Effects of the Innovation Climate on Turnover Intention in the Australian Public Service

• Date: 01 July 2019
• DOI: 10.1177/0275074018808914
• Published date: 01 July 2019
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074018808914

American Review of Public Administration

2019, Vol. 49(5) 614 –628

© The Author(s) 2018

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DOI: 10.1177/0275074018808914

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Article

Introduction

There is growing interest in understanding and managing

turnover intention (TI), or the intention to quit a job or leave

an organization, in the public sector (e.g., Ali, Bishu, &

Alkadry, 2018; Jung, Chan, & Hsieh, 2017; Kim & Fernandez,

2017; S. Lee, 2018; Park, Joaquin, Min, & Ugaddan, 2018).

TI matters because it is the last step and the best predictor of

actual turnover behavior (Langbein & Stazyk, 2018; Mobley,

1977; van Loon, Heerema, Weggemans, & Noordegraaf,

2018). Turnover is of concern to all public organizations—

including those that do not suffer from high turnover—

because of the significant costs associated with hiring and

training employees, the possibility of losing talented staff,

and additional challenges to managing public services.

Various studies document the disadvantages of turnover

in the public sector (e.g., Bertelli, 2007; Jung et al., 2017;

Langbein & Stazyk, 2018; van Loon et al., 2018).

Researchers and practitioners are increasingly interested in

understanding and managing factors associated with turn-

over and developing strategies to reduce it (Äijälä, 2001; Ali

et al., 2018; Bertelli, 2007; Hur, 2013; Jung, 2014). For

instance, Kim and Fernandez (2017) find that implementing

empowerment practices in public organizations can be a

solution for reducing TI in the public sector. Likewise, Jung

et al. (2017) find that clan culture, which emphasizes cohe-

sion, trust, and open communication, can reduce TI in public

organizations.

This article extends this line of inquiry by investigating

the effects of innovation climate on TI in the public sector.

Governments around the globe are increasingly promoting

innovation (Borins, 2001, 2014; Demircioglu, 2018a;

Demircioglu & Audretsch, 2017; Newnham, 2018; Torugsa

& Arundel, 2016; Wipulanusat, Panuwatwanich, & Stewart,

2018; Wynen, Verhoest, Ongaro, Van Thiel, & Cooperation

With the COBRA Network, 2014); although innovation is

not typically pursued as a means to reduce turnover, the

many benefits of a strong innovation climate are increas-

ingly being recognized (C.-S. Lee, Chen, Tsui, & Yu, 2014;

Popa, Soto-Acosta, & Martinez-Conesa, 2017; Ren &

Zhang, 2015). The “innovation climate” of an organization

is defined as “practices that aim to create a suitable culture

to facilitate knowledge and idea sharing, stimulate creativ-

ity, and generate innovative ideas through open communi-

cations” (Popa et al., 2017, p. 5), including employee

perceptions of innovation being encouraged, supported,

and rewarded (Australian Public Service Commission

808914ARPXXX10.1177/0275074018808914The American Review of Public AdministrationDemircioglu and Berman

research-article2018

1National University of Singapore, Singapore

2Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

3National Chengchi University, Taipei City, Taiwan

Corresponding Author:

Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, Assistant Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of

Public Policy, National University of Singapore, 469B Bukit Timah Road, Li

Ka Shing Building, Singapore 259771.

Email: mehmet@nus.edu.sg

Effects of the Innovation Climate on Turnover

Intention in the Australian Public Service

Mehmet Akif Demircioglu1 and Evan Berman2,3

Abstract

Employee turnover is an important concern for many public organizations, and research is increasingly seeking to understand

the factors associated with this phenomenon. This article analyzes the effect of innovation climate on turnover intention (TI);

it theorizes that an innovation climate encourages employee participation and creativity, thereby making jobs more interesting

and reducing TI. Using data from the Australian Public Service (APS), an organization concerned with innovation and reducing

TI, this study finds that innovation climate reduces three types of TIs to another agency, to the private sector, and to retire.

This result is robust across a broad range of occupations and types of employees (frontline, senior, and management), and we

have controlled for measures that are frequently studied, such as job satisfaction and salary satisfaction. This article suggests

that policy makers should remove barriers to innovation and encourage activities and supervisory practices that make jobs

more interesting—and, thus, the innovation climate stronger—as these actions may reduce employee turnover.

Keywords

public sector innovation, innovation climate, turnover intention, employee transfers, intention to retire