Rationale and construct validity evidence for the job search behavior index: Because intentions (and new year's resolutions) often come to naught

A conceptual framework for the determinants of organizational turnover which identifies five panels of variables—job properties, affective/attitudinal reactions, intentions to leave/stay, job search behavior, and turnover occurrences—is advanced. Accordingly, it is reasoned that job search behavior (e.g., revising one's resume) is a more immediate precursor of voluntary turnover than are antecedent variables, such as intentions. Further, it is argued that behavior is required to translate intentions into results. Data from three samples indicate that the Job Search Behavior Index (JSBI) is psychometrically sound and construct valid. Evidence also indicates that the JSBI is a superior predictor of organizational turnover (and intraorganizational job change) in comparison to attitudinal and intention measures. Moreover, stepwise multiple regression and discriminant analyses indicate that the JSBI explains significant incremental variance in turnover, over and beyond the variance explained by perceptual, affective, attitudinal, and intention measures combined.