Proceedings of 9th International Business and Social Science Research Conference
6 - 8 January, 2014, Novotel World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE, ISBN: 978-1-922069-41-2
Antecedents of Faculty Turnover Intent in the United Arab Emirates
Universities
Khaldoun Ababneh
Several studies have been conducted in North America and Europe to understand the turnover phenomenon
among university faculty members (Bozeman & Gaughan, 2011; Daly & Dee, 2006; Dee, 2004; Johnsrud &
Rosser, 2002). However, there is a scant research that addresses the faculty turnover phenomenon in other
part of the world such as the Middle East in general and the UAE in particular. Therefore, the purpose of the
current study is to build on expectancy theory (Daly & Dee, 2006; Iverson & Roy, 1994) to enhance our
understanding of the antecedents of faculty turnover for universities operating in the UAE. Specifically, this
study aims to understand the role of expectations, trust in employer, job satisfaction, and organization
commitment in predicting faculty members’ turnover intention.
The main proposition underlying the expectancy theory is that employees join organizations with expectations
about various aspects of the workplace such as salary, teaching load, research, promotional opportunities,
employees’ treatment, and other working conditions. (Mueller & Price, 1990; Porter & Steers, 1973; Price,
2001). When employees’ expectations are unmet, employees’ will have lower levels of job satisfaction and
organizational commitment (Iverson & Roy, 1994), which in turn elicit high turnover intention among these
employees (Kim, Price, Mueller, & Watson, 1996; Mueller & Price, 1990). Conversely when employees’
expectations are met employees are more likely to have higher level of satisfaction and commitment, which in
turn result in low turnover intentions. To test the proposed model of the current study, I used structural
equation modeling. In general, the findings of my study are in line with the expectation theory proposals.
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Dr. Khaldoun Ababneh, Department of Management, American University in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Email:
kababneh@aud.edu