Psychological contracts contain both relational and transactional elements, each of which is associated with unique characteristics. In the present research, the authors drew on these distinct qualities to develop and test hypotheses regarding differential employee reactions to underfulfillment, fulfillment, and overfulfillment of relational and transactional promises. Further, the authors extended their test of the theoretical distinctions between relational and transactional contracts by assessing the relevance of trust as a key underlying mechanism of relational and transactional psychological contract breach effects. Participants in this 3-wave longitudinal study included 342 full-time temporary employees. In support of existing theoretical distinctions, results indicated that employees reacted differently to varying levels of fulfillment of their relational and transactional contracts and that trust is a more central mechanism of relational, as opposed to transactional, psychological contract breach effects. These findings underscore L.S. Lambert, J. R. Edwards, and D. M. Cable's (2003) recent recommendation that the traditional conceptualization and study of psychological contract breach requires expansion.
Interpretation of existing theory and research on met expectations is problematic due to ambiguous conceptualization of the met expectations hypothesis and limitations imposed by the measurement strategies typically employed in this domain (i.e. difference scores and direct retrospective measures). In this longitudinal study, we sought to overcome these problems by using an alternative methodology to conduct a more comprehensive test of the met expectations hypothesis based on Warr's (1987) Vitamin Model and on research in related fields (e.g. person–environment fit). Polynomial regression and response surface analyses were used to examine how employee satisfaction is related to unmet, met, and exceeded expectations concerning two distinct types of inducements analogous to vitamins A (skill development opportunities) and E (support, compensation). Respondents included 342 limited term employees. Consistent with previous research, our results indicated that unmet expectations of any sort were associated with decreased satisfaction. However, contrary to common interpretations of the extant literature, our results also indicated that met expectations were not always associated with high levels of satisfaction and that exceeded expectations were, in the case of skill development, negatively associated with satisfaction. These findings suggest a need to broaden existing met expectations theory and to refine common organizational practices.
Promises are positioned centrally in the study of psychological contract breach and are argued to distinguish psychological contracts from related constructs, such as employee expectations. However, because the effects of promises and delivered inducements are confounded in most research, the role of promises in perceptions of, and reactions to, breach remains unclear. If promises are not an important determinant of employee perceptions, emotions, and behavioral intentions, this would suggest that the psychological contract breach construct might lack utility. To assess the unique role of promises, the authors manipulated promises and delivered inducements separately in hypothetical scenarios in Studies 1 (558 undergraduates) and 2 (441 employees), and they measured them separately (longitudinally) in Study 3 (383 employees). The authors' results indicate that breach perceptions do not represent a discrepancy between what employees believe they were promised and were given. In fact, breach perceptions can exist in the absence of promises. Further, promises play a negligible role in predicting feelings of violation and behavioral intentions. Contrary to the extant literature, the authors' findings suggest that promises may matter little; employees are concerned primarily with what the organization delivers.
The theory's core idea that an understanding of the beliefs individual parties hold regarding their exchange relationship is important in fostering successful exchanges, particularly as applied in employment.
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