Coping with Career Shocks: An Experimental Vignette Study on the Influence of External Perceived Employability and Communicative Career Competencies on Turnover Intentions

Däuber, Paula (2025) Coping with Career Shocks: An Experimental Vignette Study on the Influence of External Perceived Employability and Communicative Career Competencies on Turnover Intentions. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

In today’s unpredictable labor market, organizations increasingly face the challenge of negative career shocks influencing employees’ intentions to leave the organization. However, the mechanisms through which such shocks lead to turnover intentions remain unclear. While perceived employability has been proposed as a driver of turnover intentions, inconsistent findings in the literature suggest the need to distinguish between external and internal perceived employability and to consider moderating factors. The moderating role of career competencies, specifically communicative career competencies, has received limited empirical attention, despite its significant link to both perceived employability and turnover intentions. Drawing on the Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory, the study hypothesizes that external perceived employability leads to higher turnover intention, and that communicative career competencies further strengthen this relationship, after experiencing a negative career shock. A vignette-based survey was administered to 109 employed individuals, who were presented with a hypothetical denied promotion scenario. Results supported the first hypothesis, showing that external perceived employability significantly predicted higher turnover intentions. However, the findings challenge the assumption that communicative career competencies moderate this relationship. Instead, communicative career competencies may function as an antecedent of external perceived employability. The study’s findings underscore the need to distinguish not only in the dimensions of perceived employability but also between internally and externally focused communicative career competencies. From a practical perspective, organizations seeking to mitigate the effects of negative career shocks may need to consider fostering career development initiatives that promote internal, rather than external, career mobility to retain valuable employees. Keywords: career shocks, turnover intentions, perceived employability, career competencies, conservation of resources theory

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Kitz, C.C.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	08 Jul 2025 08:53
Last Modified:	08 Jul 2025 08:53
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5350

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