Psychological Contract Violation Research Articles

Why does leadership non-contingent punishment lead to bystander workplace deviance behavior? – Dual path perspective of cognition and affection

Purpose Based on the cognition-affection personality system theory, this study constructs and tests a mediation model of leadership non-contingent punishment on bystander workplace deviance behavior through bystander affective rumination and bystander psychological contract violation, as well as a chain mediation effect of bystander affective rumination and bystander psychological contract violation, and explores the moderation role of bystander performance pressure in this model.Design/methodology/approach This study takes 454 employees and their colleagues from several Chinese enterprises as the research subjects and conducts a paired survey at three-time points using Mplus 7.4 to analyze the empirical data.Findings The research results are as follows: Bystander affective rumination and bystander psychological contract violation play a mediation role between leadership non-contingent punishment and bystander workplace deviance behavior, respectively. Bystander affective rumination and bystander psychological contract violation play a chain mediation role in the positive role of leadership non-contingent punishment on bystander workplace deviance behavior. Bystander performance pressure moderates the chain mediation path by enhancing the positive role of leadership non-contingent punishment on bystander affective rumination.Originality/value This study comprehensively explores the internal path of the impact of leadership non-contingent punishment on bystander workplace deviance behavior from the perspective of bystanders through dual paths of cognition and affection. It enriches the result variables of leadership non-contingent punishment, expands existing research on the mediation mechanism of leadership non-contingent punishment and deepens the understanding of the mechanism of leadership non-contingent punishment. At the same time, it has practical guidance significance to promote the suppression of leadership non-contingent punishment in organizations, reduce the occurrence of employee workplace deviance behavior, help employees better integrate into the organization and build a harmonious organizational environment.

조직 리더의 착취적 리더십이 조직구성원의 직무소진과 이직 의도에 미치는 영향

Recently, the rise in exploitative leadership within restaurant companies has led to increased job exhaustion and turnover intentions among organizational members. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between a leader's exploitative leadership and organizational members' job exhaustion and turnover intention, examining the mediating effects of job stress and psychological contract violation in the relationship between exploitative leadership, job exhaustion, and turnover intention. Additionally, the study sought to verify the moderated mediating effect of organizational members' self-efficacy on job stress and psychological contract violation. For this purpose, a survey was conducted among 364 employees who had experienced or observed exploitative leadership while working in restaurant companies, with the analysis conducted using structural equation modeling and process macro analysis techniques. The analysis revealed that the leader's exploitative leadership positively affects organizational members' job exhaustion and turnover intention. Specifically, all relationships with the variables of stress, psychological contract violation, and emotional damage were found to be significant. To examine the moderating effect, self-efficacy was shown to influence the intensity of stress and psychological contract violation. The significance of this study lies in its examination of the variables affecting organizational members' job exhaustion and turnover intentions and in comprehensively modeling the process through which exploitative leadership interacts with emotional damage via dual mediating paths. The study aims to inform managers and staff of restaurant companies about the negative impact and importance of addressing harmful leadership, such as exploitative leadership, emphasizing the need for genuine leadership that resonates with organizational members.

Do workplace practices really matter? Role of ostracism and dehumanization at the workplace and psychological well-being of employees

Purpose This study aims to explore the dynamics of workplace ostracism and dehumanization behavior and its impact on employees’ psychological contract violation, their revenge intention and psychological well-being. Design/methodology/approach The study has collected data from 329 IT sector employees working in the northern part of India using standard measures for various constructs utilized in the study. For the purpose of testing the proposed hypothesis, partial least square structural equation modeling is used. Findings The results show that all the hypotheses were supported, meaning employees experiencing ostracism and dehumanization at the workplace feel stressed and anxious and develop feelings of revenge, leading them to experience irrational feelings. Practical implications In the presence of workplace dehumanization and workplace ostracism, employees may experience stress, anxiety and depression. Managers must ensure a psychologically safe environment because if individuals experience ostracism or dehumanization at the workplace, they are going to affect their well-being through revenge intention behavior. Hence, it is important that managers should provide adequate resources to the employees so that they can feel psychologically safe in the workplace and hence can enhance psychological well-being. Originality/value This study is unique in terms of its contribution to the existing literature by understanding the nuances of workplace ostracism and dehumanization on employee’s well-being. The study also contributes to highlighting the advantages of using tools to establish psychological safety.

An employee–employer relationship gone bad? Examining the double‐edged effect of psychological contract violation on employees' helping behaviors

AbstractAn important concept that depicts the nature of employee–employer relationship is the psychological contract. Prior research has argued that all forms of extra‐role behaviors suffer once employees' psychological contracts are violated. Helping behaviors are a specific form of extra‐role behaviors that may suffer due to psychological contract violation. We argue that this predominantly negative relationship between psychological contract violation and helping behaviors is because the literature has not adequately examined the different types of helping behaviors. Using the latent moderated structural equation approach with multiwave and multisource data from a survey of 269 full‐time employees and their coworkers from the hospitality industry in Ghana, we show that psychological contract violation is positively related to reactive helping behaviors and negatively associated with anticipatory helping behaviors through anticipatory anxiety.

Investigating Turnover Intentions During Organizational Change: The Role of Negative Appraisals, Psychological Contract Violation, and Resistance to Change

COVID-19 has been regarded as environmental disruption that catalyzed a multitude of organizational changes in nonprofit organizations. This study centers on the nonprofit workers’ experience of change. Specifically, this study investigates to what extent and how negative appraisals in the midst of the pandemic are related to intentions to leave the organization about a year after the start of the pandemic, at a point in time when the initial shock had settled into a sense of the “new normal.” Findings indicate that harm but not threat appraisals predict psychological contract violation and that psychological contract violation is related to behavioral resistance to change as well as intentions to leave. Unexpectedly, neither threat appraisal nor resistance to change was related to turnover intentions. We discuss contributions to theory, research, and practice.

Exploring the dark side effects of visionary leadership – A dual-path perspective of cognition and affect

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to test the mechanism of visionary leadership on subordinates' work withdrawal behavior through cognitive strain and psychological contract violation, and also to reveal the possible dark side of visionary leadership. The moderation effects of subordinates' facades of conformity and leader behavioral integrity in the cognition–affect dual-path process are also discussed.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted a three-wave longitudinal survey. The data were collected from 574 employees and their superiors in several Chinese enterprises. The authors used Mplus 7.4 and adopted a bootstrapping technique in the data analysis.FindingsVisionary leadership has positive effects on cognitive strain and psychological contract violation; cognitive strain and psychological contract violation mediate the relationship between visionary leadership and work withdrawal behavior, respectively. Subordinates' facades of conformity and leader behavioral integrity moderate the positive effects of visionary leadership on cognitive strain and psychological contract violation, as well as the indirect effect of visionary leadership on subordinates' work withdrawal behavior through cognitive strain and psychological contract violation.Originality/valueThis study reveals the underlying mechanism of visionary leadership's negative impact on job outcome through the cognition and affective reaction of subordinates to visionary leadership, and broadens the scope of visionary leadership research. It also provides some practical suggestions on how to transmit the organizational vision effectively and reduce subordinates' work withdrawal behavior.

A Study on the Relationship Between High-Performance Human Resource Management System and Psychological Contract Violation and Exit Behavior

A Study on the Relationship Between High-Performance Human Resource Management System and Psychological Contract Violation and Exit Behavior

When customers strike back: examining the impact of psychological contract violation on customers' switching behaviour

Although the psychological contract has garnered attention from scholars in the social sciences, little is known about its implications from a marketing perspective. This study aims to investigate the mediating role of customer-brand disidentification between psychological contract violation and customers' switching behaviour. It represents an initial attempt to explore psychological contract violation from the perspective of the service domain in emerging economies, contributing to theoretical and practical discussions on the factors influencing customers' switching behaviour. The study utilised a quantitative-based cross-sectional design involving 399 customers from three selected pay television companies in Tanzania's media industry. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings reveal that psychological contract violation influences customers' switching behaviour when mediated by customer-brand disidentification. Consequently, if disidentification is not managed effectively, customers disengage from their relationship with the service providers and opt for alternative providers. The study suggests that service providers should proactively identify signs of psychological contract violation and implement necessary measures to address them, thereby mitigating the likelihood of customers resorting to switching behaviour.

Role of Psychological Contract Violation between Employee Expediency and Exploitative Leadership

Previous studies rarely examined the antecedents of employee expediency(EE) with interactive effect of exploitative leadership(EL) with mediating role of psychological contract violation(PCV) in banking sector of developing country like Pakistan. Based on social cognitive theory, this study tried to fill the research gap by investigating the direct relationship between EE and EL and also checked the mediating role of PCV between the relationship of EL and EE. To validate this relationship, 400 employees who were working in different banks of Punjab, Pakistan were investigated through survey questionnaire. The smart PLS 4.0 was used to measure the relationship and test the hypothesis in which structured equation modeling played a vital role in checking the relationship between variables. The results showed that EL directly effect on EE. This study also found that PCV mediates the relationship between EL and EE. This study enhances the literature and body of knowledge in HRM and OB. Finally, this study helps managers to understand the employees, co-operate and support them in order to get good performance from them and to improve the overall performance of organization.

Be A Teacher And Shut Up: When The Violation of The Psychological Contract Stands as A Perfect Mediator in the Relationship Between Sexual Harassment and Continuous Commitment

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to shed light on the issue of sexual harassment towards women who hold lower positions in the hierarchy of higher education institutions. These women often feel powerless to refuse indecent advances from their hierarchical superiors, which violates the psychological contract between them and their subordinates. This highlights the close connection between sexuality and power relations in the workplace.   Design/Methodology/ Approach: The study employed a quantitative methods which applied the survey questionnaire to get response from Tunisian higher education sector, including PhD students, permanent teaching assistants, and temporary teachers. We utilized 370 valid cases to infer the results.   Findings:  The results showed that sexual harassment has a significant and positive impact on both continuous commitment and violation of psychological contract, which has a significant and positive impact on continuous commitment. We also found that the violation of the psychological contract acts as a mediator in the relationship between sexual harassment and continuous commitment.   Research, practical and social implications: The study would be valuable to contrôle the issue of sexual harassment of females who are affiliated and not affiliated with the university. The study would help prepare the policies regarding controlling potential harassers.   Originality/ value: The study shed light on the important issue of sexual harassment towards women who hold lower positions in the hierarchy of higher education institutions in Tunisia.

The Effect of Manager’s Incivility on Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Mediation Role of Psychological Contract Violation and Moral Disengagement

Nezaket, insan ilişkilerinde kilit rol oynamaktadır. Örgütler bağlamında konu ele alındığında nezaketin örgütün işleyişinde aynı şekilde önemli yer tuttuğu görülmektedir. Çalışanların yöneticileri ile ilişkilerinde yaşadığı veya gözlemlediği nazik davranışlar tüm örgüte yayıldığı gibi nezaketsiz ve kaba davranışlarda aynı şekilde sirayet etmektedir. Nezaketsizlik kaynaklı olumsuzluklar örgütün çalışma düzenini bozabilmekte ve çalışan-örgüt ilişkisini zedeleyebilmektedir. Buradan hareketle bu çalışmada yönetici nezaketsizliğinin örgütsel vatandaşlık davranışına etkisinde psikolojik sözleşme ihlali ve ahlaki çözülmenin aracılık rolü incelenmiştir. Araştırma Konya, Karaman, Yozgat ve Niğde illerinde bulunan 509 kamu kurumu çalışanı üzerinde yapılmıştır. Veriler Yapısal Eşitlik Modeli ile analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular, yönetici nezaketsizliğinin psikolojik sözleşme ihlali ve ahlaki çözülme üzerinden örgütsel vatandaşlık davranışını etkilediğini göstermektedir.

Development of Perceived Psychological Contract Violations (PPCV): A Theoretical Study

In order to survive in this constantly changing and transforming  environment, a business requires agility and a rapid response technique.  One heuristic technique that can be focused upon to embrace the  said change and bring about a transformation is the understanding  of psychological contracts as well as their violations. Psychological  contracts are “intangible” contracts that exist at a place of work.  Perceived Psychological Contract Violations (PPCV) is a concept that  helps to identify and explain the feeling of anger and disappointment  that employees face when their needs are not met by the employer.  PPCV has two types – Reneging and Incongruence. The purpose of  this paper is to develop a theoretical study indicating the identification  and development of psychological contracts at the workplace, the  subsequently developed perceived psychological contract violations  (PPCV), as well as to further explain their types. Efforts have been  made to present a thorough study of literature and to brief the results  of the same so that there is a better understanding of the given terms.  Findings and implications of this framework have been discussed in  detail and suggestions for further research have been given.  

Psychological Contract Violation and Turnover Intention: Do Trust and Organizational Commitment Matter?

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological contract violation (PCV) and turnover intention among faculty members in selected AACSB-accredited B schools in India. Drawing on social exchange theory, the study examined the impact of transactional and relational psychological contracts on turnover intention, with trust and organizational commitment as potential mediators. Data were collected through an online structured questionnaire from 305 faculty members. The results revealed that PCV significantly influenced turnover intention, both directly and indirectly. Trust was found to mediate the relationship between PCV and turnover intention. However, organizational commitment did not act as a mediator in this context. Furthermore, the study highlighted the significance of the relational contract compared to the transactional contract. The relational contract had a stronger impact on turnover intention through its influence on trust. By exploring the direct and indirect relationships between PCVs and turnover intention, this study contributes to the existing knowledge within the framework of social exchange theory. It sheds light on the importance of trust as a mediator and emphasizes the role of the relational contract in understanding turnover intention.

The Role of Psychological Contract Violation from Former Employer in Job Search among Job Losers

The Role of Psychological Contract Violation from Former Employer in Job Search among Job Losers

Employees’ self-esteem in psychological contract: workplace ostracism and counterproductive behavior

PropósitoEl comportamiento laboral contraproducente (CLC) en la industria turística se ha convertido en un problema significativo tanto para los empleados individuales como para las organizaciones. Los empleados que se sienten marginados en su lugar de trabajo suelen participar en comportamientos negativos y disruptivos. El objetivo de este trabajo es examinar los efectos de la violación del contrato psicológico y la autoestima del empleado en el ostracismo en el lugar de trabajo y en el comportamiento laboral contraproducente CLC y agregar nuevos conocimientos para comprender mejor el lado oscuro del comportamiento laboral turístico.Diseño/metodología/enfoqueRealizamos una encuesta de cuestionario a 228 empleados de hotel en dos momentos en Huangshan, China. Se utilizaron la regresión jerárquica y el SPSS PROCESS Macro para probar todas las hipótesis.ResultadosLos resultados muestran que 1) el ostracismo en el lugar de trabajo aumenta significativamente la CLC de los empleados. 2) La violación psicológica del contrato juega un papel mediador entre el ostracismo en el lugar de trabajo y CLC. 3) El ostracismo en el lugar de trabajo aumenta las percepciones de violación psicológica del contrato cuando la autoestima de los empleados es mayor. 4) El efecto mediador de la violación psicológica del contrato también es moderado por la autoestima.Originalidad/valorUtilizando el marco de la teoría del contrato psicológico y la teoría cognitiva social, avanzamos en la literatura del comportamiento organizacional en el campo del turismo. Contextualizamos la singularidad del comportamiento en el lugar de trabajo chino y destacamos la necesidad de comprender la 'pérdida de la visión de la cara (mianzi)' en las relaciones laborales. Esta investigación contribuye con nuevos conocimientos para comprender mejor el lado oscuro del comportamiento turístico en el lugar de trabajo al examinar los efectos de la violación psicológica del contrato y la autoestima de los empleados en el ostracismo en el lugar de trabajo.

The Effect of Workplace Friendship on Hotel Employees’ Intention to Leave: Moderating Role of Psychological Contract Violation

Sustainability is a universal value of running a business. This study examines the influence of workplace friendships among hotel staff on their intention to leave, while considering the moderating effect of psychological contract violation. The sample group of the questionnaire is the employees in the five-star hotels in Taiwan. This study employs the purposive sampling method to collect questionnaires. For this research, 450 questionnaires were handed out to hotel staffs, with 150 questionnaires distributed, respectively, in Northern, Central, and Southern Taiwan. A total of 368 valid questionnaires were collected, resulting in an effective response rate of 81.78%. The results indicate that: (1) Friendship opportunities and friendship prevalence can significantly decrease workers’ intention to leave their jobs; (2) Psychological contract violation moderates the negative influence of friendship opportunity/friendship prevalence on one’s intention to leave. Finally, the paper proposes theoretical implications, practical implications and future research directions in accordance with the findings.

When Expatriates Feel Betrayed: Perceived Psychological Contract Violation and Its Consequences and Potential Moderators

Purpose - Given the fact that a majority of multinational enterprises (MNEs) are still heavily reliant on expatriates for critical functions abroad, expatriate management is crucial to MNEs in today’s global business environment. In this context, increasing attention has been devoted to the psychological contract as a useful explanatory tool for understanding expatriate management. In spite of a growing recognition of its importance in expatriate management, the psychological contract has not yet been sufficiently studied in the multi-layered context of expatriation. Therefore, this paper aims to explore expatriate psychological contracts in the multicontextual nature of expatriation.
 Design/Methodology/Approach - Drawing upon social exchange theory and equity theory, this paper develops a conceptual framework for the relationship between perceived psychological contract violations and work-related outcomes and proposes the contextual moderators of this relationship at the individual, organizational, and national levels, respectively.
 Findings - Four research propositions are developed around the proposed conceptual model, such that expatriates that perceive a violation of the psychological contract have significantly lower job satisfaction and commitment to the MNE. Moreover, the moderating effects of individual (e.g., cultural intelligence), organizational (e.g., the extent of cross-cultural training), and national (e.g., cultural distance) factors on the relationship between perceived psychological contract violations and expatriate attitudinal outcomes are suggested.
 Research Implications - This paper can vastly increase the current understanding of psychological contracts by broadening its application beyond the domestic employee-employer relationship. It also provides relevant insight into expatriate management.

Relationship Between Psychological Contract Violation and Physicians' Destructive and Constructive Behaviors in Tertiary Public Hospitals: An Empirical Evidence in Beijing.

In China, physicians have long faced long working hours, high stress levels, and tensions between physicians and patients, which can lead to negative behaviors. Understanding physicians' expectations and requirements of the hospital and increasing satisfaction with their psychological contract can help improve physician motivation and stabilize the hospital team. The study aims to analyze the relationship between physicians' psychological contract violations and different behavioral choices, encourage hospitals to conclude a balanced psychological contract with physicians, and provide governance and intervention strategies for hospital human resource management. Stratified cluster sampling was used to select 321 physicians from four public hospitals in Beijing for questionnaire surveys. Descriptive statistical analysis, t-test, ANOVA, correlation analysis, and regression models were performed using Stata 15.0 and SPSS 26.0 to analyze the relationship between psychological contract violations, physicians' EVLN behaviors and organizational justice. Psychological contract violation had a positive effect on exit behavior and neglect behavior, and a negative effect on voice behavior and loyalty behavior. Organizational justice plays a mediating role between psychological contract violation and physicians' exit, voice and loyalty behaviors. Psychological contract violation can drive negative behavior among physicians, and organizational justice can play a mediating role in this. Public hospitals should establish a healthy psychological contract with physicians and place a premium on organizational justice to promote constructive behaviors and prevent destructive behaviors. This study constructs a more complete theoretical framework to explain physicians' behavior, and further dynamic tracking investigations are necessary because the evolution of physicians' behavior is a dynamic and long-term process.

The effects of host country language proficiency on the relationship between psychological contract breach, violation, and work behaviors: A moderated mediation model

As self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) often struggle to communicate in the common corporate language and/or host country language, the aim of this study is to determine if host country language proficiency (HCLP) facilitates communication. As a corollary HCLP might reduce the negative impact of psychological contract (PC) breach on PC violation, and ultimately the positive impact on counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) and the negative impact on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). This study uses a repeated-measurement design with three measurement points from 300 SIEs. Using a moderated mediation path model, we found that PC breach at T1 is positively associated with CWB and negatively associated with OCB at T3 through PC violation at T2. Furthermore, HCLP at T1 moderates the positive PC breach–PC violation relationship. Specifically, HCLP amplifies the indirect relationships between PC breach, CWB, and OCB for participants with poor levels of HCLP. This study demonstrates the need of improving HCLP of SIEs. We discuss additional implications for theory, practice and future research.

Effect of Workplace Bullying on Job Engagement among Nurses : Focusing on Mediating Effect of Psychological Contract Violation and Moderated Mediating Effect of Workplace Friendship

Effect of Workplace Bullying on Job Engagement among Nurses : Focusing on Mediating Effect of Psychological Contract Violation and Moderated Mediating Effect of Workplace Friendship