Psychological contract and attitudinal outcomes: multilevel mediation model
| Published date | 04 November 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-07-2018-0237 |
| Pages | 1685-1700 |
| Date | 04 November 2019 |
| Author | Yolanda Estreder,Inés Tomás,Maria José Chambel,José Ramos |
| Subject Matter | Hr & organizational behaviour,Global hrm |
Psychological contract and
attitudinal outcomes: multilevel
mediation model
Yolanda Estreder and Inés Tomás
Research Institute of Personnel Psychology,
Organizational Development and Quality of Working Life (IDOCAL),
University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Maria José Chambel
Department of Human Resources, Work and Organizational Psychology,
Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal, and
José Ramos
Research Institute of Personnel Psychology,
Organizational Development and Quality of Working Life (IDOCAL),
University of Valencia and IVIE, Valencia, Spain
Abstract
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.
Keywords Psychological contract, Organizational justice, Job attitudes, Multilevel mediation,
Multilevel SEM
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The psychologicalcontract (PC), defined as “the perception of both par ties to the employment
relationship,organization and individual, of the reciprocalpromises and obligationsimplied in
that relationship”(Guest and Conway, 2002, p. 22), has been considered as a promising
framework to understand the employment exchange relationships (Costa and Neves, 2017).
Increasingnumber of studies have shown consistentrelationships betweenPC ( fulfillment)
to different outcomes, like job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intentions,
OCB and performance(Rodwell et al., 2015; Zhao et al., 2007).Nevertheless, very littleresearch
has examined the mechanisms through which the employee–employer exchange takes place
inside organizations (Clinton and Guest, 2014; Peiró et al., 2007). In addition, most research
considered PC at the individual level, limiting the focus to the analysis of the employment
relationship (Conway and Briner, 2005).
To addressthese issues, thisstudy examines thejoint multilevel perspective of bothsides in
the exchange to study the underlying mechanisms through which employer PC fulfillment
Personnel Review
Vol. 48 No. 7, 2019
pp. 1685-1700
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-07-2018-0237
Received 2 July 2018
Revised 2 February 2019
Accepted 19 May 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
1685
Multilevel PC
mediation with
outcomes
influences employee attitudinal outcomes. Based on social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) and
fairness heuristic theory (Lind, 2001), we propose that the fulfillment of employers’promises
(organizational-level perspective, reported by HR manager) guides employees’feelings of PC
violation and their evaluation of organizational justice, fostering workplace attitudes
(individual-level perspective, reported by workers). Thus, our paper makes several distinct
contributions. First, despite PC presuppose an employer–employee social exchange, the
literaturehas focused mostlyon the employees’perceptions(Zh ao et al., 2007). Studies, in which
the exchange of both the employee and employer are analyzed, are except ions
(e.g. Coyle-Shapiro and Kessler, 2000). Our study integrates both parties to the employment
relationship to analyze the consequences of the PC, thus contribute to expand our
understanding about the management of employment relations. Second, in line withMorrison
and Robinson (1997) model that considered fulfillment an antecedent of violation, the present
study contributes to existing research on PC and work outcomes, base d on the idea that PC
violation contributes to these outcomes beyond what can be explained by the fulfillment of
promisesalone. Finally,many studies that haveanalyzed the PC fulfillment consequenceshave
investigated either violation (van Stormbroek and Blomme, 2017) or justice (Peiró et al., 2007).
Moreover,previous studies focusing on PC violation in conjunction with organizationaljustice
have considered that both are predictors of several work outcomes (Rodwell and Gulyas, 2013,
2015). Our study was based on Guest model, which e xamines the state of the PC, and included
the mediating sequentialrole of both PC violation and justice perceptionsto capture the nature
of the exchange within an organization. Figure 1 shows our hypothesized model.
The present study also intended to draw practical conclusions that might help human
resource managers understand how they can intervene to promote employee attitudes
considering the fulfillment of employer obligations.
Psychological contract in the employment relationship context
Based on social exchange theory, an employment relationship can be viewed as an
interdependent exchange process in which employee and employer deal with (in)tangible
transactions that engender mutual obligations (Blau, 1964; Gouldner, 1960). That is, workers
provide their contributions (e.g. loyalty, in- and extra-role behavior) in exchange for certain
favorable inducements (e.g. training, promotion) that the organization returns to them
(Anderson and Schalk, 1998; Bal et al., 2010; De Vos et al., 2003). In this setting, PC can
provide a framework for regulating the reciprocal exchange between the two parties
(Guest, 2004; Shore and Coyle-Shapiro, 2003).
a
c3
c2
c1
Organizational level
Individual level
Psychological Contract
Violation
Employer PC
Fulfillment
Organizational
Justice Organizational
Commitment
Intention
to quit
Job
Satisfaction
b
Figure 1.
Conceptual model
incorporating the
research hypotheses
1686
PR
48,7
To continue reading
Request your trial