The nexus between perceived organizational support, employee engagement, organizational citizenship behaviours, and turnover intention in selected branches of the commercial bank of Ethiopia

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of perceived organisational support (POS) on employee turnover intention in selected branches of Commercial Bank of Ethiopia at Dessie city. It also examines the mediating effect of employee engagement (EE) and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB). In this study, a quantitative research design was adopted and data was collected from 157 employees using standardised questionnaires through systematic random sampling. The proposed structural relationships were evaluated using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The model indicated that POS accounted for 50.4% of variance in employee engagement and 30.5% of variance in OCB. POS, EE and OCB together explain 64.5% of the variance of employee turnover intention. The remaining variance is due to other factors not included in this study. Results confirmed that POS was directly and negatively associated with turnover intention, and directly and positively correlated with EE and citizenship behaviours. In addition, the relationship between POS and turnover intention is fully mediated by both EE (β = − 0.383, t = 5.878, p < 0.001) and OCB (β = − 0.177, t = 3.800, p < 0 .001).Theoretically, this study extends social exchange theory(SET) by demonstrating that internal socio-emotional and instrumental resources trigger reciprocal obligations that suppress withdrawal attitudes, and advances social support theory(SST) by proving that organizational-level backing manifests as actionable psychological assets (engagement and extra-role performance) that buffer against job strain and lower turnover intentions in high-pressure emerging market banking environments. Practically, commercial bank management must enhance support systems to stabilize retention. The study contributes to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) in Dessie’s banking sector by building institutional capacity and productive employment condition.