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The relationship between job performance and voluntary employee turnover was investigated for 5,143 exempt employees in a single firm. As hypothesized, support was found for E. F. Jackofsky's (1984) curvilinear hypothesis, as turnover was higher for low and high performers than it was for average performers. Two potential moderators of the curvilinearity were examined in an attempt to explain conflicting results in the performance-turnover literature. As predicted, low salary growth and high promotions each produced a more pronounced curvilinear performance-turnover relationship. Most notably, salary growth effects on turnover were greatest for high performers, with high salary growth predicting rather low turnover for these employees, whereas low salary growth predicted extremely high turnover. Additionally, once salary growth was controlled, promotions positively predicted turnover, with poor performer turnover most strongly affected.

A study investigated the relationship between recruitment experiences and applicants' job selection. Forty-one highly diverse graduating college students were interviewed twice in the job-search process to examine their initial impressions of fit with different organizations and their general impressions regarding observed recruitment practices. Results indicate that the perception of recruitment experiences is influenced by individual differences, and in some cases, by the differences in background characteristics and job-search success.

Although it has been suggested that women negotiate over salaries less frequently than men, there is little empirical evidence on this point. Moreover, outside of laboratory settings, there are no investigations of whether, or to what extent, such negotiations actually pay off in higher salary outcomes for either men or women. The salary negotiating behaviors and starting salary outcomes of 205 graduating MBA students were investigated within a power and dependence theoretical framework. Results did not support the notion that women negotiate less than men. However, women did obtain lower monetary returns from negotiation (4.3% starting salary increment for men versus 2.7% for women). Over the course of a career, the accumulation of such differences may be substantial. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Models of voluntary turnover specify important roles for both general labor-market conditions and labor-market perceptions. Although there is consistent support for the role of general labor-market conditions, evidence on perceptions is mixed. In a national sample of young adults, both factors were related to voluntary turnover. However, the two constructs were not closely linked, possibly because labor-market perceptions are based on incomplete information. Thus, for example, despite poor general labor-market conditions, an employee may perceive ease of movement to be high, which contributes to the employee's intention to quit. Yet, the employee may not actually quit because the unfavorable general labor-market conditions act to limit the number of alternative job openings. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Although both strategic management theorists and practicing recruiters endorse selecting applicants on the basis of 'fit,' precise delineation of fit in a selection context remains elusive. Moreover, the majority of previous work in this area has been based on anecdotes, case studies, or prescriptions, rather than empirical evidence. The present investigation examines interviewers' assessments of job applicants in terms of both general and firm-specific employability (i.e., fit). Results suggest that (1) assessments of general employability differ from firm-specific assessments, (2) there is a firm-specific component to interviewers' evaluations of job applicants, and (3) interpersonal skills, goal orientation , and physical attractiveness contribute to assessments of fit (holding general employability constant), while objective qualifications (e.g. grade point average, extracurricular offices, years experience) do not. Suggestions for future research are offered. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Substantive research in the job design area has relied heavily on incumbent-based perceptions of job complexity (IPJC) measures (e.g., the Job Characteristics Inventory and the Job Diagnostic Survey). However, little research has addressed the construct validity of IPJC measures. The present study used longitudinal data to assess the convergent validity of an IPJC measure by examining its relation with an independent measure of complexity derived from the fourth edition of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT-complexity). In addition, discriminant validity is assessed by examining the relation between the IPJC measure and a relatively broad range of individual (e.g., education) and situational (e.g., pay level) variables, controlling for DOT-complexity. The data are taken from the youth cohort (ages 16-21 in 1979; 19-24 in 1982) of the National Longitudinal Surveys of labor market experience. Results indicated that IPJC did converge significantly with DOT-complexity. Moreover, the set of individual and situational factors did not add significant explanatory power to an equation predicting IPJC using only DOT-complexity, thus providing support for the discriminant validity of the IPJC measure as well. These results may help alleviate reservations concerning previous substantive job design research that has relied almost exclusively on IPJC measures. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

According to recent research, stable dispositional factors may result in considerable consistency in attitudes such as job satisfaction across time and situations. If true, this finding may have important implications. For example, Staw and Ross (1985) argued that 'many situational changes such as job redesign ... may not affect individuals as intended.' Such personnel programs 'may be prone to failure because they must contend with attitudinal consistency' (p.478). The present article has two purposes. First, methodological and conceptual problems with the Staw and Ross assessment of the impact of situational and dispositional factors on job satisfaction are discussed. Second, given Staw and Ross's focus on job redesign, this article examines the impact on job satisfaction of changes in two very different measures of job complexity. Findings indicate that changes in situational factors such as job complexity are important predictors of job satisfaction, consistent with Hackman and Oldham's (1975, 1976) job design model. In contrast, measurement problems preclude accurate assessment of the predictive power of dispositional factors. Contrary to the concern raised by Staw and Ross (1985) and Staw, Bell, and Clausen (1986), it does not appear likely that the success of personnel programs will be significantly constrained by the influence of attitudinal consistency. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)