From a Spark to a Sweeping Fire: An Integrative Conceptual Review of Group Turnover and a Theoretical Exploration of Its Development

The phenomenon of group turnover has generated substantial yet disconnected scholarly interests. Despite valuable insights gained from the collective turnover literature as well as parallel research concerning related or coordinated quitting, a holistic understanding of the unique group turnover phenomenon is needed, both to synthesize existing research across multiple domains and disciplines and to kindle new inquiries regarding its dynamic nature and developmental process. To this end, we begin by conducting an integrative review of research relating to group turnover, reinterpreting it by identifying its common pathways as a function of varying triggers, temporal patterns, and departure destinations. We then leverage the groups literature to explicate group turnover’s self-reinforcing and dynamic nature and propose a three-dimensional Interdependence, Temporality, and Emergence (ITE) framework that accounts for its developmental process. Using this framework, we develop an illustrative set of propositions regarding how ITE-related group properties affect the extent to which individual departures might escalate into group turnover of a larger scale and faster speed. Our emphasis on groups as a unique unit of reference thus provides an important conceptual refinement and extension for understanding collective turnover—shifting from a static focus on aggregate exit (rates) to a dynamic focus on the often-coordinated, temporally evolving nature of multiple group member quit events.