Patterns of psychological contract and their relationships to employee well-being and in-role performance at work: longitudinal evidence from university employees

Abstract

This study identified patterns of psychological contract (PC) and examined how these patterns were related to employee well-being and in-role performance over time (T1–T3). PC was measured at T1 based on cross-sectional data and well-being and performance longitudinally in two consecutive years (T1?T3) among university employees. Latent profile analysis revealed six different patterns of PC at T1. These were labelled (1) strong and balanced (n = 131), (2) average and balanced (n = 382), (3) employer-focused (n = 79), (4) employee-focused (n = 59), (5) balanced transactional (n = 224) and (6) employee-focused relational (n = 322). The longitudinal findings showed that the employees in PC patterns 1 and 2 experienced more vigour at T1–T3 than those in pattern 5, while the employees in pattern 2 reported higher proficiency at work at T1–T2 than those in pattern 6. Employee job satisfaction did not vary between patterns. Altogether, the PC pattern that included many different obligations on the part of both employee and employer seemed to result in better employee well-being and in-role performance.     

The social contract of work: Moving beyond the psychological contract

This paper develops the critique of psychologisation by going narrow and deep into the analysis of the concept of the psychological contract. In its early incarnation, the psychological contract literature explored key elements at the heart of the employment relationship. However, in the current mainstream psychological contract literature, there are four key problems. The paper shows that these problems match on to the wider problems associated with pyschologisation. The concept of the social contract of work is put forward as a way to return productively to the original focus of the field. The social contract of work is defined as workers' implicit, collective, and socially embedded understanding of the effort bargain at work.     

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.     

An investigation into international assignment directions of R&D MNE employees: evidence from Greece

In this study, we explore the effects of the roles of research and development (R&D) laboratories, roles of subsidiaries and level of technological intensity of the sector in which multinational enterprise (MNE) subsidiaries operate on international assignment directions of R&D employees. International assignments are an underinvestigated issue in the international human resource management literature despite its significant research and managerial importance. In particular, to the best of our knowledge, no prior research on international assignments of R&D employees has been undertaken and so the current study aims at filling this void in the literature. Based on a large quantitative research on MNE subsidiaries operating in Greece, the findings suggest that variables of the aforementioned categories of factors influence different international assignment directions, with roles of the R&D subsidiary exerting the most crucial effect. Researchers may examine the unexplored issue of R&D employee international assignments to a larger extent, while MNE management can particularly take into account the micro (laboratory) context of R&D international assignees when developing effective international human resource management programmes.     

Capital gains: expatriate adjustment and the psychological contract in international careers

This paper argues that the notion of adjustment to careers involving international assignments needs to be developed further than the current literature reflects. An expatriate assignment is an expatriate's opportunity to build career capital and a company's opportunity to generate social and intellectual capital. The extent of the capital gains will depend considerably on the expatriate's adjustment during and after the assignment, which is influenced by the psychological contract. We argue that our understanding of the career impact of expatriation will be enhanced by a more refined picture of the adjustment that expatriates experience during the assignment and during repatriation. In particular, we examine adjustment as process rather than as event. We propose a broad conception of expatriate adjustment and its link to careers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

心理契约与员工满意度关系的实证研究

文章通过问卷调查收集相关数据,采用定量分析方法,分析心理契约和员工满意度之间的关系。研究发现心理契约与员工满意度之间存在高度正相关的关系,心理契约的各构面中个人发展因子、工作本身因子、人与人之间关系因子与员工满意度显著相关。最后本研究提出一些基于心理契约提高员工满意度的建议。     

How mass layoffs are related to lower job performance and OCB among surviving employees in Chile: an investigation of the essential role of psychological contract

This study aimed to investigate how mass layoffs impact surviving employees in organizations. More specifically, this study ascertained the relationships between mass layoffs and employee work behaviors. It was theorized that mass layoffs will be negatively related to employee performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) through its relationships with job insecurity and psychological contract breach. Moreover, it was expected that perceived manager support would buffer against the negative relations of contract breach with employee performance and OCB. A study among 615 employees in multiple Chilean organizations showed support for the hypotheses: job insecurity and psychological contract breach mediated the relationships between mass layoffs and employee performance and OCB. We also found moderating relationships of manager support, but the relations of breach with performance and OCB were particularly negative when manager support was high, indicating feelings of betrayal among high-support employees in response to contract breach. Moreover, the relation of contract breach with performance was positive for low-support employees, and non-significant for high-support employees. Our study advances understanding of the processes underlying how mass layoffs influence employee behavior in the workplace, through introducing the psychological contract as a way of understanding the relationships.     

Employability and the psychological contract in European ICT sector SMEs

This article explores the employability of information and communication technology (ICT) professionals from the perspective of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The first stage of analysis, based on over 100 interviews with managers of ICT supplier companies in seven European countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and the UK), showed most SMEs to have a generally ad hoc approach to managing the employability of their ICT professionals. Assessment and development plans were used primarily to keep skills current to business needs; however, the more developed northern European markets showed greater awareness of the ‘high commitment’ benefits of a more sophisticated approach towards career management (e.g. through mentoring or career planning). A second stage of analysis based only on UK interviews builds on this to propose a model of positive employer influence on psychological contracts through career and employability management practices.     

Downsizing and survivor reactions in Malaysia: modelling antecedents and outcomes of psychological contract violation

This study provides an empirical test of a model of antecedents and consequences of psychological contract violation (PCV) caused by the experience of downsizing. A longitudinal survey method was used to collect data at two different points in time (a month after downsizing, and eight months later) from a sample of 281 survivors from a large Malaysian organization going through downsizing. Respondents were from the headquarters (HQ), factories and subsidiaries located across the country and were employed across hierarchical positions including managers, supervisors, technical, operating and administrative staff. A causal model is proposed and tested. The model proposes that the perception of justice and negative affectivity at time 1 (T1) predict PCV, which in turn predicts three attitudinal and behavioural outcomes of commitment, organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) and turnover intentions at time 2 (T2). Three variations of the model (fully-mediated, partially-mediated and unmediated) were tested with structural equation modelling. The results show that both the perception of justice and negative affectivity significantly predict PCV, and that there is a direct effect between PCV and commitment, an indirect effect between PCV and OCBs, and both direct and indirect effects between PCV and turnover intentions. The findings demonstrate the utility of psychological contact framework in explaining survivor reactions to downsizing.     

Wage reduction of Portuguese civil servants and their attitudes: the psychological contract perspective

This study is based on the psychological contract theoretical model. It provides an empirical test of the antecedents and consequences of psychological contract violation (PCV) that was caused by the wage reduction of Portuguese civil servants. Data were collected from a sample of 212 employees who worked in public organizations across different sectors. These positions entailed different functions and were subject to different levels of wage reduction. A Structural Equation Model was used to analyze the data. The results show that employees' attributions of this psychological contract breach are related to their perception of PCV. Furthermore, our findings also suggest that civil servants have two distinct psychological contracts and that the PCV of the employing organization also depends on the PCV of the public institution. Moreover, the PCV of the public institution was found to be the mechanism that explains the relationship between the meaning attached to wage reduction and the PCV of the employing organization. Finally, our findings confirm that the PCV of the employing organization mediates the relationships between the PCV of the public institution and the commitment and turnover intentions of civil servants. Therefore, such results highlight the usefulness of the psychological contract framework in explaining civil servants' reactions to wage reduction.     

Participation in continuous,on-the-job training and the impact on job satisfaction: longitudinal evidence from the German labour market

A number of studies in the human resources literature acknowledge the importance of workplace training for inducing organizational commitment on the part of workers. However, small sample sizes and the absence of relevant panel data have raised concerns about the general validity of results and highlighted the need for further research to explicitly include on-the-job training as an important facet of job satisfaction. A similar empirical gap exists in the economics and industrial organization literature, where, despite the importance of both on-the-job training and job satisfaction to influence labour productivity, the relationship between the two has received surprisingly little attention. The aim of this paper is to bridge this gap in our knowledge and assess the impact of further training on job satisfaction in the western regions of Germany. We use data derived from the German Socio-economic Panel, which covers the period 1984 to 2002. Concentrating on full-time employed individuals, we focus in particular on the 1989, 1993 and 2000 interview waves, which include a number of questions on work-related training and offer detailed information on the type and duration of training received, and whether employers sponsored such training. The empirical results of the study provide information about the decision to participate in further training and the latter's impact on job satisfaction. Gender inequality issues in Germany's segmented labour market are explained by reference to discrepancy theory, equity theory, social exchange theory and the perception of a breach in the psychological contract between firms and female trainees.     

Expatriate management: lessons from the British in India

In this paper, lessons for the study of expatriate management are drawn from the period of British administration in India. It uses ‘the past to study the present’ and puts into sharp focus the key issues which confront human resource management researchers and practitioners dealing with expatriate management today. These issues are seen as essentially the same and cover such areas as selection, training, adjustment, appraisal, reward and re-entry.     

The impact of corporate entrepreneurship and high-performance work systems on employees' job attitudes: empirical evidence from Greece during the economic downturn

In turbulent times, corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and high-performance work systems (HPWSs) are expected to expand and flourish. However, research on the influences of both CE and HPWSs on employees' job attitudes has generally been neglected. The aim of this study is twofold. First is to investigate the effects of CE and HPWSs on facets of job satisfaction and the three components of organisational commitment. Second is, consistent with the social exchange theory, to examine whether psychological contract act as an important mediator for the CE, HPWSs and employees' job attitudes relationships. Empirical evidence was obtained from 424 employees in the Greek manufacturing industry. Results indicate that both CE and HPWSs positively impact employees' level of job satisfaction and organisational commitment. In addition, we find evidence that psychological contract theory provides a coherent theoretical framework for understanding these relationships. Theoretical and practical implications for HR managers conclude the article.     

Human resource aspects of quality management: evidence from MNEs operating in Greece

This study is an attempt to investigate the extent to which companies different nationality operating in Greece and involved in different levels of quality management differ in the way they utilize their human resources as well as in the degree of influence their human resource/personnel departments enjoy. The study started with the premise that there is some difference in approaches to quality management and in relative emphasis given to the human dimension and the role of the human resource department when organizations pass through the different stages in a quality improvement effort. The results of our case studies indicate that, although the origin of the capital and the culture of a foreign-owned company may play an important role in development and implementation of quality initiatives, they may not greatly affect determine human resource utilization. It is the strategic orientation of an organization quality that seems to be the driving force in constructive human resource management.     

Testing approach and avoidance motives and job satisfaction: psychological contract breach as a moderator of the mediating roles of tactics

This study tested the mediating roles of both voice and facades of conformity in the relationship between regulatory foci and job satisfaction and the extent to which the mediating roles is moderated by psychological contract breach among a sample of 271 military recruits in Taiwan. Results suggest that voice and facades of conformity mediated the relationship between regulatory foci and job satisfaction. Also, results suggest that perceived breach moderates this mediating pathway: Strong psychological contract breach increases the relationship between promotion focus and voice in the case of job satisfaction. On the other hand, psychological contract breach strongly moderates the relationship between prevention focus and facades of conformity in the case of low job satisfaction. Results are discussed in view of the importance of (a) including the measure of regulatory focus in future studies, (b) the mediating roles of different tactics in explaining the relationship between regulatory foci and job satisfaction and (c) the moderating role of psychological contract breach as a negative workplace event. Implications for the results are discussed.     

The role of the psychological contract in shaping graduate experiences: a study of public sector talent management programmes in the UK and Australia

Abstract

Although talent management is acknowledged for its role in building competitive advantage, very little research has examined the factors that influence the success of talent management programmes at an individual level. In this paper we explore participant experiences (n = 68) from two public sector ‘fast track’ graduate development programmes, one in the UK and one in Australia. Drawing on psychological contract theory we examine how talent management programmes shape individual expectations and how these expectations influence participant experiences and evaluations of the programme. Our findings highlight the role of both talent management strategy and talent management implementation as well as factors external to the organisation, (such as employer brand and the influence of family and friends), in shaping expectations. Our analysis highlights the impact of multiple agents, particularly line managers, in the ongoing development and fulfilment of the ‘graduate psychological contract’. At a practical level, we argue that organisations need to manage expectations by more explicitly communicating what will, or will not, be offered in a graduate fast-track programme. We also suggest that organisations need to consider the importance of line managers in the implementation of talent management.     

The effect of human resource practices on organizational performance: evidence from Greece

The present study addresses a central research question: how do human resource management practices contribute to organizational performance? We examined the following HR practices: (1) job security; (2) selective hiring; (3) self-managed teams and decentralization of decision making; (4) compensation policy; (5) extensive training; and (6) information sharing. We surveyed food managers in Greece and recorded their perceptions on HR practices and their relation to firm performance.

Results provide overall support for all HR practices except of job security. Selective hiring was found to be a key practice that improved organizational performance. Compensation policy, information sharing, decentralization of decision making and extensive training were significant predictors for all performance variables. Directions for further research are provided.     

Why and when organizational culture fosters affective commitment among knowledge workers: the mediating role of perceived psychological contract fulfilment and moderating role of organizational tenure

Drawing on Denison and Mishra (1995)’s framework of organizational culture, this study examines why and when organizational culture is related to knowledge workers’ affective commitment. Data were collected from 640 employees working in three high-technology companies in China. The findings indicate that the relationship between organizational culture and affective commitment is mediated by perceived psychological contract fulfilment. In addition, organizational tenure moderates the relationship between two external dimensions (i.e. adaptability and mission) of organizational culture and perceived psychological contract fulfilment. This study extends the current theoretical framework of organizational culture by demonstrating the underlying mechanism and the boundary condition of the relationship between organizational culture and affective commitment. The findings also provide practical implications for international managers to design appropriate human resource management policies and practices in China.     

Flexible work arrangements in Greece: a study of employee perceptions

The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to explore factors that affect employees' perceptions towards flexible work options; second, to examine whether the perceived benefits and barriers associated with work flexibility predict one's decision to participate in flexible work arrangements or not. A total of 362 Greek employees participated in the study to determine their attitudes towards flexible work practices. Univariate analyses of variance and logistic regression analysis were conducted with the aim of exploring the research hypotheses. It is found that attitudes towards flexible work options are dependent on gender, sector of employment and prior participation in a flexible work scheme. In general, women, public sector employees and employees who have participated in flexible work arrangements are more likely to perceive more benefits and fewer costs with regard to the use of work flexibility. Further analysis provided evidence that work–life balance benefits are stronger predictors of participation in flexible work practices. These findings suggest that employee-centred organisations that view flexibility as a valuable management tool, should deal with specific barriers that discourage people from taking up flexible work arrangements. Given the dearth of empirical research on work flexibility in Greece, the findings of this study provide the wider academic community with new insights on employees' perceptions of flexible work options.