Psychological Contract Research Articles

Family carers as service producers – insights into psychological contracts

ABSTRACT Family carers and caregiving have a role in the service system but family carers are often invisible and go unnoticed in society. In this article we are interested in family carers as service producers in health and social care. We analyze family care using the concept of a psychological contract. A psychological contract is an unspoken, unconfirmed and unwritten agreement where an exchange is based on perception rather than what is explicitly written and agreed. A psychological contract shapes family carers’ expectations and obligations, while providing a concept for understanding their work. The data were analyzed via theory-driven content analysis. Research question is: what are the features of a psychological contract in a family carer´s work? Data were collected from Finland in 2015. Ten family carers, aged between 64–78 years, who take care of their spouses were interviewed. A psychological contract involves the normative and mental schema of the carers, which direct what kind of care they feel they should provide as a spouse and carer. The psychological contract also guides what kind of support the carers may be willing to accept. The psychological contract clearly shows that family carers are primarily spouses rather than service providers. The concept of the psychological contract provides a workable frame to describe the relationship between family carers and the service system. This study enables the development of family care support services for the needs of family carers.

Human-Computer Interaction Perspective on Investigating the Impact Mechanism of Psychological Contract Violation on Business Model Innovation with CAD Technology

Human-Computer Interaction Perspective on Investigating the Impact Mechanism of Psychological Contract Violation on Business Model Innovation with CAD Technology

Psychological Contracts: Changing Relational Levels, a Dynamic Model for a Changing Environment

This paper examines the issue of change in the relational level of employer-based psychological contracts. Based on prior research in Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), Social Exchange Theory, and the Norm of Reciprocity, a dynamic model is developed to explain how contract-level changes take place within the relationship. The model also identifies subsequent employee attitudes and behaviors and offers two new relational modalities, “at risk” and “mercenary,” to explicate relational conditions that had not previously been recognized. We conclude by examining the various issues surrounding employee-employer relations and their importance to firm performance and job satisfaction.

Does psychological contract fulfilment determine employees’ work engagement? Empirical evidence from government sector employees

Does psychological contract fulfilment determine employees’ work engagement? Empirical evidence from government sector employees

The Impact Of Job Characteristics On Employee Turnover Intention Through Psychological Contract In The Pharmaceutical Industry Of Pakistan

Introduction: The purpose of this research work is to examine the effect of job characteristics on intended turnover in the pharmaceutical industry of Pakistan with the ‘Psychological contract’ as a mediator amidst specialized knowledge that is pertinent to the sector’s growth. The characteristics included in this paper are autonomy, task identity, and skill variety, whereby studies were done to determine the effects of these characteristics on employee turnover intentions. Thus, the psychological contract acts as a pivotal link to breach, thereby increasing dissatisfaction and emergence of turnover. Objective: The study aims at establishing correlation between job content and turnover intention, Leader Member Exchange (LMX) as the moderator and psychological contract as mediator. Therefore, this research aims at filling this knowledge gap in relation to strategies of employee retention within the pharmaceutical industry of Pakistan and the way through which workforce stability could be boosted. Methods: The quantitative method was adopted, and based on the PLS-SEM technique to assess the hypothesis regarding the interaction[1] of job characteristics, psychological contract, LMX and turnover intention. The data were collected form 328 full time employees of pharmaceutical industries established in Pakistan. Recording of overall fit indices also supported these results. Results: The results show that among the job characteristics, autonomy was statistically significant and positive with β = 0. 058 and p < 0. 05 with corresponding tests showing significance for the-job skill variety (β = 0. 184, p < 0. 01) and feedback (β = 0. 166 p < 0. 01) to positively influence the psychological contract, thus translating to reduced turnover intention. LMX mitigates this relationship with high-quality LMX being particularly beneficial in enhancing the effect of the psychological contract on retention; (β = 0. 329, t < 0. 001). Conclusion: Consequently, the study shown that job characteristics should be encouraged and leader member relations should be promoted in order to minimize turnover intention in the context of Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry. These findings are relevant to the organizational leaders who wish to enhance the retention rates of their employees and increase productivity through the effective job design and leadership practices. This is an important step in the validation of the model and has implications for the discussion on workforce stability within growing high demand sectors for application across the industries.

The role of previous experience in the analysis of the psychological contract and its outcomes during the socialization process: a signalling theory perspective

Psychological contract theory has largely neglected the role of previous experience. In this study, we examine how previous work experience influences outcomes of communication with organizational insiders during organizational socialization among healthcare staff. We develop a model based on signalling theory, within which information acquisition during socialization is associated with psychological contract fulfilment, which is in turn is related to better health, happiness, and social relationships. Moderated mediation analysis based on data collected at entry and three months later confirms indirect effects between three types of information acquisition and three employee outcomes via the mediating role of psychological contract fulfilment. Importantly, these indirect effects are present only for inexperienced newcomers. Our findings build on signalling theory and add to knowledge about how the psychological contract forms during early socialization. They also suggest that organizations should pay particular attention to inducting inexperienced newcomers.

Effects of Technostress on Psychological Contract Violation and Organizational Change Resistance.

This study investigates the effects of technostress perceived by employees on psychological contract violations and resistance to organizational change, as information and communication technology is applied to various tourism industry work sites. This study's sample consisted of employees working in the Korean tourism industry in June 2023, who were surveyed using snowball sampling. Four hypotheses were proposed. First, technostress is associated with psychological contract violations. Second, psychological contract violations are associated with organizational change resistance. Third, technostress is associated with organizational change resistance. Fourth, psychological contract violations may play a mediating role in the relationship between technostress and organizational change resistance. All hypotheses in this study were adopted. Therefore, organizations and management in the tourism industry should identify and improve the factors that cause employee technostress arising from expanding information and communication technology to provide psychological stability.

When my organization is socially irresponsible: the joint effect of moral obligation and ideological psychological contract in digital employee activism

When my organization is socially irresponsible: the joint effect of moral obligation and ideological psychological contract in digital employee activism

What Contributes to the Greening of the Polish Energy Industry? Pro-Environmental Inclusive Leadership and Pro-Environmental Behavior—A Moderation–Mediation Analysis

The functioning of the energy sector in Poland has been changing over recent years, influenced by growing concern for the environment. The concept of inclusive leadership can play a key role in the emergence of behavioral changes related to the development of environmental awareness and the initiation of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors by employees. The guiding objective of this study is to verify a moderated mediation model of the impact of pro-environmental consciousness (PEC) on the mediating role of the fulfillment of the psychological contract for the environment (PCFE) in pro-environmental inclusive leadership (PEIL) and pro-environmental work behavior (PEWB) relationships in the energy industry. By self-completing a survey questionnaire using the computer-assisted web interview (CAWI) method, responses were collected from 649 respondents employed in various energy industry organizations. Structural equation modelling based on maximum likelihood with bootstrap estimation was used to test the hypothesis model. The findings confirm the assumptions of the research model, demonstrating a direct relationship between pro-environmental inclusive leadership and pro-environmental work behavior. Additionally, a mediating condition was found, where the fulfillment of the psychological contract for the environment mediates the relationship between pro-environmental inclusive leadership and pro-environmental work behavior, and pro-environmental consciousness moderates this process. It was found that higher pro-environmental consciousness enhances the indirect effect of pro-environmental inclusive leadership on employees’ pro-environmental work behavior through the fulfillment of the psychological contract for the environment. This highlights the importance of the fulfillment of the psychological contract for the environment and a pro-environmental consciousness in the effectiveness of pro-environmental leadership. The analysis indicates that managers who apply a pro-environmental inclusive management style contribute to an increasingly pro-environmental consciousness and the promotion pro-environmental work behavior among employees. Furthermore, the indirect effect of green leadership on employees’ green actions, through the fulfillment of a psychological contract for the environment that is moderated by their pro-environmental consciousness, highlights the importance of environmentally conscious leaders in building effective employee–employer relationships. These relationships facilitate the implementation of initiatives that accelerate the pace of change and enhance efforts to build tomorrow’s modern energy industry based on low- and zero-carbon energy sources. Additionally, this is one of the first studies in the Polish energy industry to provide insight into the role and importance of green leadership and green behavior in the energy industry.

Unveiling the nexus: organization inclusion, ethical virtues and organizational citizenship behavior in the hospitality sector

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the intricate dynamics within the hospitality service sector, which predominantly employs low-wage and low-skilled workers. These employees frequently encounter challenges related to breaches in their psychological contracts. Despite their critical role in customer service, their experiences are often overlooked in organizational inclusion research. We investigate the relationship between employees’ perceptions of organizational inclusion and their assessments of organizational ethical virtues (OEVs), considering the potential moderating effect of psychological contract breach. Furthermore, it explores how these factors influence customer- and organizationdirected organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs).Design/methodology/approachOur research design incorporates a two-stage moderated-mediation model to test our proposed hypotheses empirically. A two-source sample of 451 European hotel managers and employees extends the inquiry with the proposed model. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the proposed relationships.FindingsFindings reveal that organization inclusion is positively associated with OEV and employee-perceived OEV mediates an indirect link between organization inclusion on customer-oriented OCB. Moreover, psychological contract breach (P CB) attenuates the association between organization inclusion and OEV at the first stage and OEV, and OCB at the second stage.Originality/valueThe findings robustly corroborate our proposed model. The study findings culminate in a discussion accentuating the extensive implications of our findings for both research and practicality within the hospitality sector. Anchored in empirical revelations, we delineate avenues for future exploration in this pivotal domain.

Understanding the dynamics of social interaction in SIoT: Human-machine engagement

The Social Internet of Things (SIoT) amalgamates social networks with the Internet of Things (IoT) to enable intelligent devices to form social connections analogous to human networks. This research is grounded in psychological contract theory, which examines the reciprocal mechanisms arising from diverse customer interactions to encourage user engagement and provide recommendations on social media platforms. This study in particular identifies the factors that drive customer engagement on social media. It is unique in its exploration of customer interactions within the framework of psychological contracts across multiple levels of customer engagement (through customer empowerment). The findings reveal that psychological ownership among customers is influenced by empowering interactions on social media, which ultimately drive engagement behaviors.

Illegitimate tasks and knowledge hiding: the mediating role of psychological contract violation and moderating role of optimism

PurposeBased on social exchange theory (SET), the current research aims to investigate the relationship between illegitimate tasks (ITs) and employees’ knowledge-hiding behavior (KHB), incorporating the mediating role of psychological contract violation (PCV) and the moderating role of optimism.Design/methodology/approachA two-wave time-lagged survey was conducted to collect data from 196 adult Chinese full-time employees.FindingsITs were positively related to KHB, and this relationship was mediated by PCV. Furthermore, optimism buffered the connection between ITs and PCV as well as the mediating effect of PCV on the relationship between ITs and KHB.Practical implicationsFor managers, this study made them aware of the hidden costs of ITs; that is, employees may respond by concealing knowledge in the organization.Originality/valueThis study provides a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between ITs and employees’ subtle deviant behavior, KHB and hitherto unspecified mediating and moderating factors that explain this process.

Understanding the viability conundrum in online crowdwork: The costs of unprecedented autonomy

Online crowdwork is an increasingly established phenomenon in the labor market, offering millions of workers opportunities for non-standard employment. However, the new psychological contract for such workers is characterized by various challenges. This study investigates online crowdworkers’ viability challenge, focusing on the interplay between individual income dependence, perceptions of pay inadequacy, autonomy, and locus of control. While online crowdwork provides autonomy and flexibility, such benefits may come at a steep price for workers. Our study, based on data from 581 crowdworkers, reveals that a viability challenge exists, driven by individual income dependence and perceived pay inadequacy. Autonomy serves as a buffer. Importantly, workers with a strong internal locus of control navigate challenges better, particularly in managing perceptions of inadequate pay and harnessing the autonomy of online crowdwork. These findings shed light on workers’ ability to navigate the viability challenges associated with online crowdwork.

Research on the Psychological Contract between Real Estate Agents and Clients from the Perspective of Customer Relationship Lifecycle

Research on the Psychological Contract between Real Estate Agents and Clients from the Perspective of Customer Relationship Lifecycle

Broken promises in policing: understanding leadership, procedural justice and psychological health through the lens of psychological contract breach

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to empirically test the role of psychological contract breach in explaining the relationship between leadership style and procedural justice, burnout and psychological distress. This study provides important insights for police agencies who seek to positively impact, through the actions of their leaders, on both performance and psychological health of their officers. Drawing from the study findings, key recommendations for police leadership development programs are made.Design/methodology/approachThe current study with a large sample of Australian police (N = 1763), explores the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) leadership style and two sets of outcomes. The first is procedural justice, an important job performance outcome related to police practice. The second outcome includes two measures of psychological health, specifically burnout and psychological distress. Psychological contract breach (PCB) is investigated in the current research as a potential mediator in the relationship between leadership and (a) job performance and (b) psychological health.FindingsUsing mediated regression analyses, high LMX leadership is associated with lower PCB, higher procedural justice and reduced psychological health impairment amongst staff. The relationship between LMX and procedural justice was fully mediated by PCB, meaning that PCB explains the relationship between LMX and procedural justice. Partial mediation was found for both psychological health outcomes. As such, leadership style has a direct relationship with psychological health, and is partly explained by PCB.Originality/valueVery little research has considered the role of PCB in explaining how leadership style is related to job performance and psychological health outcomes in policing. To our knowledge, this is the first study that has empirically examined whether leadership style makes it more likely that a police officer will perceive PCB. And further, whether this breach is associated with reduced job performance (i.e. less procedural justice) and poorer psychological health (i.e. increased burnout and psychological distress).

Leader and Employee Behavioral Decision-Making in Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling Projects under Psychological Contract Theory

Although the beneficial role of enterprises in the management of construction and demolition waste (CDW) should not be overlooked, existing relevant studies have neglected to address the specific effects of the behavioral decisions of leaders and employees within enterprises in CDW recycling projects. This study creatively introduces psychological contract theory into the field of CDW management and aims to reveal the mechanism of recycling participation behaviors between leaders and employees in CDW recycling projects. Using the Stackelberg game method, a model consisting of leaders and employees in the construction enterprise was constructed to analyze the optimal decision-making of the enterprise under two cases of whether or not the employees contributed additional effort. The conclusions of this study are as follows: (1) The profits of construction enterprise leaders are always positively correlated with the degree of employee additional effort. Unlike the case of leaders, the effect of additional effort on employee profits hinges on the coefficient of employee additional effort. When the coefficient of employee additional effort is below the threshold, excessive additional effort can negatively impact their own profits. When the additional effort coefficient exceeds the threshold, the employee profits are positively related to the degree of additional effort. (2) Similar to the change in employee profits, the change in the total profit of the construction enterprise with the degree of additional effort is influenced by the additional effort coefficient. However, as the additional effort coefficient increases, the total profit of the enterprise shows a significant increase before employee profits. This study enriches the theoretical study of psychological contracts and provides guidance for decision-making between leaders and employees in the management of CDW recycling projects.

Forever I am yours: the interrelationship between service brand love, psychological contracts and customer switching barriers in the banking industry

PurposeThis study aims to examine the influence of dimensions of the psychological contract on strengthening customers' switching barriers through the mediating role of service brand love.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a cross-sectional survey research design to collect data from 406 respondents from commercial banks in the banking industry. A quantitative approach using structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data collected through structured questionnaires.FindingsThe findings revealed that dimensions of the psychological contract, namely, ideological, transactional and relational psychological contract, significantly influence the strengthening of customers' switching barriers when mediated by service brand love.Practical implicationsManagers should consider adopting high-intensity relationship approaches that go beyond mere customer satisfaction to ensure customer retention.Originality/valueWhile customer retention remains the primary avenue for establishing competitive advantages, there remain unresolved issues regarding what determines customers’ intentions to stay or switch. This study represents one of the initial endeavors to explore the psychological contract within the context of the service industry. It contributes to the existing knowledge by enhancing the understanding of the mechanisms that can impact customers' switching barriers and complements the literature on customer retention in the service domain.

Emergence in context: How team-client psychological contract fulfillment is associated with the emergence of team identification or team-member exchange.

Psychological contracts have been theorized to occur at different levels of analysis and with different exchange parties. In this article, we develop the concept of team-client psychological contract fulfillment (team-client PCF) as a team-level social exchange indicator, reflecting the team members' perceptions of the degree of fulfillment of the commitments a client promised to a team. Using the multilevel group-process framework (Lang et al., 2019) and a sample of newly formed self-managed teams consisting of 838 observations, nested in 244 individuals, 56 teams, and in four waves of data, we tested the claim that team-client PCF may determine the type of collective states that emerge within the team. When team-client PCF is higher, it should create conditions for the emergence of team states related to team maintenance (i.e., team identification), whereas when team-client PCF is lower, it is more likely that teams develop states related to the regulation of team performance (i.e., team-member exchange [TMX]). Our results support our hypotheses. We discuss implications for both the psychological contract literature as well as the team dynamics literature (especially team dynamics of team identification and TMX). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

No More the Nice Guy: Coping with Abusive Supervision through Service Sabotage Behaviours

‘Atithi Devo Bhav’, implying that guests must be treated as Gods, is the philosophical belief of Indian society indicating the importance of treating the customers with utmost respect and courtesy. The current study examines service sabotage behaviours by utilizing time-lagged method to collect data in three waves from 332 employees from Indian hotel industry. The study highlights the effects of abusive supervision on the employees who perceive disrespect, public humiliation or rude supervisory behaviours towards them as breach of psychological contract, and they retaliate by displaying deviant workplace behaviour such as service sabotage. The unique proposition of the research is to investigate the sequential mediating role of psychological contract violation and retaliation intention on the relationship between abusive supervision and service sabotage. The research utilizes psychological contract theory and frustration–aggression theory to draw logical inferences from the findings. Findings indicate that when employees perceive mistreatment or injustice, they experience psychological contract violation that instigates an urge to retaliate against the unfair treatment by engaging in negative service behaviours, for example, sabotage. Therefore, the hospitality organizations must implement practices and processes to take care of any unjust, unfair or hostile behaviour at play in the organization, as the success of the industry is dependent on the service quality and frontline employees’ encounters with the customer. The study provides some interesting and useful managerial and theoretical implications.

Experience layoffs, work engagement and the buffering effect of POS: a psychological contract perspective

PurposeThis study aims to explore the relationship between experience layoffs and employees’ work engagement. Drawing on the psychological contract theory, we examine the parallel mediating role of cognitive and affective job insecurity, along with the moderating role of perceived organisational support.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses were tested based on data collected from 737 employees of companies in various industries in China in an online survey.FindingsThe results showed the significant effect of experiencing layoffs on employees’ work engagement through cognitive and affective job insecurity, and the effect was stronger when perceived organisational support was lower. The moderated mediation effect mainly occurred through affective job insecurity but not cognitive job insecurity.Originality/valueThis study deepens the understanding of the mechanism of the negative effect of experiencing layoffs and the boundaries of its impact from a psychological contract breach perspective. By analysing the mediating role of cognitive and affective job insecurity, we have enhanced our understanding of the exchange-based mechanism of employees after experiencing layoffs. By examining the moderating role of perceived organisational support, we reveal the important role of supportive behaviours of organisations in mitigating the negative effects of experiencing layoffs.