Psychological contract breach and organizational cynicism and commitment among self-initiated expatriates vs. host country nationals in the Chinese and Malaysian transnational education sector

Shea X Fan,Émilie Lapointe,Christian Vandenberghe

doi:10.1007/s10490-020-09729-7

Shea X Fan, Émilie Lapointe + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-020-09729-7

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Abstract

In today’s global economy, self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) and host country nationals (HCNs) both represent critical human resources for organizations operating globally. Yet, because these two groups of employees have been studied separately, little is known about how SIEs’ and HCNs’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards the organization compare and diverge (vs. converge) in terms of implications for human resource management. This study aims to contribute to fill this gap by examining psychological contract breach, organizational cynicism, and organizational commitment components (i.e., affective, normative, and continuance) among a sample of 156 SIEs and HCNs working in the Chinese and Malaysian transnational education sector. Using a one-year time-lagged study, we found that compared to HCNs, SIEs experienced more organizational cynicism and less affective, normative, and continuance commitment. Moreover, the breach-organizational cynicism relationship was stronger (i.e., more positive) among SIEs than HCNs. The indirect relationships between breach and affective and continuance commitment, as mediated by organizational cynicism, were also stronger (i.e., more negative) among SIEs than HCNs. Implications for human resource management are discussed under the lens of Conservation of Resources theory.

Highlights

In today’s global economy, self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) and host country nationals (HCNs) both represent critical human resources for organizations operating globally
Given that previous Conservation of Resources (COR) research indicates that employees’ resources affect and shape psychological contract breach perceptions (Robinson & Morrison, 2000), organizational cynicism (Dean, Brandes, & Dharwadkar, 1998), and organizational commitment (Meyer & Allen, 1991; Meyer & Herscovitch, 2001; Byrne & Hochwarter, 2008; Hobfoll & Shirom, 2001; Kiazad, Seibert, & Kraimer, 2014; Lapointe et al, 2013; Lapointe, Vandenberghe, & Boudrias, 2011), we focus on these key perceptions and attitudes in our study
Extending our COR theory reasoning to the examination of the relationships between our focal variables, we further argue that psychological contract breach will lead to increased organizational cynicism and, through organizational cynicism, to lower affective, normative, and continuance commitment among SIEs vs. HCNs

Summary

Introduction

In today’s global economy, self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) and host country nationals (HCNs) both represent critical human resources for organizations operating globally Because these two groups of employees have been studied separately, little is known about how SIEs’ and HCNs’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards the organization compare and diverge (vs converge) in terms of implications for human resource management. Extending our COR theory reasoning to the examination of the relationships between our focal variables, we further argue that psychological contract breach will lead to increased organizational cynicism and, through organizational cynicism, to lower affective, normative, and continuance commitment among SIEs vs HCNs. This paper goes beyond previous research, which focused on either SIEs or HCNs (e.g., Hitotsuyanagi-Hansel, Froese, & Pak, 2016; Makkonen, 2017). It reveals a more complete and nuanced understanding of how different groups of employees perceive

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