Perception of ethical climate and turnover intention among nursing staff: does organizational cynicism mediate?

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the mediating effect of organizational cynicism between the relationship of perception of ethical climate and turnover intention among nurses working in public sector hospitals. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative approach was utilized and 870 questionnaires were distributed to collect data from nursing staff working in Punjab region of Pakistan by using non-probability multistage sampling technique. A total of 711 questionnaires were returned out of which 668 questionnaires were scrutinized. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied to analyze the data. Findings: The results revealed a full mediating effect of organizational cynicism between the relationship of perception of ethical climate and turnover intention. Research limitations/implications: The current study has adopted a multistage non-probability sampling technique to collect data because the management of hospitals restricted researcher access to personal information about the nurses. Therefore, at the first stage, the researcher used convenience sampling and at the second stage, the researcher utilized quota sampling to collect the data. Moreover, the findings of the current study are based on cross-sectional data because of the limited time and resources. Practical implications: The current study fosters the ongoing debate in organizational studies related to cynicism and it is noteworthy for the nursing managers to understand the significant factors which directly or indirectly affect the nursing attitude. Originality/value: The current study explored the mediating role of organizational cynicism between perception of ethical climate and turnover intention in nursing profession to fill the research gap.