Organisational Commitment as a Determinant of Librarians’ Turnover Intention in University Libraries in South-West, Nigeria

Abstract

Turnover intention is a core index that predicts probable loss or retention of staffs in any organization, university library inclusive. High turnover intention is a serious managerial challenge; as it impacts greatly on the cost of personal recruitment and development. Literatures have identified high turnover intention as a major concern to organization worldwide about the job mobility of their employees. Previous studies in Nigeria have established high turnover intention among librarians. This development may be attributable to poor organizational commitment of the librarians. This study investigated organizational commitment as a determinant of librarians’ turnover intention in universities in South-West, Nigeria. The population of the study consisted of 204 librarians working in 11selected university libraries in South-West, Nigeria. The study used a survey research design and data were gathered through a structured questionnaire. The study found that turnover intention of librarians in universities in South-West, Nigeria was low indicating that they are not really keen about job changes. It also reveals that librarians’ organizational commitment is high, and that organizational commitment is a significant determinant of librarians’ turnover intention F(1,143) = 19.602, p < .05) with R² =  0.121. The study concludes that organizational commitment is a key factor influencing librarians’ turnover intention. It was thus recommended that the management of libraries should make effort to sustain the librarians’ low turnover intentions and high level of commitment.