Psychological Contract Breach Research Articles

The Role of Dark Personalities and the Setting in Explaining Counterproductive Work Behavior among Nurses in China

The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between dark triad personality (DTP) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). In addition, the study also examined the main effects and the moderated relationship of four situational variables: organizational justice, organizational transparency, psychological contract breach, and perceived accountability. Data were collected at two hospitals in Beijing, China, and included 259 randomly selected nurses. The main effect results showed that nurses with higher levels of Machiavellianism demonstrated higher levels of organizational and interpersonal CWB. Furthermore, higher levels of psychopathy were related to higher levels of interpersonal CWB, but not organizational CWB. There was no relationship between narcissism and CWB. The main effect findings did not reveal any significant relationship between the four situational variables and CWB. However, the interaction analyses revealed five significant interactions that point to transparency as an important moderator. The paper concludes with conceptual as well as practical implications for the nursing profession. 

Openness to experience moderates psychological contract breach–job satisfaction tie-in

Purpose This paper aims to assess the tie-in between psychological contract breach (PCB) and job satisfaction (JST) amongst medical doctors (MDs) working in two stress-prone regions of Ghana, and further analyses the moderating effect of openness to experience (OPE) on this tie-in. Design/methodology/approach Responses from 214 MDs were analysed. Questionnaires were self-administered. Research philosophy was positivism, research approach was quantitative, research design was explanatory and study design was cross-sectional. Test of normality, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s test of sphericity were applied. Both reflective measurement and structural models were assessed. Path coefficients were analysed using partial least squares (PLS) algorithm tool and moderation effect was conducted using the product indicator approach. Control variables were sex (GEN1), age (GEN2), employment type (GEN3) and tenure (GEN1). A significant level was set at 5%. Smart PLS 2.0 M.3 software was used. Findings The analysts found support for a significant moderating effect of OPE on the tie between PCB and JST, such that the consequences of PCB on JST was minimised for MDs who scored high on OPE trait. Practical implications PCB, if not addressed, may lead MDs to be less satisfied with their jobs. In stress-prone health zones where PCB exists, MDs who are inspired, creative, self-sufficient, experimenting and visionary are more likely to be satisfied with their job. Originality/value This study offers health-care literature on the moderating role of OPE personality dimension on the bond between PCB and JST, using PLS-structural equations modelling, which is a superior and robust analytical tool.

Study of Indian bank shows psychological contract breach (PCB) during restructuring has impact on stress

PurposeRestructuring is a common strategy to increase competitiveness, but a lot of the time it is unsuccessful. The author believes this is likely to be because of “psychological contract breach” (PCB), but says the phenomenon has not been studied much. Another factor, he says, is the high level of stress caused by the restructuring. Therefore, the researcher wanted to study the impact of both the psychological contract breach and stress on employee job outcomes during restructuring.Design/methodology/approachData was collected from bank employees using a questionnaire. A total of 322 completed questionnaires were used in the analysis. There were also 30 interviews with native employees of SBI to find out their opinions of working with bank associate employees. There were 17 questions covering PCB, job stress, job involvement and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB).FindingsThe results confirmed Hypothesis 1, Hypothesis 2 and Hypothesis 3. Therefore, the author’s research proved a positive relationship between PCB and employee stress, a significant negative relationship between employee stress and job involvement, and a significant positive relationship between job involvement and OCB. However, analysis rejected three other hypotheses. Although there was a change in stress, job involvement and OCB after the merger, it was not significant.Originality/valueThe study was a significant contribution to research because few previous studies have dealt with the impact of organizational restructuring on stress and job outcomes in India.

Psychological contract breach: Unraveling the dark side of business-to-business relationships

While there is an increasing awareness of the importance of developing successful business-to-business relationships, little research has explored the dark side of these relationships. We drew upon the concept of psychological contract, underpinned by social exchange theory to examine breach and the dark side of business-to-business relationships. We conducted in-depth interviews with 24 consultants in the UK and found that breach could take varying forms, resulting in differing levels of intensity of the dark side. The four theoretical categories of breach were classified as minor infractions, negative disruptions, intensified adverse events, and intolerable transgressions, which correspond to low, moderate, high, and very high levels of the dark side of business-to-business relationships, respectively. The dark side behavioral outcomes were identified as self-adjusting, renegotiating, escalating, and departing. We develop a set of research propositions, integrating and extending the business-to-business and psychological contract literature. We also highlight key implications for theory and practice.

Psychological contract breach and teachers' organizational commitment: mediating roles of job embeddedness and leader-member exchange

PurposeThe study examined the relationship between psychological contract breach and organizational commitment and whether leader-member exchange and job embeddedness mediate this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a quantitative approach and is based on a sample of 298 teachers in basic schools in Accra, Ghana. Participants completed surveys with standardized measures on psychological contract breach, job embeddedness, leader-member exchange and organizational commitment. Hypothesized relationships were tested using structural equation modeling in AMOS 21.0.FindingsPsychological contract breach had a direct negative relationship with affective and normative commitment but had no significant direct relationship with continuance commitment. Psychological contract breach was indirectly related to affective and normative commitment through both job embeddedness and leader-member exchange, and indirectly related to continuance commitment through only job embeddedness.Practical implicationsFindings from the study suggest that employers' failure to fulfill their obligations to employees has significant potential cost to the organization, and underscore the need for managers, particularly in educational institutions, to institute measures to eliminate or minimize the occurrence of psychological contract breach.Originality/valueThe study contributes to research examining antecedents of organizational commitment as well as the mechanisms linking psychological contract breach to organizational commitment in the educational context.

Psychological Contract Breach, Behavioural Work Outcomes, Organisational Identification, and Islamic Work Ethics: A Moderated Mediation Study

We investigated how organisational identification (OID) mediates the influences of psychological contract breach (PCB) on two work outcomes [organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and counterproductive work behaviour (CWB)], and how Islamic work ethics (IWE) moderated the PCB–OID relationship. We collected data from 256 Palestinian managers in Gaza Strip ministries using a self-report questionnaire; we employed Structural Equation Modelling in analysing the data using Smart PLS. Our findings reveal that OID mediates between PCB and the two work outcomes. Further, we show that IWE has no moderating influence on the PCB–OID relationship. Finally, the influence of PCB on the two work outcomes is insignificant.

Testing the link between psychological contract, innovative behavior and multidimensional well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThe study investigates the impact of psychological contract breach on employees' innovative behavior and well-being (happiness, work engagement and mental well-being) who are working from home during this COVID-19 pandemic situation. Drawing on social information processing (SIP) and job-demand resource (JD-R) theory, job stress was proposed as a mediator explaining this relationship.Design/methodology/approachData were collected via a structured questionnaire through Google Docs from 258 respondents working at different capacity in Indian organizations. The study includes those respondents who are working from home during COVID-19 pandemic situation. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsPsychological contract breach was negatively impacting innovative behavior and well-being. Job stress mediated the relationship between psychological contract breach and innovative behavior as well as well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic situation and especially for those who are working from home only.Research limitations/implicationsThe data for the study were collected from the employees working from home during this COVID-19 pandemic situation was cross-sectional. The study implied or spoke about the unmet expectations leading to reduced innovative behavior harming the organization's effectiveness and it also reduces well-being which harms the individual in the era of social and financial uncertainty.Originality/valueThe novel contribution of the study is integrating SIP and JD-R theory during the pandemic situation. The results highlighted meticulous empirical evidence which answers the question that how the unmet expectations cause a detrimental effect on the employees as well as the organizations in this COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Psychological Impact of Downsizing on Survivor-Managers in a Developing Economy

Despite the importance of psychological wellbeing of survivors to the attainment of the envisaged goal of the downsizing practice, research on this group of workers is still limited particularly in Nigeria. The study aims at exploring the psychological impact of downsizing on survivor managers in Nigeria using a qualitative research approach. More specifically, unstructured and semi-structured interviews were carried out at different stages with a total of 20 interviewees. Data were analysed and coded using a data-driven thematic analysis. The finding revealed that anxiety, a feeling of uncertainty, insecurity of job, reduction in individual motivation and poor communication influenced the survivors negatively. These negative psychological and emotional impact exhibited by the survivor employees are linked to lack of jobs, high rate of unemployment, and lack of social security and culture. The outcome of the study would provide implications for human resources managers in Nigeria who often deal with downsizing and engaged in psychological contract breach.

Impact of Toxic Leadership on Counterproductive Work Behavior with the Mediating role of Psychological Contract Breach and Moderating role of Proactive Personality

This paper focused the conceptualizations of toxic leadership and analyzes the relationship between toxic leadership and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). The mediating role of psychological contract breach was measured between the toxic leadership and counterproductive work behavior, also by analyzing the moderating effect of proactive personality. The selected sample for research comprised of 355 nurses serving in public sector of Pakistan and questionnaire was used as a research tool. Findings of the data revealed that toxic leadership is having a positive significant relationship with CWB and a negative with PCB in partial mediation model. PCB was found to be positively associated with CWB whereas Proactive personality was identified for weakening the relationship of PCB and CWB. The results of the study elaborated that firms ought to illuminate unmistakably to managers about the antagonistic outcomes brought about by toxic oversight, and may join rules or approaches to rebuff toxic practices. Given the counterproductive impact of toxic leadership, more information is exclusively required regarding causes of toxic leadership and the paper concluded with recommendations for future research and action.

Exploring employer–employee relationship: A psychological contract breach-exit voice and loyalty effect mediated by the dark triad

Purpose: To understand the underlying employer–employee relationships when there are weak labour laws and high unemployment, we tested a mediation of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ – 12 – items measuring the dark triad (Machiavellianism, psychopathy and narcissism) on the Psychological Contract Breach (PCB) – Exit, Voice and Loyalty (EVL) effect. Design/methodology/approach: Using 391 respondents comprising the staff of a large financial institution in Nigeria, we formulated the hypotheses to establish direct, indirect and total effects of the variables studied. Constructs diagnostics were performed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for construct validity, composite reliability for internal consistency and Hayes’ mediated regression to test the hypotheses. Findings/results: All direct effects were statistically significant. Narcissism is shown as the non-statistically supported mediator amongst the dark triad, whilst the study showed that the total effect of the multiple mediators worsens loyalty behaviour more than they predict exit behaviour. Practical Implications: This implies that employers should do better to maintain a healthy work climate in developing climes, as the dominant response to contract breach would not be exit, but rather disloyalty, which would be more disruptive to the organisation than either exit or voice. Originality/value: Post Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) there could be a threat to sustainable work systems. Both employers and employees would have to develop methods to deal with perceived breach from employers and idiosyncratic work behaviour of employees. The contributions of this study would aid sustainable work-related practices, especially within unregulated work environments as present in Africa and other developing nations across the world.

Confronting Pension Reform: Public Employees’ Psychological Contract Breach, Negative Perception, Regret, and the Moderating Role of PSM

Although pension reform has been a global trend in the last couple of decades, public administration research has seldom addressed the issue of how targeted pension reforms affect civil servants. The goal of this study is to conceptualize pension reform as the breach of the psychological contract between the government and civil servants and to understand whether it leads to the experience of regret in civil servants over choosing a government career. In doing so, this study also explores the possible role of public service motivation (PSM) in moderating the experience of regret elicited by psychological contract breach as well as the negative perception of the pension reform. The analysis of the data collected from 944 Taiwanese public employees shows that (i) both psychological contract breach and negative perception trigger regret and (ii) PSM strengthens the impacts of psychological contract breach and the negative perception of the pension reform. The findings have critical implications for both practitioners handling pension reforms and researchers interested in building a theory of PSM.

Relationship Between On-Job Training and Employee Turnover in the Telecommunications Industry in Kenya

The study set to determine the relationship between on-job training and employee turnover in the telecommunications sector in Kenya. Its objectives were: to investigate the kind of extant on-job training in Safaricom Ltd; to determine the effect of employee turnover after undergoing on-job training in Safaricom Ltd; to establish the factors motivating employees turnover after training in Safaricom Ltd and; to establish the relationship between on-job training and employees turnover in Safaricom Ltd. The null hypothesis adopted in this study was that there is no significant relationship between on-job training and employee turnover in Safaricom Ltd. This study used a case study research strategy. It targeted 67 employees of Safaricom Ltd. drawn from two job groups 4 and 5 through stratified proportionate sampling. A questionnaire shall be the only research tool used in this study. The findings obtained shall be presented in Tables and Figures. This study found that there on-job training, as is practiced in Safaricom Ltd. is important. As such, organizations need to invest in it. But as they do so, they should realize that it often leads to turnover. Turnover is caused by various factors. The most important factors include the need for high pay after training, competition from other organizations that might want the skills acquired by such employees after training, the need for promotion and better working conditions, and breach of psychological contract after training among others. When turnover occurs, organizations are affected in various ways. One of the major ways in which organizations are affected is loss of revenue, delay in realization of organizational goals, loss of competitiveness as well as loss of requisite skills. Lastly, the study established clearly that there is clear nexus between on-job training and employee turnover. Based on this, the following recommendations are made. The study recommends that managers should have a clear understanding of the influence of on-job training on employee turnover before embarking on such training. This is essential since it could enable employees to put in place ways of curbing the associated turnover. To this end, various measures can be put in place to check turnover put in place budgets to cater for increased pay; have measures for discouraging turnover, and; revise employment contracts to curb turnover among others. Training should also be well planned such that in the eventuality of turnover, companies can make up for such loss by getting suitable replacements. Furthermore, organizations can also avert the loss associated with a training-related turnover by employing persons who already possess the requisite skills.

The Aftermath of Employees’ Psychological Contract Breach with The Moderation of Proactive Personality

The Aftermath of Employees’ Psychological Contract Breach with The Moderation of Proactive Personality

Impact of Leaders Despotism on Subordinates Outcomes with Mediation of Psychological Contract Breach

Impact of Leaders Despotism on Subordinates Outcomes with Mediation of Psychological Contract Breach

ToJugaador Not? How Mumbai’s Gig Workers Thrive Against Psychological Contract Discrepancies

As gig economy based firms increasingly rely upon algorithmic management to regulate their gig workers, we explore how driver-partners’ psychological contacts working for two major ridesharing platforms based on Mumbai evolve. The gig workers’ responses in how they adapt and thrive to the challenges posed by the information asymmetry brought about by the app’s algorithms are qualitatively captured using semi-structured interviews. From the thematic analysis that follows, we learn that the gig workers perceive psychological contract violation when repetitive attempts via problem-focused coping fail to resolve the psychological contract breach induced discrepancies. Though functional coping responses are persisted initially, we find that a collective influenced employee reaction follows soon. This collective attempt at resetting the power asymmetry leads the drivers to disengage with their organisations and resort to counterproductive work behaviour hacks. These temporary and significant quick fixes (identified as jugaad in the local culture) help the gig workers thrive amidst their disengagement states.

Psychological Contract Breach and Job Outcomes in Indian IT Industry

Psychological Contract Breach and Job Outcomes in Indian IT Industry

Psychological Contract Breach and Job outcomes: Moderating role of Educational Qualification

Psychological Contract Breach and Job outcomes: Moderating role of Educational Qualification

The effects of a psychological brand contract breach on customers' dysfunctional behavior toward a brand

PurposeThis paper introduces the concept of dysfunctional customer behavior toward a brand and argues that when customers perceive that a brand has failed to fulfill its promises, a psychological brand contract breach occurs, which in turn leads to a psychological brand contract violation, which evokes dysfunctional customer behavior toward the brand. In addition, this study investigates whether the impact of a breach of this contract is dependent on brand relationship quality, brand apology and restitution.Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 conducted the online survey and 224 respondents were used for data analysis and the moderating role of brand relationship quality was examined. Study 2 conducted an experiment with 201 participants to test the moderating role of brand apology and restitution.FindingsThis study found the moderating role of brand relationship quality, brand apology and brand restitution on the relationship between a psychological brand contract breach and dysfunctional customer behavior toward a brand (i.e. brand-negative word-of-mouth, brand retaliation and brand boycott), which is mediated by psychological brand contract violation.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the theoretical understanding of dysfunctional customer behavior toward a brand by integrating the literature on brand management with the organizational literature on psychological contracts between organizations and their employees. Furthermore, this study sheds light on the effectiveness of reparative actions by the firm after occurrence of the psychological brand contract breach.

Job Security and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors in Chinese Hybrid Employment Context: Organizational Identification Versus Psychological Contract Breach Perspective Differences Across Employment Status.

The goal of the present research was to identify the mechanism through which job security exerts its different effects on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) among contract and permanent employees from social identity and social exchange perspectives. Our research suggests two distinct, yet related explanatory mechanisms: organizational identification and psychological contract breach, to extend the job security literature by examining whether psychological contract breach and organization identity complement each other and explaining the mechanism of different behaviors response to job security across employment status. Data were collected from 211 Chinese employees and 61 supervisory ratings of OCBs. Our results showed that relative to psychological contract breach, organizational identification plays a stronger mediating role in the association between job security and OCBs. Evidence from multi-group analyses also suggested employment status moderated the mediation mechanism of organizational identification between job security and OCB. Implications for job security and hybrid employment management are discussed.

When does breach not lead to violation? A dual perspective of psychological contract in hotels in times of crisis

• The content of psychological contract in the crisis was identified from dual perspective. • A process model indicated the dynamics of psychological contract breaches in times of crisis. • Mutual consideration is the essential of psychological contract in crisis settings. • The crisis prompts hotels to invest on long-term psychological contract building. Implicit psychological contract (PC) represents the dynamic employee–employer relationship, and unlike explicit human resource (HR) practices, PC is an underexplored topic in the crisis management literature. By capturing the dual perspective of hotel employers and employees through interviews, this study investigates the content of PCs and breaches of PCs during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The study identifies salient dimensions of employer obligations such as safety assurance and of employee obligations such as personal protection. While employees emphasized the transactional contracts to protect their individual interests, the employers tried to balance the transactional and relational contracts. The study proposes a dynamic PC breach model that indicates contract breaches lead to varied responses through a complex interpretation process. In general, the study suggests that ensuring mutual consideration is the best way for hotel employees and employers to pull through a crisis.