = 0.04, RMSEA = 0.06)

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showed that this scale was reliable and had

validity on this sample.
Affective Commitment (Aff.com): Commitment to organization was assessed with the
six-item affective organizational commitment instrument, which was developed by
Meyer et al. (1993) to measure affective
tone of organizational commitment and
the emotional dimension of organizational
identification. The results of the principal
components analysis showed that one
factor model explains 57 percent of the
total scale. It used confirmatory factor
analysis to determine commitment measure (Joreskog, 1996). The results of the
analysis prove the validity of the total scale
( = 0.82, GFI = 0.95, AGFI = 0.89, CFI =
0.95, RMSR = 0.043, RMSEA: 0.082).
Organizational (University) Identification
(OI): Six-item measures of Mael and
Ashforths (1992) organizational identification scale were used in order to assess
the students cognitive identification with
their university. For this study, Cronbachs
s of scale is 0.76 and confirmatory
factor analysis results are GFI = 0.97,
AGFI = 0.93, CFI = 0.96; RMSR = 0.04;
RMSEA: 0.04.
Group-based Self-esteem: Students group-based
self-esteem was measured by a four-item
scale of group self-esteem, which was suggested by Ellemers et al. (1999). Scale items
are I think my university has little
to be proud of, I feel good about my
university, I have little respect for my
group and I would rather not say that I
belong to this university. The principal
component analysis of scale showed that all
items loaded to one factor, and this model
explains 55 percent of the whole scale
variance. Confirmatory factor (GFI = 0.99,
AGFI = 0.99, CFI = 1, RMSR = 0.08,
RMSEA = 0.0) and reliability (Cronbachs
s = 0.54) analysis also showed that this scale
has validity.

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Perceived External Prestige and Turnover Intention

Turnover intention (TI): In educational

literature, researchers have used retention reports or rates to measure rates of student
dropout (Archambault et al., 2009). In this
study, a different methodology was used to
measure the turnover intention of students.
The three-item scale by Meyer et al. (1993)
to measure students turnover intention and
Moores (2000: 168) four-item organizational turnover scale were merged into a twoitem scale with the items modified for students
to I frequently think of quitting this university and I am seeking other university alternatives. In this instrument, Cronbachs  is
0.91 and the results of factor analysis showed
that one factor model explains 73 percent of
five separate items and the additional analysis
proves the validity of the total scale
(GFI = 0.946, AGFI = 0.839, CFI = 0.958,
RMSR = 0.035, RMSEA = 0.117).
Analyses

In order to measure discriminant validity

between measures, Korsgaard and Robersons (1995) approach was followed to conduct CFA to compare the fitness between a
one-factor model (all items loaded on one
factor), three-factor (PEP, Organizational
Identification, Affective Commitment and
self-esteem, turnover intention items on one
separate factor) and a five-factor model
(PEP, Aff. com, OI, self-esteem and turnover intention). The CFA results for the three
models show that the five-factor models
(GFI = 0.74, AGFI = 0.702, CFI = 0.76,
NNFI = 0.75, RMSR = 0.2, RMSEA = 0.09,
2/df = 3.24) fit the data better than
one-factor models (GFI = 0.60, AGFI = 0.54,
CFI = 0.68, NNFI = 0.577, RMSR = 0.099,
RMSEA = 0.141, 2/df = 4.85) and the
three-factor models (GFI = 0.69, AGFI =
0.64, CFI = 0.70, NNFI = 0.67, RMSR =
0.207, RMSEA = 0.111, 2/df = 3.95).
RESULTS

Means, standard deviations, reliability estimates and inter-correlations among meas-

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ures are presented in Table 1. As expected,

PEP was positively related to affective organizational commitment (r = 0.48, ***p <
0.001), organizational identification(r = 0.28,
***p < 0.001) and group-based self-esteem
(r = 0.53, ***p < 0.001), but negatively
related to turnover intention (r = 0.48,
***p < 0.001). Results of the correlation
matrix also showed that students turnover
intention has a negative statistically significant relationship with affective commitment
(r = 0.22, ***p < 0.001), organizational identification(r = 0.49, ***p < 0.001) and self-esteem
(r = 0.38, ***p < 0.001). In contrast, correlations among self-esteem, affective commitment (r = 0.48, ***p < 0.001) and organizational
identification (r = 0.29, ***p < 0.001) are
positive and statistically significant.
In order to test our hypotheses, structural equation modeling was performed to
estimate the direct and indirect effects of
PEP on turnover intention, including the
mediating role of cognitive identification,
affective commitment and group-based
self-esteem. (RMSR = 0.088; RMSEA =
0.06; GFI = 0.826; AGFI = 0.79; CFI =
0.87; 2 = 849.504; df = 371; 2/df = 2.28)1
Figure 1 presents the significance of the
model.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The main aim of this study was to examine

the relationship between perceived external
prestige and students turnover intention.
The results of this study showed that there
was a relationship between PEP and turnover intention in a mediating role of affective
commitment and group-based self-esteem.
Thus, the findings supported Hypothesis 2,
which claimed that PEP is negatively
associated with an individuals turnover intention by taking a mediating role in emotional component of identification, that is,
affective commitment. It also supported
Hypothesis 3, which stated that PEP is
negatively associated with an individuals
turnover intention by taking a mediating

2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1363-3589

1 (0.90)
1 (0.54)
0.38***
1 (0.82)
0.48***
0.49***
1 (0.76)
0.49***
0.29***
0.22***
b

1 female, 2 male
1 first class, 2 second class
OI: Organizational identification, Aff.com: Affective commitment, TI: Turnover intention
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001

1 (0.84)
0.28***
0.48***
0.53***
0.48***
1
0.42
0.10
0.00
0.04
0.09
1
0.00
0.09
0.15*
0.02
0.04
0.02
1
0.15**
0.18***
0.06
0.10
0.01
0.09
0.01
1.7
1.4
1.09
3.78
3.57
3.01
3.29
2.76
Age
Gendera
Classb
PEP
OI
Aff.com
Self-esteem
TI

0.52
0.49
0.34
0.56
0.80
0.86
0.56
1.06

3
2
1
SD
M
Variables

Table 1: Means, standard deviations and correlations of research variables

Ciftcioglu

2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1363-3589

role in the evaluative component of organizational identification, which is group-based

self-esteem. However, the results did not
support our hypothesis that PEP is negatively associated with an individuals turnover intention by taking a mediating role
in cognitive organizational identification
(Hypothesis 1).
In related literature, researchers have
cited that PEP directly influences an individuals cognitive identification (Dukerich
et al., 2002; Lipponen et al., 2005; Mael and
Ashforth, 1992; Smidts et al., 2001), where
cognitive identification is negatively and
strongly associated with turnover intention
(Van Knippenberg and Van Schie, 2000;
Van Dick and Wagner, 2002; Bamber and
Iyer, 2002; Herrbach, 2006; Gautam et al.,
2004; Riketta, 2005; Mael and Ashforth,
1995; Van Knippenberg and Sleebos, 2006;
Mignonac et al., 2006; Cole and Bruch,
2006; Van Dick et al., 2004). However, the
findings of this study only confirmed that
two components of identification were
related to PEP and turnover intention. PEP
was directly related to affective commitment
and group-based self-esteem where these
variables perform a central or full mediator
role between perceived organizational prestige and turnover intention. These results
also show that cognitive identification did
not play either a full or partial role between
PEP and turnover intention. This last result
is at variance with other empirical researchers findings that postulate that PEP is directly related to self-definition of individuals,
and hence cognitive organizational identification complicated the issue of individuals
leaving an organization (Mael and Ashforth,
1992: 114; Elsbach and Kramer, 1996: 468;
Whetten and Mackey, 2002: 403404;
Bhattacharya et al., 1995: 53; Mignonac et al.,
2006: 485).
There may be two main reasons why
the results of this research did not support
Hypothesis 1. The demographic profile of
the sample, which was mostly freshmen,

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Perceived External Prestige and Turnover Intention

Aff. Com
0.307 (2.916)**

-0.434 (-2.409)*

-4.81 (-0.18)

-0.15 (-0.18)
OI (Cognitive)

PEP

0.58 (12.535)***
Group Self-esteem

Turnover
Intention

-0.525 (-5.681)***

Figure 1: Results of structural equation modeling.

Note: t-values given in parentheses.

might be a reason why the PEP, cognitive

identification and turnover intention interaction results of this research differed from
the findings of other research. In his metaanalysis, Riketta reported that organizational tenure and cognitive identification have a
positive and significant association, and that
tenure of individuals was an important
predictor of their cognitive identification
(Riketta, 2005: 365366), which means that
the amount of time spent in an organization
is an important factor for forming identification. In addition, Ashforth and Maels
(1992) research, which included 297 alumni,
indicated that PEP and individual tenure
positively influenced an individuals organizational identification. Therefore, the fact that
79.4 percent of the sample of this study were
first-year students could give rise to this
unexpected result.
Thus, lack of time spent in school or not
having spent enough time to adequately socialize may be the reason why these results
did not support other relevant ones. On the
basis of social identity theory, cognitive
identification has a self-referential nature,
and in classical definitions cognitive identification refers to cognitive awareness of
ones membership in a social group (Tajfel,
1982: 23; Ellemers et al., 1999: 372). Organizational identification provides a partial

258

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Vol. 13, 4, 248263

answer to the question, Who am I in relation

to my organization? (Mael and Ashforth,
1995: 312). Thus, a persons sense of identity as a member of an organization is dependent on having membership. Consequently,
inadaquate socialization and not being totally aware of university identity or having
a less internalized university identity would
produce this lack of connection. There were
also other variables such as the cost of
education, the quality of the training system
and the physical quality of university, individual expectations, etc which were not
take into consideration in this study but which
have been accepted as the determinants of
students retention producing or causing this
unexpected result in related literature.
The close association of affective commitment and turnover intentions can be thought
of as another factor that produced a nonsignificant relationship between cognitive
identification and turnover intention. Some
research has pointed out that commitment
to organization was more closely aligned
with turnover intention than identification.
Commitment, reflecting an attitude toward
the organization, is more strongly related to
(other) attitudes toward the job and organization than identification, as a cognitive,
perceptual construct. The desire to maintain
organizational membership is not as central

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Ciftcioglu

to the organizational identification as it is

to the organizational commitment concept
(Van Knippenberg and Sleebos 2006: 575580;
Riketta, 2005: 370). Hence, in this study
the strongest effect of affective commitment
and group-based self-esteem on turnover
intention (Tett and Meyer, 1993; Meyer
et al., 2002) would be to remove cognitive
identification influence on turnover intention (see Table 1).
Research has shown that the social status
of a group directly affects the members
identification process (Dukerich et al., 2002;
Lipponen et al., 2005; Mael and Ashforth,
1992; Smidts et al., 2001) where high-status
group members identify more closely with
their group than do members of low-status
groups (Abrams and Hogg, 1988: 322;
Ellemers et al., 1988: 505; 1999: 385). However, our findings showed that group status
perception influences an individuals emotional bond (affective commitment) and
group-based self-esteem rather than cognitive identification. In their study, Bergami
and Bagozzi found the direct path from prestige to affective commitment (Bergami and
Bagozzi, 2000: 572), and Ellemers et al.
mentioned that affective commitment tends
to be stronger in more positively evaluated
groups. (Ellemers et al., 1999: 373), whereas
Herrbach et al. (2004) reported that affective
commitment plays a partial mediating
role between PEP and turnover intention
(Herrbach et al., 2004: 1399). Consequently, as cited by researchers, pride and respect
were directly and positively associated with
organizational commitment (Boezeman and
Ellemers, 2008: 169). Hence, the close
relationship between PEP and affective
commitment was not unexpected.
Social Identity Theory and Self Categorization Theory have long stated that individuals seek to establish the positive
distinctiveness of the groups to which they
belong, to meet their own needs for positive
self-esteem (Hogg, 2004: 209). According
to Ashforth and Mael (1989), PEP positive-

2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1363-3589

ly influences an individuals attachment to

their organization because it influences their
self-esteem, and individuals tend to become
attached to organizations that enhance their
self-image. Hence, PEP fosters in individuals a positive distinctiveness among a relevant
out-group (Abrahms and Hogg, 1988: 322;
Ellemers et al., 2002: 170). When membership of a particular social category is incorporated in an individuals self-concept,
self-esteem increases as the relative status
of the in-group increases, in comparison to
relevant out-groups (Brewer et al., 1993:
88). Thus, PEP is related to group-based
self-esteem, which gives individuals positive
distinctiveness from others and individuals
group-based self-esteem, and is negatively
associated with the turnover intention of
the group in order to achieve and protect
positive social identity.
NOTE
1 The goodness-of-fit of the models were assessed
with chi-squared tests, the root mean square
error of approximation (RMSEA), the comparative
fit index (CFI) and standardized root mean square
residual (RMSR). Satisfactory model fits are
expecting chi-squared/degrees of freedom ratio
(2/df < 3) lower than 3, root-mean square residual (RMSR) and Root mean square error of
approximation (RMSEA) values rating between
0,05 and 0,10 (Schumacker and Lomax, 1996:
121) and also models goodness-of-fit indexes
values of 0.90 or higher (Kline, 1998: 131) are
acceptable fit interpretations, where some
researchers suggested that 0.80 and higher values
of goodness-of-fit indexes are acceptable (Mulaik
et al., 1989).

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