Psychological Contracts, Work Behaviour and Turnover Intention in the Hong Kong Telecommunications Industry

Abstract

This paper reports a quantitative study of psychological contract between employees and employers in the telecommunications industry in Hong Kong, and the relationships between the psychological contract, work behaviour and turnover intention. Previous research in the telecommunications industry in Hong Kong has focused mainly on consumer protection and telecommunications market competition, and research has seldom been done on the human resources issues in this industry. This research investigates the informal relationship between employees and employers in the telecommunications industry in Hong Kong. A quantitative research methodology was used in this research by surveying employees. A total of 227 valid responses were received, and the data was analysed by Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results found that the psychological contract has a significant relationship with work behaviour and turnover intention. The psychological contract is a better means of explaining turnover intention than work behaviour. Business managers can leverage this finding to develop better plans and approaches to deal with work behaviour and turnover intention issues. The outcomes also provide empirical evidence to validate the psychological contract inventory developed by Rousseau [1]. This research contributes to the development of human resource theory and practice.