The Impact of Perceived Economic Threat on Turnover Intentions in Lebanese Universities

Abstract

Purpose – Lebanon is a country battling one of the worst economic crises in the last decade with high inflation rates, high brain drain, fluctuating currency, unemployment and industries suffering from scarce resources. Education is among the industries that took the greatest hit in this crisis, where faculty turnover intentions skyrocketed. This study aims to explore how perceived economic threat affects faculty turnover intentions and the roles emotional exhaustion and resilience play in this relationship. Methodology– A sample of 150 faculty members in 10 Lebanese Universities were asked to complete a survey that was divided into 5 sections: demographics, perceived economic threat, emotional exhaustion, faculty turnover intention and resilience. SPSS was used to analyze the collected data. Participants were informed of the anonymity of the study and were provided with a detailed consent form. Findings – Perceived economic threat is found to have a positive effect on faculty turnover intention. Furthermore, emotional exhaustion fully mediates the relationship between perceived economic threat and faculty turnover intention. Resilience was not found to moderate the relationship between perceived economic threat and faculty turnover intention. Practical implications – University Administrators in Lebanon are encouraged to keep an eye on perceived economic threat and emotional exhaustion and find ways to motivate viii their faculty members aiming to decrease turnover intention and, in turn, actual turnover rates. Originality – Despite the array of research on the effect of emotional exhaustion on turnover intention and faculty turnover intention, there is no research on perceived economic threats and how it directly affects faculty members and their decisions.