The study attempts to understand the importance of Internal Career Anchors (ICA) and External Career Opportunities (ECO) when determining employee Intention to Quit (turnover intentions) (ITQ) from an organization. The respondents were Information Technology (IT) professionals working in the state of Kerala. The analysis revealed negative relationship between the degree of ECO and ITQ (–0.49) and positive relationship between ICA and ITQ (0.16). Only two ICAs, namely, job security and technical-functional competence were negative and significant. No demographic variable, except years of experience in the organization, showed significant effect on ITQ. The results indicate that the IT companies in Kerala should try and give special emphasis to ICA dimensions of the individuals and offer ECO in line with employee characteristics to curb employee turnover.

The Information Technology (IT) sector has been instrumental in driving the Indian economy onto the rapid growth curve. Its contribution to the country's GDP stood at 6% with an impressive revenue record of US$ 64 bn during 2009-10 (Economic Times, 2010). It is estimated that the demand for IT and ITES-BPO professionals would be around 0.85 million and 1.4 million respectively in 2010 (Economic Times, 2010).

Though the picture seems to be bright, people-related issues continue to be the most critical in almost all technology-driven organizations in the country. The rate of turnover of IT professionals has been historically high (Connolly, 1988), which is about twice the average of business managers and professionals (Ludlum, 1988) and is in the range of 20 to 40% in some organizations in India (Atlas, 2005). Disengagement and job search behavior of the employees are on the rise (Mark and Andrea, 2005), and the rate at which employee turnover happens is serious and disturbing. If the Hewitt Associates' Annual Asia Pacific Salary Increase Survey for 2009-10 is of any indication, Asia Pacific region has been witnessing double digit attrition (13.8%) with India at the top (Economic Times, 2009). This indicates that talent retention will continue to be a serious concern for the companies even at economic downturn.

Given the fact that the cost incurred in losing critical employees is incredibly high and organizational effectiveness and firm success have been negatively affected due to turnover of high performers, it becomes imperative that the organizations understand why people leave. Though a vast amount of literature is available on the factors that lead to employee turnover, research in organizational behavior suggests linking internal and external factors to employee beliefs and behavior to better predict their Intention to Quit (turnover intentions) (ITQ). Since individual-based and firm-based factors have been contributing to retention decisions for over three decades, the authors wished to test the constructs again to confirm whether they have the same effect on turnover especially when the world is experiencing recessionary pressures. The findings from this study indicated that fostering Internal Career Anchors (ICA) by providing External Career Opportunities (ECO) is critical for any organization to tide over the turbulent environment. Theoretical Background and Hypotheses.

Organizational Behavior Journal, Turnover Intentions, Internal Career Anchors, Information Technology Sector, Indian Economy, Organizational Effectiveness, External Career Opportunities, Organizational Commitment, Job Investments, Company Policies, Career Orientations, Entrepreneurial Creativity, Career Orientation, Organizational Culture, Pyramidal Models, Energetic Resources.