Enhancing the ties that bind: mentoring as a moderator

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of mentoring on the relationships between perceived organizational support, supervisor support, and job fit on turnover intentions. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explains the topics, provides background and discussion of the main concepts. The study uses regression analyses to test the moderating relationships using a total sample of 610 employees split among three separate organizations. Findings – The results suggest that mentoring becomes more effective in reducing turnover intentions as employees experience increasing levels of perceived organizational support, supervisor support, and job fit. Practical implications – The results suggest mentoring can be beneficial to both organizations and individuals. Organizations benefit by improving employee retention. Likewise, individuals benefit through strengthened relationships provided by mentoring and the associated positive outcomes. Originality/value – The paper makes a contribution to the literature by being among the first to examine mentoring as a potential moderator in the context of perceived organizational support, supervisor support, job fit, and turnover intentions.