Labor pains: Change in organizational models and employee turnover in young, high-tech firms

Organizational theories, especially ecological perspectives, emphasize the disruptive effects of change. However, the mechanisms producing these effec ts are seldom examined explicitly. This article examines one such mechanism -employee turnover. Analyzing a sample of high-technology start-ups, we sho w that changes in the employment models or blueprints embraced by organizat ional leaders increase turnover, which in turn adversely affects subsequent organizational performance. Turnover associated with organizational change appears to be concentrated among the most senior employees, suggesting "ol d guard disenchantment" as the primary cause. The results are consistent wi th the claim of neoinstitutionalist scholars that founders impose cultural blueprints on nascent organizations and with the claim of organizational ec ologists that altering such blueprints is disruptive and destabilizing.