| Abstract: | The article examines the emergence of “exit chains”—temporal clusters in attrition, which are expected but rarely documented. Studying attrition in an industry peer network (IPN), we compare the three modes of leaving: as an initial exit in a chain (“leader”), a subsequent exit in a chain (“follower”), and a stand‐alone exit (“loner”). Combining regression and simulation techniques, the analysis affirms the role interdependence between leader and followers, whose rationales for leaving are distinct but complementary, one internal based on exchange imbalances, the other external based on exposure to peer influence. Exit chains are depicted as a by‐product of social embeddedness and the inherently high costs of relationship termination. |
