Although the negative effects of psychological contract breach (“breach”) are reasonably well established (e.g., Zhao, Wayne, Glibkowski, & Bravo, 2007), the role of context in shaping employees’ responses to breach has not been thoroughly explored (Lo & Aryee, 2003). As such, the primary research objective was to investigate the moderating effects of the organisational-embeddedness sub-dimensions (links, fit, and sacrifices; Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, & Erez, 2001) on the relationships between breach and employees’ exit (job search, turnover intention, turnover), voice (prosocial voice, innovation), loyalty (loyalty, social participation), and neglect (withdrawal, production deviance, silence) behaviours. Two studies were conducted to investigate the conceptual model and research hypotheses. / In Study 1, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 administrative (non-academic) Australian university employees. Content analysis of the results regarding breach outcomes revealed many of the hypothesised responses, and others, such as seeking assistance from colleagues and raising supervisor’s awareness, that were not anticipated. Furthermore, analysis of the results regarding response motives suggested themes relevant to the influence of organisational-embeddedness. / In Study 2, longitudinal survey data was collected from samples of Australian university professionals and alumni (N = 198 for Time 1 and 101 for Time 2). Outcomes were organised using the Exit, Voice, Loyalty and Neglect (EVLN) framework (Rusbult, Farrell, Rogers, & Mainous, 1988). Breach was positively related to exit (job search, turnover intention) and neglect (silence), and negatively related to loyalty (loyalty) in the cross-sectional Time 1 data. In addition, the positive breach-neglect (withdrawal, production deviance) relationship was weaker for those with more organisational-links, while the positive breach-exit (job search) relationship was stronger, and the negative breach-loyalty (loyalty) relationship was weaker, among those with good organisational-fit. At Time 2 (six months later), breach was negatively related to loyalty (loyalty). Furthermore, organisational-links, organisational-fit, and organisational-sacrifices each moderated the effects of breach on voice (innovation) as hypothesised. Specifically, employees with many links and good fit were more likely to respond to breach with voice (innovation), while those with high levels of perceived organisational-sacrifices were less likely to engage in this response. Overall, the research findings have implications for theory regarding the influence of context in shaping responses to breach, and the role of embeddedness as a moderator of employee reactions to negative work events. From a practical perspective, the research findings suggest that organisations can establish a safety net for effectively managing the harmful consequences of breach by increasing organisational-links and fit among their employees.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/282789 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Kiazad, Kohyar |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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