Keywords
psychological contracts
psychological contract change
longitudinal study
psychological contract change
longitudinal study
How to Cite
Changes to Newcomers’ Psychological Contract Over Time: The Interactive Effects of the Fulfilment of Employer and Employee Obligations. (2019). Universitas Psychologica, 18(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.upsy18-1.cnpc
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Abstract
The goal of this study was to examine changes in newcomers’ psychological contract over time. Based on schema theory and the post-violation model of the psychological contract, we theorized that psychological contract fulfillment is strengthening the psychological contract over time, while changes in the psychological contract are most likely to occur in a situation of low employer and employee fulfillment. In a sample of newcomers in a Brazilian public organization, we tested how the fulfillment of both employer and employee obligations explain the change in the psychological contract. The results support the hypotheses, and we found that the highest level of change in psychological contracts occurred when the fulfilments of the obligations of both parties were low. We discuss the implications for theory on the change in psychological contracts.
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park: Sage.
Bal, P. M., Lange, A. H., Jansen, P. G. W., & Van der Velde, M. E. G. (2008). Psychological contract breach and job attitudes: a meta-analysis of age as a moderator. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72, 143-158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2007.10.005
Bankins, S. (2015). A process perspective on psychological contract change: Making sense of, and repairing, psychological contract breach and violation through employee coping actions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(8), 1071-1095. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2007
Boswell, W. R., Shipp, A. J., Payne, S. C., & Culbertson, S. S. (2009). Changes in newcomer job satisfaction over time: Examining the pattern of honeymoons and hangovers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 844-858. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014975
Cassar, V. (2001). Violating psychological contract terms among Maltese public service employees: occurrence and relationships. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 16, 194-208. Retrieved from https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mcb/050/2001/00000016/00000003/art00001
Conway, N., & Briner, R. B. (2005). Understanding psychological contracts at work: A critical evaluation of theory and research. Oxford Scholarship Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280643.001.000
Coyle-Shapiro, J. A. M., & Kessler, I. (2002). Exploring reciprocity through the lens of psychological contract: Employee and employer perspectives. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 11(1), 69-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320143000852
Dabos, G. E., & Rousseau, D. M. (2004). Mutuality and reciprocity in the psychological contracts of employees and employers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(1), 52-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/10.1037/0021-9010.89.1.52
Debode, J., Mossholder, K., & Walker, A. (2017). Fulfilling employees’ psychological contracts: organizational socialization’s role. Leadership & Organization Development Journal. 38(1), 42-55. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-02-2015-0014
De Vos, A., Buyens, D., & Schalk, R. (2003). Psychological contract development during organizational socialization: Adaptation to reality and the role of reciprocity. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(5), 537-559. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.205
De Vos, A., Buyens, D., & Schalk, R. (2005). Making sense of a new employment relationship: Psychological contract‐related information seeking and the role of work values and Locus of Control. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 13(1), 41-52. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0965-075X.2005.00298.x
De Sousa Loreto, C. (2005). Estudio comparativo del contrato psicológico en empleados temporales y permanentes (Tesis de pregrado). Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Venezuela.
García-Rubiano, M., & Forero-Aponte, C. (2015). Contrato psicológico y cambio organizacional en una entidad perteneciente al sector terciario de la ciudad de Bogotá, Colombia. Revista de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, 6(1), 15-28. https://doi.org/10.19053/20278306.4047
Gardody, J. (2016). La formation et la violation du contrat psychologique: quels processus cognitifs? RIMHE: Revue Interdisciplinaire Management, Homme & Entreprise, 5(29), 3-26. Retrieved from http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01651601
Guest, D. (2004). The psychology of the employment relationship: an analysis based on the psychological contract. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 53(4), 541-555. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2004.00187.x
Guest, D., & Conway, N. (2002). Communicating the psychological contract: an employer perspective. Human Resource Management Journal, 12(2), 22-38. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2002.tb00062.x
Lester, S. W., Kickul, J. R., & Bergmann, T. J. (2007). Managing employee perceptions of the psychological contract over time: The role of employer social accounts and contract fulfilment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28(2), 191-208. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.410
Louis, M. R. (1980). Surprise and sense making: What newcomers experience in entering unfamiliar organizational settings. Administrative Science Quarterly, 25, 226-251. Retrieved from http://bernard.bianca.pivot.free.fr/Articles/Socialisation%20Organisationnelle/Louis%20(1980).pdf
Maguire, H. (2003). The changing psychological contract: challenges and implications for HRM, organisations and employees. In R. Wiesener & B. Millett (Eds.), Human resource management: challenges and future directions (pp. 87-103). Queensland: John Wiley & Sons.
Maia, L. G., & Bastos, A. V. B. (2014). Validação de instrumento de contrato psicológico. Avaliação Psicológica, 13(3), 409-417. Retrieved from http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/pdf/avp/v13n3/v13n3a13.pdf
Nisar, Q., Liaqat, I., Nasir, M., & Ikram, M. (2017). The crucial role of psychological contracts towards organizational behaviors: Descriptive study in banking sector. International Journal for Research in Social Science and Humanities, 3(6), 1-15.
Persson, S., & Wasieleski, D. (2015). The seasons of the psychological contract: Overcoming the silent transformations of the employer-employee relationship. Human Resource Management Review, 25(4), 368-383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2015.02.003
Rios, M. C., & Gondim, S. M. G. (2010). Contrato psicológico de trabalho e a produção acadêmica no Brasil. Revista Psicologia Organizações e Trabalho, 10(1), 23-36. Retrieved from http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/pdf/rpot/v10n1/v10n1a03.pdf
Robinson, S. L., & Morrison, A. E. W. (2000). The development of psychological contract breach and violation: a longitudinal study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 525-546. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.458.7023&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Robinson, S. L., Kraatz, M. S., & Rousseau, D. M. (1994). Changing obligations and the psychological contract: a longitudinal study. Academy of Management Journal, 37(1), 137-152. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/256773
Rousseau, D. M. (1995). Psychological contracts in organizations: understanding written and unwritten agreements. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
Rousseau, D. M., Montes, S. D., & Tomprou, M. (2014). Psychological contract theory 2.0. Unpublished manuscript.
Sherman, U. P., & Morley, M. J. (2015). On the formation of the psychological contract a schema theory perspective. Group & Organization Management, 40, 160-192. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601115574944
Shore, L. M., & Barksdale, K. (1998). Examining degree of balance and level of obligation in the employment relationship: A social exchange approach. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19(Spec Issue), 731-744. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(1998)19:1+<731::AID-JOB969>3.0.CO;2-P
Silla, I., Gracia, F., Gracia, F., & Peiró, J. (2005). Diferencias en el contenido del contrato psicológico en función del tipo de contrato y de la gestión empresarial pública o privada. Revista de Psicología Social, 20(1), 61-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1174/0213474052871097
Syrek, C., & Antoni, C. (2017). Psychological contract fulfillment and employee responses to pay system change: The effects of transformational leadership. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 16(4), 172-185. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000186
Solinger, O. N., Hofmans, J., Bal, P. M., & Jansen, P. G. W. (2015). Bouncing back from psychological contract breach: How commitment recovers over time. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37(4), 494-514. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2047
Tekleab, A. G., Orvis, K. A., & Taylor, M. S. (2013). Deleterious consequences of change in newcomers’ psychological contracts. Journal of Business and Psychology, 28(3), 361-374. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10869-012-9277-2
Thomas, D. C., Au, K., & Ravlin, E. C. (2003). Cultural variation and the psychological contract. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(5), 451-471. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.209
Thomas, H. D. C., & Anderson, N. (1998). Changes in newcomers’ psychological contracts during organizational socialization: A study of recruits entering the British Army. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19(1), 745-767. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(1998)19:1+<745::AID-JOB967>3.0.CO;2-I
Tomprou, M., Rousseau, D. M., & Hansen, S. D. (2015). The psychological contracts of violation victims: A post‐violation model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(4), 561-581. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1997
Topa-Cantisano, G., & Caeiro, J. L. (2013). Gestión de recursos humanos y empleo público: un estudio cuantitativo con funcionarios del Estado en España. Revista de Psicología, Ciències de l`Educació i de l`Esport, 31(2), 35-43. Retrieved from http://www.revistaaloma.net/index.php/aloma/article/view/203
Tran Huy, P. & Takahashi, K. (2017). Determinants of psychological contract breach: An empirical study of Vietnamese employees. Management Research Review, 41(1), 29-45. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-11-2016-0244
Turnley, W. H., & Feldman, D. C. (1999). The impact of psychological contract violations on exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect. Human Relations, 52(7), 895-922. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872679905200703
Vantilborgh, T., Dries, N., De Vos, A., & Bal, P. M. (2015). The psychological contracts of older employees. In P. M. Bal, D. T. A. M. Kooij, & D. M. Rousseau (Eds.), Aging Workers and the Employee-Employer Relationship (pp. 107-127). London: Springer International Publishing.
Vesga, J. J. (2011). Los tipos de contratación laboral y sus implicaciones en el contrato psicológico. Pensamiento Psicológico, 9(16), 171-181.
Weick, K. E. (1995). Sensemaking in organiza¬tions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Bal, P. M., Lange, A. H., Jansen, P. G. W., & Van der Velde, M. E. G. (2008). Psychological contract breach and job attitudes: a meta-analysis of age as a moderator. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72, 143-158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2007.10.005
Bankins, S. (2015). A process perspective on psychological contract change: Making sense of, and repairing, psychological contract breach and violation through employee coping actions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(8), 1071-1095. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2007
Boswell, W. R., Shipp, A. J., Payne, S. C., & Culbertson, S. S. (2009). Changes in newcomer job satisfaction over time: Examining the pattern of honeymoons and hangovers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 844-858. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014975
Cassar, V. (2001). Violating psychological contract terms among Maltese public service employees: occurrence and relationships. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 16, 194-208. Retrieved from https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mcb/050/2001/00000016/00000003/art00001
Conway, N., & Briner, R. B. (2005). Understanding psychological contracts at work: A critical evaluation of theory and research. Oxford Scholarship Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280643.001.000
Coyle-Shapiro, J. A. M., & Kessler, I. (2002). Exploring reciprocity through the lens of psychological contract: Employee and employer perspectives. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 11(1), 69-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320143000852
Dabos, G. E., & Rousseau, D. M. (2004). Mutuality and reciprocity in the psychological contracts of employees and employers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(1), 52-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/10.1037/0021-9010.89.1.52
Debode, J., Mossholder, K., & Walker, A. (2017). Fulfilling employees’ psychological contracts: organizational socialization’s role. Leadership & Organization Development Journal. 38(1), 42-55. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-02-2015-0014
De Vos, A., Buyens, D., & Schalk, R. (2003). Psychological contract development during organizational socialization: Adaptation to reality and the role of reciprocity. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(5), 537-559. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.205
De Vos, A., Buyens, D., & Schalk, R. (2005). Making sense of a new employment relationship: Psychological contract‐related information seeking and the role of work values and Locus of Control. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 13(1), 41-52. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0965-075X.2005.00298.x
De Sousa Loreto, C. (2005). Estudio comparativo del contrato psicológico en empleados temporales y permanentes (Tesis de pregrado). Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Venezuela.
García-Rubiano, M., & Forero-Aponte, C. (2015). Contrato psicológico y cambio organizacional en una entidad perteneciente al sector terciario de la ciudad de Bogotá, Colombia. Revista de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, 6(1), 15-28. https://doi.org/10.19053/20278306.4047
Gardody, J. (2016). La formation et la violation du contrat psychologique: quels processus cognitifs? RIMHE: Revue Interdisciplinaire Management, Homme & Entreprise, 5(29), 3-26. Retrieved from http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01651601
Guest, D. (2004). The psychology of the employment relationship: an analysis based on the psychological contract. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 53(4), 541-555. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2004.00187.x
Guest, D., & Conway, N. (2002). Communicating the psychological contract: an employer perspective. Human Resource Management Journal, 12(2), 22-38. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2002.tb00062.x
Lester, S. W., Kickul, J. R., & Bergmann, T. J. (2007). Managing employee perceptions of the psychological contract over time: The role of employer social accounts and contract fulfilment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28(2), 191-208. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.410
Louis, M. R. (1980). Surprise and sense making: What newcomers experience in entering unfamiliar organizational settings. Administrative Science Quarterly, 25, 226-251. Retrieved from http://bernard.bianca.pivot.free.fr/Articles/Socialisation%20Organisationnelle/Louis%20(1980).pdf
Maguire, H. (2003). The changing psychological contract: challenges and implications for HRM, organisations and employees. In R. Wiesener & B. Millett (Eds.), Human resource management: challenges and future directions (pp. 87-103). Queensland: John Wiley & Sons.
Maia, L. G., & Bastos, A. V. B. (2014). Validação de instrumento de contrato psicológico. Avaliação Psicológica, 13(3), 409-417. Retrieved from http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/pdf/avp/v13n3/v13n3a13.pdf
Nisar, Q., Liaqat, I., Nasir, M., & Ikram, M. (2017). The crucial role of psychological contracts towards organizational behaviors: Descriptive study in banking sector. International Journal for Research in Social Science and Humanities, 3(6), 1-15.
Persson, S., & Wasieleski, D. (2015). The seasons of the psychological contract: Overcoming the silent transformations of the employer-employee relationship. Human Resource Management Review, 25(4), 368-383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2015.02.003
Rios, M. C., & Gondim, S. M. G. (2010). Contrato psicológico de trabalho e a produção acadêmica no Brasil. Revista Psicologia Organizações e Trabalho, 10(1), 23-36. Retrieved from http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/pdf/rpot/v10n1/v10n1a03.pdf
Robinson, S. L., & Morrison, A. E. W. (2000). The development of psychological contract breach and violation: a longitudinal study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 525-546. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.458.7023&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Robinson, S. L., Kraatz, M. S., & Rousseau, D. M. (1994). Changing obligations and the psychological contract: a longitudinal study. Academy of Management Journal, 37(1), 137-152. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/256773
Rousseau, D. M. (1995). Psychological contracts in organizations: understanding written and unwritten agreements. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
Rousseau, D. M., Montes, S. D., & Tomprou, M. (2014). Psychological contract theory 2.0. Unpublished manuscript.
Sherman, U. P., & Morley, M. J. (2015). On the formation of the psychological contract a schema theory perspective. Group & Organization Management, 40, 160-192. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601115574944
Shore, L. M., & Barksdale, K. (1998). Examining degree of balance and level of obligation in the employment relationship: A social exchange approach. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19(Spec Issue), 731-744. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(1998)19:1+<731::AID-JOB969>3.0.CO;2-P
Silla, I., Gracia, F., Gracia, F., & Peiró, J. (2005). Diferencias en el contenido del contrato psicológico en función del tipo de contrato y de la gestión empresarial pública o privada. Revista de Psicología Social, 20(1), 61-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1174/0213474052871097
Syrek, C., & Antoni, C. (2017). Psychological contract fulfillment and employee responses to pay system change: The effects of transformational leadership. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 16(4), 172-185. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000186
Solinger, O. N., Hofmans, J., Bal, P. M., & Jansen, P. G. W. (2015). Bouncing back from psychological contract breach: How commitment recovers over time. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37(4), 494-514. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2047
Tekleab, A. G., Orvis, K. A., & Taylor, M. S. (2013). Deleterious consequences of change in newcomers’ psychological contracts. Journal of Business and Psychology, 28(3), 361-374. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10869-012-9277-2
Thomas, D. C., Au, K., & Ravlin, E. C. (2003). Cultural variation and the psychological contract. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(5), 451-471. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.209
Thomas, H. D. C., & Anderson, N. (1998). Changes in newcomers’ psychological contracts during organizational socialization: A study of recruits entering the British Army. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19(1), 745-767. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(1998)19:1+<745::AID-JOB967>3.0.CO;2-I
Tomprou, M., Rousseau, D. M., & Hansen, S. D. (2015). The psychological contracts of violation victims: A post‐violation model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(4), 561-581. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1997
Topa-Cantisano, G., & Caeiro, J. L. (2013). Gestión de recursos humanos y empleo público: un estudio cuantitativo con funcionarios del Estado en España. Revista de Psicología, Ciències de l`Educació i de l`Esport, 31(2), 35-43. Retrieved from http://www.revistaaloma.net/index.php/aloma/article/view/203
Tran Huy, P. & Takahashi, K. (2017). Determinants of psychological contract breach: An empirical study of Vietnamese employees. Management Research Review, 41(1), 29-45. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-11-2016-0244
Turnley, W. H., & Feldman, D. C. (1999). The impact of psychological contract violations on exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect. Human Relations, 52(7), 895-922. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872679905200703
Vantilborgh, T., Dries, N., De Vos, A., & Bal, P. M. (2015). The psychological contracts of older employees. In P. M. Bal, D. T. A. M. Kooij, & D. M. Rousseau (Eds.), Aging Workers and the Employee-Employer Relationship (pp. 107-127). London: Springer International Publishing.
Vesga, J. J. (2011). Los tipos de contratación laboral y sus implicaciones en el contrato psicológico. Pensamiento Psicológico, 9(16), 171-181.
Weick, K. E. (1995). Sensemaking in organiza¬tions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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