You Say Goodbye, and I Say Hello: The Alumni–Organization Relationship and Post-Separation Value

Pervasive employee mobility between organizations generates an abundance of alumni for firms. Fragmented research streams have shown alumni can create or destroy value after formal employment ends, yet we have scant theory to holistically guide when and how this occurs. We address this shortcoming by building a theory of post-separation value for the firm, suggesting ways value evolves over time and the role organizations play in managing this process. Our theoretical development combines perspectives on human capital value and social exchange relationships to offer a novel and comprehensive lens to view when, how, and why this post-separation value is or is not created. We identify three prototypical pathways by which value evolves—positive, neutral, and negative. Our theory examines how the desirability of exit management and alumni management practices act as shift parameters that potentially change the type of relationship and value post-separation. Thus, we build upon existing human resource management and strategic human capital work by adding a process-oriented conceptual model of how post-separation value unfolds.