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Organizational Demography and Turnover: An Examination of Multiform and Nonlinear Heterogeneity

Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109.

Beverly Nuchols

Health Services Policy and Administration, University of California, Beverly.

Joan Bloom

School of Nursing, University of San Francisco.

Shoou-Yih Lee

Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109.

This paper advances the study of organizational demography and turnover by testing propositions derived from Blau's theory of heterogeneity and social structure. In a sample of 398 U.S. community hospitals, voluntary nursing turnover was examined in relation to three demographic dimensions-educational preparation, tenure and employment status-among nurse staff. The form of relationships between turnover and heterogeneity was specified to test whether heterogeneity affects turnover in a linear fashion or, alternatively, in an inverted U-shaped pattern. Our results suggest that effects of heterogeneity on turnover differ by dimension and that such effects can obtain independently of other dimensions. Further, interactions between demographic dimensions show that demographic dimensions also interact with each other to affect nursing turnover. Our findings partially support Blau's conceptualization of heterogeneity in social structure and highlight the importance of multiform heterogeneity in the study of organizational demography and group interaction outcomes.

Key Words: organizational demography • heterogeneity • group interactions • turnover • nursing staff • hospitals

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