Internal Employment Opportunity and External Employment Opportunity: Independent or Interactive Retention Effects?

Abstract

Contemporary attrition/retention frameworks suggest that internal mobility opportunities (e.g., promotions) and external mobility opportunities (i.e., alternative sources of employment) impact turnover decisions. The present study used data collected' from 413 U.S. Air Force enlistees to estimate the joint effects of internal mobility opportunities (i.e., training/career broadening opportunities) and external mobility opportunities (e.g., existing job offers) on reenlistment. Logistic regression analysis revealed that internal and external mobility opportunities had additive effects on the study's attrition criterion. Moderated regressions failed to detect interactive effects among the study's mobility variables. Implications of the findings for turnover frameworks and retention of military personnel are discussed.