Volume 30, Number 3, 2025

The Dynamics of Occupational Identity: Exploring The Combined Effects of Organizational Culture, Leadership Support, Professional Development, and COVID-19 on Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intentions in the Ghanaian Healthcare Sector

George Kofi Amoako ^a , Ernest Kumi ^b,* , Aidatu Abubakar ^c , Kwasi Dartey-Baah ^d , Angela Kwartemaa Acheampong ^e

 
^{a Department of Marketing, School of Business, Ghana Communication Technology University, Tesano, Accra, Ghana
Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa
gkamoako@gmail.com
gamoako@gctu.edu.gh
b Faculty of Business and Management Studies, Sunyani Technical University, Sunyani, Ghana
ernest.kumi@stu.edu.gh
c Department of Business, Lakeside University College, Accra, Ghana
aibuk83@gmail.com
d Central University Accra, Ghana
kdartey-baah@ug.edu.gh
e School of Nursing and Midwifery, Wisconsin International University College, Ghana.
angela.acheampong@wiuc-ghana.edu.gh}
 

ABSTRACT

Occupational identity is a critical determinant of employee motivation, satisfaction, and retention, yet its dynamics within resource-constrained healthcare systems remain underexplored. This study examines how organizational culture, leadership support, and professional development jointly shape occupational identity and how this identity subsequently influences job satisfaction and turnover intentions among healthcare workers in Ghana. Guided by Social Identity Theory, the study employed a quantitative design and analyzed data from 509 healthcare professionals using PLS-SEM. The results show that supportive organizational culture, effective leadership, and professional development significantly strengthen occupational identity. Strong occupational identity also enhances job satisfaction but, unexpectedly, is associated with higher turnover intentions—revealing an identity–retention paradox in the Ghanaian healthcare context. Furthermore, COVID-19 did not significantly moderate the relationships between occupational identity and the variables outcome. This study is among the first to offer an integrated examination of multiple organizational antecedents of occupational identity within a developing-country healthcare system. It contributes new evidence on the dual role of occupational identity, demonstrating that while it increases job satisfaction, it may also heighten turnover intentions when organizational conditions conflict with professional norms. The findings provide valuable theoretical and practical insights for managing identity-driven behavior and strengthening workforce stability in low-resource healthcare environments.

JEL Classifications: M12, J28, J63, I18

Keywords: occupational identity, organizational culture, leadership support, professional development, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, COVID-19, Ghana

Cite this article: 

Amoako, GK, Kumi, E., Abubakar, A., Dartey-Baah, K., & Acheampong, AK, 2025,  The Dynamics of Occupational Identity: Exploring The Combined Effects of Organizational Culture, Leadership Support, Professional Development, and COVID-19 on Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intentions in the Ghanaian Healthcare Sector,  International Journal of Business , 30(3), 001.  https://doi.org/10.55802/IJB.030(3).001