University of Science and Technology Beijing, China
It is not surprising that high labor turnover rates can have significant and far-reaching implications for enterprise development, something organizations strive to avoid. In recent years, organizations have increasingly adopted performance management behavior (PMB) as a strategy to mitigate employees’ turnover intentions. However, existing research remains limited in understanding whether and how PMB effectively reduces turnover intentions. Integrating the leadership process theory and social role theory, we explore how PMB reduces employee turnover intention via the dual paths of enhancement of skill development and competence mobilization, and how gender plays a role in affecting the mentioned above relationships. Using a scenario experiment (Study 1, N = 315) and a survey (Study 2, N = 272), we find that PMB negatively affects turnover intentions through both enhancement of skill development and competence mobilization. Moreover, the positive influences of PMB on their skill development and competence mobilization are amplified when employees are male. This study not only extends the theoretical understanding of leadership process, but also offers implications for managers to better implement PMB and for employees to better engage with it.
