Date of Award

Summer 8-23-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology and Behavioral Sciences

First Advisor

Shelby Curtis

Abstract

This dissertation examines the relationship between employees’ perceptions of their organization’s ESG performance and turnover intentions by drawing upon Social Identity Theory (SIT). SIT suggests that individuals internalize organizational values and beliefs through organizational socialization, which strengthens their identification with the organizations, leading to support for organizations that embody those values. This study also investigated whether ESG awareness is a better predictor than ESG perception. The research employed a cross-sectional survey design to examine whether age and political affiliation moderate the relationship between ESG perception and turnover intention. The findings suggest that employees’ perceptions of their organization’s ESG performance are negatively associated with turnover intention, and political affiliation plays a significant role in moderating the relationship such that the interaction was stronger for individuals who identified more strongly with the Republican Party. The comparison of models using ESG awareness versus ESG perception scales revealed that the model with ESG awareness slightly outperformed the model with ESG perception despite lacking significance.

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