Motivation, work, and mobility: developing a process framework of employee turnover intentions in Indian nonprofits

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to explore the mechanisms associated with employees’ turnover intentions in Indian non-profit organisations (NPOs). Existing employee turnover research provides limited understanding of how individual, organisational, and sector-level dynamics relate to turnover intentions in Indian NPOs. To address this gap, the study aims to develop a process-orientated framework grounded in employees' lived experiences. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with 17 non-profit employees, managers, leaders, and sector stakeholders. Participants were purposively selected to capture diverse organisational roles and sector experiences. Data were analysed using the Gioia methodology. Findings The analysis develops a process framework comprising five interconnected dimensions: mission attachment spectrum, employment deal and financial viability, work design and career trajectories, leadership and organisational culture, and development-sector labour-market dynamics. Together, these dimensions describe how employees evaluate their employment conditions, interpret their relationship with the organisational mission, and respond to opportunities in the broader development-sector labour-market. Originality/value This study contributes a process-orientated framework of employee turnover intentions, advancing four theoretical propositions grounded in qualitative evidence from the Indian non-profit sector. The framework extends the employee turnover literature by integrating individual, organisational, and sector-level dynamics into a contextual explanation of employee turnover intentions in Indian NPOs. The framework illustrates how turnover intentions may emerge through the interaction of mission attachment, organisational conditions, and development-sector labour-market dynamics over time. These insights may have relevance not only to Indian NPOs but also to NPOs operating in other resource-constrained and emerging economy contexts.