Psychological Contract Research Research Articles

What do we measure and how do we elicit it? The case for the use of repertory grid technique in multi-party psychological contract research

ABSTRACTThe psychological contract is a multi-faceted construct and, with the rise of gig work, increasingly the contract extends beyond the conventional employer-employee relationship to encompass multi-party exchanges. Against this backdrop, the question of what should be measured when assessing the contract and how it should be elicited remains a significant issue for scholars. We argue that the potential of psychological contract theory as an explanatory lens in understanding contemporary multi-party working relationships is constrained by two key limitations inherent in conventional measurement approaches. Firstly, such approaches have favoured singular rather than multiparty perspectives, and secondly, they have broadly accorded equal weight and significance to the content dimensions unearthed, despite the fact that they may differ markedly in how they are understood by each party to the employment relationship. In order to remedy these shortcomings, we make the case for adopting repertory grid technique as a methodological framework to address measurement limitations and to more rigorously assess the content of the complex multi-party psychological contract.

An analysis of employment relationships in Asia using psychological contract theory: A review and research agenda

Psychological contract theory is increasingly gaining traction as a means of examining the linkages (black box) between Human Resource Management (HRM) and performance. This paper systematically reviews the existing psychological contract research conducted in Asia over the period from 1998-2019. It takes an important step towards building an understanding of psychological contract theory in Asia while also making a critical contribution to the broad domains of HRM and employment relationship. In our review of 96 articles, we consider the two dominant themes that capture the psychological contract evaluation and content in Asia and highlight the theoretical, methodological and contextual gaps in the literature. We also offer specific guidance in the form of potential future research directions and conclude by discussing theoretical and practical implications of the analysis.

Exploring the link between Shared Team Psychological Contract Fulfillment (PCF) and Team Outcomes

Psychological contract research has primarily been operationalized and studied at the individual level. In this study we focus on the role of shared perceptions of fulfillment of employment promise...

Psychological Contracts: Past, Present, and Future

We provide a review of psychological contract research, beginning with past conceptualizations and empirical evidence. We tailor this retrospective look by reviewing the antecedents and outcomes associated with psychological contract breach and discussing the dominant theoretical explanations for the breach-outcome relationship. This synthesis of past evidence provides the foundation for reviewing the present emerging and developing themes in psychological contract research. This discussion is organized around the expansion of resources exchanged and the antecedents of contract breach and outcomes, moving beyond reciprocity as an underpinning explanation. We highlight the practical implications of research to date on psychological contracts and end with directions for future research to include the need for greater attention given to ideological currency, employee health, polycontextual approaches, the role of psychological needs, and post-breach/violation.

Same words, different worlds: Exploring differences in researcher and participant understandings of promise and obligation in the psychological contract

AbstractThis paper addresses longstanding questions about how promise and obligation, two of the key conceptual building blocks for psychological contract research, are conceptualized and operationalized: How do employees understand these concepts? Would their understandings be congruent with the researchers’ and how would this knowledge inform future psychological contract research? Drawing on interviews with 61 Chinese workers from diverse backgrounds, our results suggest the concepts have distinct meanings for participants in terms of three criteria (defining characteristics, key features and manifestations in employment). We argue that promise and obligation are likely to serve different functions in employment relationship and have different meanings for researchers versus participants, and accordingly we highlight the challenges of using them to conceptualize and operationalize psychological contracts in China and beyond.

Psychological Contract Meets Cultural Theory: A Study of Self-Initiated Expatriates

This qualitative study explores the psychological contracts of self-initiated expatriates regarding their perceived work context through recourse to Cultural Theory (Grid/Group analysis) and brings together a Social Exchange theory with a neo-Durkheimian theory, with the potentiality to enrich each other. Employing in-depth semi-structured interviews and follow-ups, we studied 16 self-initiated expatriates working in the French hospitality sector. In the interviews, we focused on their work environments and career/life contexts and addressed specific questions about contract fulfillment, breach, and violations. To do that, we developed and validated an interview schedule that builds on the bodies of knowledge of both theories. Our findings suggest four distinct types of psychological contracts that correspond with Grid/Group classification. Following high/low structuration and sociality differentiation, study participants described sets of psychological contract contents, evaluations, and reactions to psychological contract breach. The study findings demonstrate both the utility of examining Cultural Theory with psychological contract tools and the benefits of including distinctive worldview formulations from Cultural Theory in psychological contract research and theorizing.

How and When PC Breach by Subordinates Relates to Weekly Emotional Exhaustion of Supervisors

In psychological contract research, the side of the supervisor is severely understudied. A supervisor, however, is responsible for maintaining relationships with both his/her subordinates as well as with higher management and is likely to be affected by events in their relationships. In this study, we postulate that not only employee well-being is influenced by psychological contract breach (PCB) and fulfillment by their managers, but that managers’ well-being can also be affected by subordinates breaching or fulfilling obligations to them. The present study advances psychological contract research by developing an understanding of how and when subordinate PCB associates with supervisor emotional exhaustion. By means of a weekly diary study among 56 Dutch supervisors, we test propositions regarding the positive relationship between subordinate PCB and supervisor emotional exhaustion, the mediating role of the supervisor’s perceptions of performance pressure in this relationship, and the moderating role of the supervisor’s additional negotiated resources. Multilevel analyses support the first two hypotheses but show that the association between subordinate PCB and supervisor emotional exhaustion is actually strengthened when supervisors have negotiated additional resources for themselves from their own managers.

Drawing on the discursive resources from psychological contracts to construct imaginary selves: A psychoanalytic perspective on how identity work drives psychological contracts

The study contributes novel theoretical perspectives for a more comprehensive and processual understanding of psychological contracts in the context of identity work. It builds on a psychoanalytic, specifically Lacanian, perspective to analyze 106 psychological contract narratives by employees of a wide range of organizations. Based on this analysis, the study suggests that psychological contracts can be understood as providing discursive resources on which narrators draw in complex and non-linear fashion to construct imaginary selves. Their inevitable unsettlement prompts both imaginary and symbolic responses that seem independent of the viability and type of psychological contract narrated. This suggests that identity work drives psychological contracts in surprising ways and empowers individuals as contract and identity-makers. Implications for psychological contract research are discussed.

One after the other: Effects of sequence patterns of breached and overfulfilled obligations

ABSTRACTTo date, the study of psychological contracts has primarily centred on the question how retrospective evaluations of the psychological contract impact employee attitudes and behaviours, and/or focus on individual coping processes in explaining responses to breached or overfulfilled obligations. In this study, we aim to assess the extent to which sequences of breached and overfulfilled obligations impact job satisfaction and citizenship behaviour intentions. By integrating psychological contract research and theories on cognitive information processing, we formulate competing hypotheses on how sequences of breached and/or overfulfilled obligations lead to patterns of job satisfaction and citizenship behaviour intentions. These competing hypotheses were tested using a vignette study and an experiment. A Bayesian approach was used to test these pattern hypotheses directly against each other. The results show that breached obligations have an immediate negative impact on our outcome variables. Moreover, sequentially breached obligations lead to a continuous decline of job satisfaction and citizenship behaviour intentions. Overfulfilled obligations do little to compensate this negative impact. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Wanting it all: the challenges of managing young talent in transition economies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify challenges of talent management (TM) of transition economies, based on a study of employee and employer obligations as elements of anticipatory psychological contracts (APC) among young entrants to labor market. The authors aim to analyze how APC differ between transitional and non-transitional countries and also if there are differences between transitional countries.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a quantitative research design and conducted a survey using the PC inventory among business students in Poland and Slovenia and the UK (as a control group).FindingsThe authors found that APC in transitional countries differ significantly from the control group, with Polish and Slovenian APCs being more transactional and less relational than in the UK. Also, there are several differences between Poland and Slovenia, suggesting that Central and Eastern Europe transitional countries cannot be considered a single region in this respect.Practical implicationsThe authors identified challenges related to TM in transitional countries based on APC characteristics and proposed several ways in which employers and educators could help to build more realistic expectations and thus helping young talents with their transition from education to labor market. By increasing the understanding of APC employers can improve their TM practices for the young talents.Originality/valueThe study offers unique insights into APC of the young entrants to labor market in transitional countries, with regard to both employee and employer obligations. The three types of APC were studied along with particular dimensions of APC. The authors linked TM to the APC characteristics. Based on the results, the authors propose that socio-economic context as well as national culture should be considered as antecedents of APC formation and given more attention in both psychological contract and TM research.

What generates the violation of psychological contracts at multinational corporations? A contextual exploratory study

The violation of a psychological contract may have negative effects on employees such as mistrust, lower job performance, and reduced job satisfaction and organizational commitment. We demonstrate that the probability of these negative occurrences is prevenient at multinational corporations. This study adopts an exploratory approach based on data collected at four Israeli companies operating in the high-tech industry that outsource or have established subsidiaries in India. Results indicate five situations that may lead to psychological contract violation, as well as to specific cultural and contextual factors that generate such violation. We argue that the possibility of psychological contract violation anticipatory at multinational corporations due to their distinctive characteristics, namely, inherent cultural diversity, dynamic structure, and global dispersion. The study further contributes to general psychological contract research by showing that certain aspects of the psychological contract are culturally constructed and that incongruences in these aspects as constructed by members of different groups may lead to perceptions of violation.

Fulfill psychological contract promises to manage in-demand employees

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of three components of the psychological contract (i.e. obligations, fulfillment and breach) and the individual characteristic negative affectivity (NA) onto three key outcomes, namely, job satisfaction, organizational identification and psychological distress. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaires were completed by 222 Australian nurses and midwives from a medium-sized metropolitan Australian hospital. The response rate for the study was 39 percent. Findings – Structural equation modeling revealed that perceptions of psychological contract fulfillment were positively linked to organizational identification and job satisfaction, while psychological contract breach was negatively linked to these outcomes. NA was negatively linked to job satisfaction and positively linked to psychological distress. Psychological contract obligations were not associated with any of the employee outcomes. Research limitations/implications – Psychological contract fulfillment is an important driver of employee satisfaction and organizational identification and the findings highlight the importance of including NA in psychological contract research. The occupation and context, being in-demand employees, appeared to neutralize the impact of one dimension of the psychological contract, employer promises and obligations. Practical implications – Explicitly managing employees’ psychological contracts by focussing on fulfilling realistic promises will enable managers to improve employee outcomes and facilitate employees embracing their organization. Originality/value – This study is one of the first to explore all three components of the psychological contract. These results may assist in the development of strategies to retain in-demand employees such as nurses, particularly highlighting the need to make and fulfill realistic promises.

Does Psychological Contract on Work-family Benefits Improve Employee Commitment?

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of work-family psychological contract fulfillment as a mechanism through which work-family factors affect employees’ organizational commitment. The data for this study were collected from media organization employees in Malaysia using self-administered questionnaires. The results indicate that work-family psychological contract fulfillment correlates significantly with work-family conflict, work-family facilitation and organizational commitment. Work-family psychological contract fulfillment has a mediating effect on the relationships between the work-family factors (work-family facilitation and work-family conflict) and organizational commitment. The results underscore the important role of work-family psychological contract fulfillment in improving organizational commitment. The findings point to the importance of organizations investing in work-family benefits since this investment has the potential of improving organizational commitment of employees. Organizations should plan for interventions that could reduce work-family conflict and enhance work-family facilitation. In future, there is a need for researchers to give more attention to work-family benefits in psychological contract research.

Adoption of a Learning Contract in Higher Education

This disguised case features a marketing major, Susan Lafleur, who presented Professor Higgins, the Department Chair, with a dilemma. She needed a petition signed to enroll in a capstone course while simultaneously taking a prerequisite course. She received an employment offer from a prestigious overseas corporation, which required a baccalaureate marketing degree. Higgins informed Susan that the prerequisite courses had never been waived previously. Further investigation revealed that Susan had a marginal academic record. Higgins’s quandary involved maintaining academic standards, College policy, and compassion for the student. Decision making, motivation, and psychological contract research were applied. What should Higgins do?

Understanding individual responses to failure by the organisation to fulfil its obligations: examining the influence of psychological capital and psychological contract type

This study advances both psychological contract (PC) and psychological capital (PsyCap) research by testing a novel theoretical model predicting likely worker response, as a joint function of an individual's level of PsyCap and PC type, to perceived failure by the organisation to meet its obligations to the worker–organisation relationship. With a large emergency services organisation using volunteer workers as the research context, the study presents the first empirical evidence from a sample of 592 volunteers that the integrated application of PC and PsyCap theory can contribute to a better understanding of individual responses to an organisation's failure to affirm ongoing support for the volunteer–organisation relationship.

Effects of early employment experiences on anticipated psychological contracts

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how initial employment experiences of new entrants to the labor market, which results from changes in organizations employment practices affect individuals’ expectations from their future employers (their anticipatory psychological contracts and anticipated job insecurity) and to explore the implications of these effects for theory and practice.Design/methodology/approach– The paper focussed on four common experiences and tested the hypotheses about their effects using data collected by a relatively large survey among mature college students with work experience (n=1,164).Findings– Individuals who had been exposed to the experiences of being laid off, witnessing layoffs and having to accept reductions in pay or status held higher transactional and lower relational expectations from their future employers, in comparison with individuals who had not been exposed to such experiences. They also anticipated a higher level of job insecurity in their future employment.Practical implications– In order to mitigate the potential negative consequences of the phenomenon discovered on employee retention and organizational performance, organizations have to develop and implement specific HR practices to deal with cohorts of new members, who have been exposed to the employment experiences investigated. Of particular importance are orientation and socialization practices that address new recruits’ concerns and expectations, and exposing new members to training and learning experiences that increase their employability outside the organization.Originality/value– This is one of a few studies that documents empirically the (anecdotally based) claims about the effects of changes in the economic environment on individuals’ employment expectations and perhaps the first study to focus specifically on the effects of initial experiences of entrants to the labor market. It extends psychological contract research by focussing on the antecedants and formation of the psychological contract rather than on its consequences and on the anticipatory contract rather than on employees’ current psychological contracts.

A Study of Psychological Contract Breach Spillover in Multiple-Agency Relationships in Consulting Professional Service Firms

Most psychological contract research examines single-agency situations in which a breach only affects one firm. In a multiple-agency relationship, however, the individual performs work that simultaneously satisfies the requirements of two firms, allowing for the possibility that breach outcomes extend across both the breaching and the nonbreaching firms. We theorize two mechanisms through which breach outcomes extend across organizational boundaries. First, we propose spillover effects for feelings of violation and for organizational citizenship behaviors from the breaching firm to the nonbreaching firm. Second, we propose that, in cases where the individual expects the nonbreaching firm to intervene and rectify the other firm’s breach as part of a regulatory obligation, there are direct and moderating effects of meeting (or failing to meet) these perceived obligations. Using professional service firms as the empirical context, we find evidence of breach outcome spillover between the two firms in the multiagency relationship and direct and moderating effects of unmet obligations to intervene by the nonbreaching firm. We also find some key differences in the nomological networks depending on whether the breaching firm was the consulting firm or the client firm. These insights highlight the importance of extending psychological contract study to multiple-agency relationships.

Outcomes associated with breach and fulfillment of the psychological contract of safety

IntroductionThe study investigated the outcomes associated with breach and fulfillment of the psychological contract of safety. MethodThe psychological contract of safety is defined as the beliefs of individuals about reciprocal employer and employee safety obligations inferred from implicit or explicit promises. When employees perceive that safety obligations promised by the employer have not been met, a breach of the psychological contract occurs, termed employer breach of obligations. The extent to which employees fulfill their safety obligations to the employer is termed employee fulfillment of obligations. Structural equation modeling was used to test a model of safety that investigated the positive and negative outcomes associated with breach and fulfillment of the psychological contract of safety. Participants were 424 health care workers recruited from two hospitals in the State of Victoria, Australia. ResultsFollowing slight modification of the hypothesized model, a good fitting model resulted. Being injured in the workplace was found to lower perceptions of trust in the employer and increase perceptions of employer breach of safety obligations. Trust in the employer significantly influenced perceived employer breach of safety obligations such that lowered trust resulted in higher perceptions of breach. Perceptions of employer breach significantly impacted employee fulfillment of safety obligations with high perceptions of breach resulting in low employee fulfillment of obligations. Trust and perceptions of breach significantly influenced safety attitudes, but not safety behavior. Fulfillment of employee safety obligations significantly impacted safety behavior, but not safety attitudes. Implications of these findings for safety and psychological contract research are explored. A positive emphasis on social exchange relationships in organizations will have positive outcomes for safety climate and safety behavior.

心理的契約研究の過去・現在・未来

心理的契約研究の過去・現在・未来

When the nature of employment matters in the employment relationship: a cluster analysis of psychological contracts and organizational commitment in the non-profit sector

This paper investigates the relationship between psychological contracts, organizational commitment and employment characteristics among paid employees in a non-profit organization. This is an empirically neglected workforce group. Using fuzzy c-means clustering, our analysis establishes three clusters of employees based on their psychological contract perceptions. Subsequent validation shows that the clusters display different levels of organizational commitment, based on an aggregated commitment measure and three single-item measures pertaining to loyalty, values and effort. In addition, the clusters are differentiated by their demographic profiles, particularly regarding the work role and type of employment contract held. Although prior psychological contract research has considered the impact of employment status (full time, part time and temporary), little attention has been afforded to the nature of the work role undertaken and its implications for the psychological contract. Our exploratory cluster analysis explicates the need for further role-related research in the non-profit sector and beyond. Potential role-related factors underpinning the differential management of employees in the non-profit sector and other work contexts are discussed.