How Technology and Analytics Maturity of Firms Influence Turnover Intention of Data Science and AI Professionals

Among the key factors in artificial intelligence (AI) implementation, attracting and retaining talent remains one of the greatest challenges for firms. In this paper, we examine how data science and AI professionals’ focus on data and technology maturity influences job dissatisfaction and turnover intention. Specifically, we argue that firm's lack of analytical maturity is more salient for AI professionals, leading to their higher dissatisfaction and turnover intention. We test our hypotheses using data from data science professionals (e.g., data scientists, data analysts, data engineers), collected through three waves of surveys, with over 10,000 responses between 2021 and 2023. Our findings suggest that prioritizing data and technology maturity affects turnover intention through dissatisfaction with the firm’s analytics maturity, with the effects being more pronounced among AI professionals.