Cognitive appraisal as a mechanism linking negative organizational shocks and intentions to leave

The past two decades have seen a significant rise in both frequency and size of mergers and acquisitions in the US, many of which have been associated with considerable interruption of organizational activities and a host of negative outcomes for employees. In this study of 763 US-based airline employees, we identify threat appraisal as a key mechanism explaining the relationship between four change-related variables (quality of change communication, procedural fairness in restructuring, change management history, and anxiety about change) and employee turnover intentions. Results indicate that turnover intentions are influenced by quality of change communication, procedural fairness in restructuring, and anxiety about change as mediated by threat appraisal. We also found that job embeddedness moderated the relationships of quality of change communication and procedural fairness in restructuring with threat appraisal. Our focus on malleable levers of withdrawal offers theoretical and practical insights into how turnover intentions can be influenced.