I didn't promise, I said inshallah¹: Saudi Arabian employees' perceptions of the importance of implicit promises within the psychological contract

Abstract

The psychological contract was both conceptualised and has been investigated primarily in Western contexts. While research has demonstrated its utility for exploring the nature of the individual employment relationship in other cultures, the fundamental tenets of the psychological contract have never been challenged. In particular, there is an absence of empirical research on how the notion of implicit promises might be viewed in Eastern contexts, in spite of promises constituting a significant plank of employee interpretation of the psychological contract. Using two case studies in Saudi Arabia, this research investigates how different sources of information influence the construction of implicit promises in a culturally unique employment context. We propose a theoretical model that outlines key factors that shape employee beliefs of implicit promises in order to guide future research in the field of psychological contracts. K E Y W O R D Snational culture, organisational culture, promises, psychological contract, Saudi Arabia 1 Inshallah is an Arabic phrase that means "if God wills" and is said when one is talking about something that will happen in the future. Practically, it means that I may or may not deliver what I have promised only if God wills it.