Psychological Contract Theory Research Articles

An employee-oriented perspective in the value-creating mission of social enterprises

PurposeThis study aims to concentrate on a specific perspective that has mostly been ignored: employees in social enterprises (SEs). It proposes that employees in SEs should be treated with equal importance to outside beneficiaries within the SEs’ value-creating mission.Design/methodology/approachA multiple case study approach is adopted, and semi-structured interviews are the primary means of data collection.FindingsThe results show that while economic values are fundamental for the employment relationship, social values play the leading role in employees’ motivation; thus, they can significantly affect the organization’s operation and development.Research limitations/implicationsThis work contributes to Maslow’s need theory and psychological contract theory regarding their application to SEs. Practical lessons and suggestions are also provided for SEs’ development.Originality/valueBy emphasizing the value-creating mission of SEs with the new perspective of including employees in it, this work provides empirical evidence and practical lessons for SEs, especially Asian SEs, in terms of management and strategy.

An examination of the relationship between careerism and organizational commitment, satisfaction, and performance

Purpose Using psychological contract theory as its foundation, the purpose of this paper is to examine the important, but under-explored, relationship between careerism and organizational attitudes among workers in India. Design/methodology/approach In total, 250 middle-level executives, working in six manufacturing plants of motorbike companies located in Northern India, were surveyed. Findings As hypothesized, careerism was found to be negatively related to affective commitment, organization satisfaction and perceived organizational performance. Contrary to expectations, however, careerism was positively related to continuance and normative commitment. Research limitations/implications The study is based on a cross-sectional survey. Also, because the motorbike industry is male dominated, all the executives surveyed are men. Practical implications Despite concerns that employees with more transactional relationships with their employers are no longer loyal to their organizations, this study demonstrates that Indian employees with a higher careerism also have higher levels of normative and continuance organizational commitment. Originality/value Prior research has produced conflicting results as to whether employees with more careerist, transactional psychological contracts with their employers have more negative organizational attitudes. This study contributes to research on psychological contract theory and careerism in today’s turbulent career landscape while also answering calls to examine the generalizability of western theories of careers in non-western countries.

How high-commitment HRM relates to PC violation and outcomes: The mediating role of supervisor support and PC fulfilment at individual and organizational levels

Psychological contract (PC) constitutes a theoretical framework for; explaining labor relationships, and it has been considered as a; mediation step between structural variables and processes and work and; organizational outcomes. Whereas PC (un)fulfillment; showed consistent relationships with variables such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, performance, or absenteeism, the effects of PC; violation (emotional answers that develop after perceptions of PC; breach) have been less investigated. In addition, structural antecedents; of PC constructs had included Human Resources (HR) practices. This paper aims to extend; research on PC and its role as a mediator between HR practices and work; outcomes, both at individual and organizational levels. Specifically, we; examined the impact of human resource practices on employee performance; and sickness absences through a sequence of supervisor support, PC; fulfillment and PC violation. In a sample of 4648 employees from 214; companies of seven different countries, our results indicate that high-commitment; human resource practices were significantly and negatively; related to PC violation through supervisor support and positively to PC; fulfillment; in turn, PC violation was negatively related to employee; performance and positively to sick leave. These relationships at the; individual level were partially replicated at the organizational level, developing partial homologous models and showing that shared perceptions; about HR practices lead to shared perceptions on PC affecting collective; outcomes. Therefore, the findings shed new light on PC theory, regarding; the mediating role of PC constructs and negative emotions in the; relationships between HR practices and support from supervisors and performance at individual and organizational levels.

Status analysis for the job experience and feelings by elderly-healthcare staff under the perspective of psychological contract

Objective To learn the job experience and cognition of the staff working in elderly-healthcare institutions by means of the psychological contract theory and the questionnaire so developed, for probing into the factors affecting the work recognition. Methods The psychological contract questionnaire was used to conduct on-site questionnaires on 232 staff of such institutions in Hubei province between July 2018 and February 2019. The study covered their job experience and organizational contract, responsibility cognition. The data collected were analyzed statistically by methods such as variance analysis, descriptive statistics and related analysis. Results It was found that personal responsibility scoring(76.0±11.8) was generally higher than organizational responsibility scoring(60.9±10.0). 46.1%(107/232) of the employees had the intention of resignation. The respondents′ resignation intention was correlated with the performance of the organization, and there was a strong correlation between employees′ career development and their resignation intention(Gamma coefficient G≥0.5). Conclusions Organizational performance needs further enhancement, and institutions should better the income distribution and incentive mechanism, and raise the income level of the staff. At the same time, the managers should optimize the institutional environment, improve the social status of the staff, strengthen career planning, training, and provide them with a more promising career development path. Key words: Homes for the aged; Healthcare plus elderly care staff; Psychological contract; Incentive; Questionnaire

Psychological contract and attitudinal outcomes: multilevel mediation model

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the link between employer psychological contract (PC) fulfillment and employee attitudes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment and intention to leave the organization) by using employees’ perceptions of PC violation and organizational justice as serial mediators. Design/methodology/approach Data from 44 managers and 880 employees from 44 Spanish organizations were analyzed through multilevel structural equation modeling. Findings Results showed that employees’ feelings of PC violation and justice perceptions mediated the relationships between the employers’ PC fulfillment assessed by managers and job satisfaction and organizational commitment assessed by employees. The mediation effect was not significant for employees’ intention to leave the organization. Originality/value This study contributes to understand the process through which PC influences work outcomes, outlining the relevance of organizational justice as social exchange theory and PC theory (Guest, 2004) stated. In addition, present results extend the influence of PC on work outcomes from the individual to the organizational level.

Promoting human capital through talent management practices: Contextual role of psychological contracts

The purpose of this paper was to explore the direct and indirect effects of skill enhancement practices on human capital based on a talent management framework. In this research, and according to the psychological contract theory, it was assumed that employees` responses to skill enhancement and talent management practices mediate those effects. Therefore, employees` perceptions of intended qualities and talents as well as related rewards would affect their obligations to develop their skills and consequently, would determine the state of the organizations` human capital. The present study with a descriptive-survey approach examined the aforementioned assumptions and relationships within the branches of a large bank in Tehran. Research questionnaires were distributed randomly within sample branches and necessary data were collected from the bank`s employees. Outputs of regression analysis and structural equation models showed that skill-enhancement practices had a significant and positive effect on human capital. Also, organizational talent inducements mediated the relationship between skill-enhancement practices and human capital. However, the findings did not confirm the mediating role of employees` obligations to develop their skills in the relationship between organizational talent inducements and human capital.

Hospitality career retention: the role of contextual factors and thriving at work

PurposeThis study aims to understand employee career retention in the hospitality industry. Building on the socially embedded model of thriving, signaling theory and social cognitive career theory (SCCT), the study examines a structural model of psychological contract fulfillment (PCF), perceived organizational support (POS), thriving, career satisfaction and career turnover intention.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed research model was tested using structural equation modeling with responses from 300 US hospitality employees. Data were collected using an online survey available through a panel service at Qualtrics.FindingsEmpirical results supported all proposed hypotheses and confirmed the critical mediation role of thriving for workplace contextual factors and employee career retention. As predicted, both PCF and POS positively influenced employee thriving, which positively influenced career satisfaction and negatively influenced career turnover intention.Practical implicationsFindings of this study yielded several recommendations for hospitality managers, including using the concept of thriving as an indicator and a remedy for employee career development and retention.Originality/valueGiven the increased need for qualified talent and reduced career satisfaction, this study sheds light on the further understanding of sustainable employment in the hospitality industry. Using signaling theory and SCCT as an overarching framework, this study extends the socially embedded model of thriving as well as SCCT and supports combining psychological contract theory and organizational support theory to better understand hospitality career retention.

How Abusive Supervision Affects Employees' Unethical Behaviors: A Moderated Mediation Examination of Turnover Intentions and Caring Climate.

Drawing on psychological contract theory, this research contributes to the unethical behavior literature by exploring employees’ turnover intentions as a mediator of the relationship between abusive supervision and employees’ unethical behavior and the moderating role of the caring climate in the relationship between turnover intentions and unethical behavior. The results from a sample of 679 reveal that turnover intentions mediate relationship between abusive supervision and subordinates’ unethical behavior, and caring climate moderates the positive relationship between turnover intentions and subordinates’ unethical behavior. We also find that the indirect effect is moderated by the caring climate. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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.

The influence of employer rankings, employment experience, and employee characteristics on employer branding as an employer of choice

PurposeDrawing on the psychological contract theory and signaling theory, the purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the effect of employer rankings and employment experience on employee recommendation of an employer as an employer of choice and second, to examine whether these effects vary by employee characteristics (i.e. full-time vs part-time, current vs former and newcomers vs established employees).Design/methodology/approachThe authors used multilevel logistic regression on a sample of 39,010 Glassdoor employee reviews, drawn from the companies for which three-year employer rankings (from 2015 to 2017) were available, to achieve our research objectives.FindingsThe results show that employment experience influenced employees’ recommendation of an employer as an employer of choice. The average standardized rankings for three years (i.e. 2015–2017) was also associated with employees’ recommendation of an employer as an employer of choice. Employee characteristics such as employment type (i.e. full-time vs part-time), employment status (i.e. current vs former) and tenure significantly interacted with employment experience in affecting recommendations of a company as an employer of choice.Originality/valueIn contrast to the bulk of the research on employer branding that relied on job seekers, the authors studied factors that influence employees’ recommendation of an employer as an employer of choice, arguably the most important indicator of employer internal brand strength. The results offer fresh theoretical and practical insights in an area where research lags far behind practice.

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.

The dynamic process of customer psychological contracts in a service context

This study aims to extend our understanding of the customer-service team relationship from a new angle, that is, the customer psychological contract. This study adopts the psychological contract theory, proposes and empirically tests a dynamic process of customer psychological contract with the sales teams. In particular, this study examines the relationships between customer psychological contract breach, violation, and satisfaction. In addition, it identifies sales team exhaustion, and customer past positive experience as the conditions which moderate the link between customer psychological contract breach and violation. Using multisource data collection from matched 263 sales team members with 1,003 customers nested in 88 sales teams, the results from multilevel modeling show that customer psychological contract breach leads to a high level of perceived violation, which in turn reduces customer satisfaction. Although sales team exhaustion amplifies the positive impact of customer psychological contract breach on violation, customer past positive experience diminishes such impact. Overall, this study provides a unique contribution to existing literature on the service organization, psychological contract, and the management of customer and service team interactions.

Gender Workplace Harassment and Upward Displaced Aggression

Research on displaced aggression is well established across literatures. However, such research has focused on the typical assumption that displaced aggression happens in a downward progression–from a victim to less-powerful others. Integrating the notion of a trickle-up effect with the theory of psychological contracts, we highlight the possibility of “upward” displaced aggression, whereby employees harassed by their coworkers because of their gender in turn behave aggressively toward their supervisor, whom they hold responsible. Two field studies show that the experience of gender-based and generalized workplace harassment (one of the most prevalent and noxious forms of harm-doing in organizations) leads a victim to subsequently engage in upward aggression toward a more powerful other, namely the supervisor. We also argue for and test whether an employee’s perceptions of task interdependence with a supervisor attenuates the strength of this relationship. In addition, an employee’s perception of a supervisor’s interpersonal justice further amplifies the two-way interactive effect of coworker harassment and perceived task interdependence with the supervisor on displaced aggression toward the supervisor. Our theoretical framework and findings challenge the assumptions that the target of displacement is only toward a less-powerful entity and offer new insight into the boundary conditions in which such effects likely occur.

The Multidimensional Benefits of University Student Volunteering: Psychological Contract, Expectations, and Outcomes

Student volunteering has many benefits for students, universities, and nonprofit organizations (NPOs), but research on these from a multistakeholder perspective is scant. Using psychological contract theory, this article compares outcomes to expectations of students, universities, and NPOs, proposing a model of the benefits of volunteering to all three stakeholder groups. Based on a large-scale qualitative research with over 60 interviews in six Australian universities, the article offers an in-depth analysis of student volunteering benefits, surprises (benefits exceeding expectations), and disappointments (unmet expectations) for each stakeholder group. Some of these benefits align with existing literature, while others contribute new knowledge on the outcomes of student volunteering. The results show that training, preparation, and management of expectations have the potential to build positive benefits for all. It concludes with implications for universities and NPOs and directions for future research on student volunteering.

Goal congruence in teams and performance: The role of (shared) psychological contract fulfilment

AbstractThis study examines the motivating effects of goal congruence on outcomes in teams. Building on psychological contract theory and theories of person–environment fit, we proposed at the team level of analysis a mediating role of psychological contract fulfilment (PCF) and moderating effects of task interdependence and team identification. The results indicate partial mediation of shared PCF in the goal congruence – team performance relationships and a significant moderation effect of team identification with team alignment in learning goal orientations.

Flipping class: Why student expectations and person-situation fit matter

The use of flipped instructional methods have become commonplace in business schools, despite a mix of potential benefits and pitfalls. To explore why flipped classes may have both benefits and pitfalls, we applied psychological contract theory and a person-situation fit perspective. We found undergraduate organisational behaviour students who expected traditional in-person lecture-based instruction, yet received flipped instruction (indicative of contract violation) were less satisfied and less intent on taking a flipped class later, yet they showed more in-class effort than students who expected and received traditional instruction. Moreover, autonomously motivated students were more intent on taking a flipped class in the future (indicative of a better fit), and satisfaction mediated this relationship. Autonomous motivation also predicted outside-of-class effort and self-regulated learning strategies. Flipped classes may benefit autonomously motivated students who can self-select such classes, while less autonomously motivated students or those with violated psychological contracts may experience pitfalls.

Cultivating loyal customers through online customer communities: A psychological contract perspective

Despite a number of empirical studies showcasing the power of online customer communities in fostering customer loyalty, the underlying theoretical foundations for this phenomenon remain unclear. Drawing upon psychological contract theory, this study aims to provide a new perspective to understand the exchange relationship between e-retailers and customers through online customer communities. The proposed research model extends the classic trust-commitment framework and incorporates the constructs of feelings of gratitude and personal reciprocity. It addresses the psychological process in relationship development and opens the “black box” between higher-order mental constructs to investigate loyalty. The results of this study indicate that in order to build effective loyalty programs and generate economic benefits from investments in online customer communities, e-retailers should improve customers' awareness of the benefits they receive from these communities, design appropriate strategies to motivate customers' feelings of gratitude, and activate customers' gratitude-based reciprocal behaviors.

Research on the Application of Psychological Contract in Enterprise Human Resource Management

In the fierce market competition, the core competitiveness of enterprises in an invincible position is to have excellent, loyal and stable talents. In order to help enterprises manage human resources more scientifically and rationally, this study randomly selected 300 enterprises employees, they made a psychological contract, job satisfaction, turnover intention, job performance and other scales, statistical analysis of the data with SPSS17.0 software, the employee's psychological contract and job satisfaction, turnover intention, work correlation analysis between performance shows that psychological contract is significantly positively correlated with job satisfaction, negatively correlated with turnover intention, and positively correlated with job performance. Recommendation: Personnel in charge of human resource management should apply the theory of psychological contract, and often do psychological contract testing for employees. Enterprises should understand and meet the demands of employees as soon as possible, establish a people-oriented corporate culture, and strive to find the dynamic balance of the psychological contract that both company and employees can accept, the implementation of flexible management, only in this way, in order to cultivate employee loyalty to the enterprise, in order to ensure that the enterprise can run long-term, stable, efficient and orderly.

Sustainability and ideology-infused psychological contracts: An organizational- and employee-level perspective

In this paper we explore sustainability-based ideology-infused psychological contracts (IPCs) from both organizational and individual-level perspectives. Better knowledge about how and when IPCs operate and the role of the organization's human resource management in that process is beneficial to firms that wish to capitalize on the positive outcomes resulting from IPCs while avoiding the creation of ideological obligations that they are unable or unwilling to meet (Rousseau & McLean Parks, 1993; Thompson & Bunderson, 2003). Organizations may show they care, through sustainable HRM strategies, and encourage ideological currency exchange in order to recruit and retain quality employees, increase organizational commitment, increase citizenship behaviors, strengthen identity, increase job satisfaction, and maintain a positive public perception and reputation. On the other hand, if an organization fails to fulfill an IPC it may lead to negative behaviors and consequences. We extended our arguments beyond the individual-level focus common to psychological contract theory, to include firm-level context. In doing so, we explain how an organization's efforts towards being more sustainable can connect employees to the organization through their IPCs, and moreover, through their IPCs, employees can connect to corporate goals. Finally, we advance current theory by exploring the underlying motivations that drive organizations and individuals to develop IPCs.

New study examines why bridge employees are underperforming and concludes they are demoralized by “unmet expectations”

PurposeThe authors wanted to analyze why bridge employees have such a poor experience of coming back to work from retirement. Morale and performance are often disappointing.Design/methodology/approachThe authors studied the existing research using the framework of two theories – self-determination theory and psychological contract theory. Both theories suggest that unmet expectations have a detrimental effect on bridge employees' performance and mood. The authors analyze what the returning workers' motivations might be and why bosses might be so poor at satisfying them.FindingsThe previous research suggests that, apart from financial drivers, three factors are key. They are the need for personal fulfillment, the opportunity for mentoring the younger generation, and the need for meaningful social relationships. The research indicates that stereotypical views about older employees often hold organizations back from providing work that fulfills these needs.Originality/valuePrevious research has looked at the disappointing outcomes of bridge employment but has not analyzed why that might be the case. The authors of the present study use of the two theories to provide understanding of why bosses might be undermining the returning workers, who are often relegated to “non-standard” roles.