Psychological Contracts and Employee Voice: Does Breach Matter?

Larysa Botha; Renier Steyn

doi:10.25159/2664-3731/11901

Authors

Larysa Botha University of South Arica https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9852-3066
Renier Steyn University of South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2446-3662

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25159/2664-3731/11901

Keywords:

psychological contract breach, constructive voice, supportive voice, defensive voice, destructive voice, moderation, psychological contract

Abstract

Empirical evidence shows that the type of psychological contract and psychological contract breach affect employees’ work behaviours. One of these behaviours is employee voice, which is a key to organisational dynamics. This research aims to determine empirically the ways in which different types of psychological contract are linked to different types of employee voice, and the ways in which psychological contract breaches affect these relationships. The paucity of literature on the relationship between all three variables necessitated this research. The research targeted South African employees working in medium to large organisations with a staff component larger than 60. In a cross-sectional survey, the respondents were asked to answer a questionnaire on psychological contracts, psychological contract breach and employee voice. Correlation and regression analyses were used to test the relationships and the moderation effect of psychological contract breach on the psychological contract–employee voice links. A total of 620 respondents returned completed questionnaires, which showed acceptable psychometric properties. Relational psychological contracts correlated with promotive dimensions of employee voice, while transactional psychological contracts and psychological contract breach correlated with prohibitive dimensions of employee voice. The psychological contract–employee voice relationship was moderated by psychological contract breach only in a transactional psychological contract environment, and only for the prohibitive employee voice dimension. Psychological contracts and psychological contract breach, as well as the interaction between them, influence employee voice; with hindsight, this occurs in explainable ways. The results contribute to the understanding of the complex relationship between these variables and provide fertile ground for the formulation of targeted hypotheses. Practical recommendations are included.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biographies

Larysa Botha, University of South Arica

Larysa Botha holds a Doctor of Business Leadership Degree from the Graduate School of Business Leadership, UNISA. She also holds a Master’s degree in Musicology from the St Petersburg State Conservatory in the Russian Federation. After moving to South Africa, she consequently earned her MBA and Bachelor’s in Commerce in Industrial and Organisational Psychology, both from the University of South Africa. She has published five papers. She is currently employed at Milpark Education, where she consults to corporate organisations on learning and development strategies.

Renier Steyn, University of South Africa

Renier Steyn is a professor of Leadership and Organisational Behaviour at the University of South Africa and has industry experience in the field. He obtained four doctoral degrees, the latest in 2020. He completed training at UCLA, MIT and Harvard Business School. He has supervised more than 100 research projects and has published more than 50 papers. He was accepted as a member of the South African Academy for Science and Arts.

Graduate School of Business Leadership

References

Afshan, G., Serrano-Archimi, C., & Lacroux, A. (2021). Raising voice: Effect of psychological contract breach on employee voice through organizational cynicism. Human Systems Management, 40(6), 857–869. https://doi.org/10.3233/HSM-201108

Agarwal, U. A. (2014). Linking justice, trust and innovative work behaviour to work engagement. Personnel Review, 43(1), 41–73. https://doi.org/10.1108/pr-02-2012-0019

Ahmad, I., & Zafar, M. A. (2018). Impact of psychological contract fulfillment on organizational citizenship behavior: Mediating role of perceived organizational support. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(2), 1001–1015. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-12-2016-0659

Akhtar, M. N., Bal, M., & Long, L. (2016). Exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect reactions to frequency of change, and impact of change. Employee Relations, 38(4), 536–562. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-03-2015-0048

Akinwale, A. A., Shadare, A. O., & Aliyu, M. O. (2021). Breach of psychological contracts and discretionary behaviour in Nigerian academics. Journal of Business Management and Accounting, 11(1), 21–44. https://doi.org/10.32890/jbma2021.11.1.2

Ali Arain, G., Bukhari, S., Hameed, I., Lacaze, D. M., & Bukhari, Z. (2018). Am I treated better than my co-worker? A moderated mediation analysis of psychological contract fulfillment, organizational identification, and voice. Personnel Review, 47(5), 1138–1156. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2016-0090

Axtell, C. M., Holman, D. J., Unsworth, K. L., Wall, T. D., Waterson, P. E., & Harrington, E. (2000). Shopfloor innovation: Facilitating the suggestion and implementation of ideas. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73(3), 265–285. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317900167029

Bal, P. M., De 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(1), 143–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2007.10.005

Balabanova, E., Ehrnrooth, M., Koveshnikov, A., & Efendiev, A. (2019). Employee exit and constructive voice as behavioral responses to psychological contract breach in Finland and Russia: A within- and between-culture examination. International Journal of Human Resource Management, December, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2019.1699144

Balogun, A. G., Oluyemi, T. S., & Afolabi, O. A. (2018). Psychological contract breach and workplace deviance: Does emotional intelligence matter? Journal of Psychology in Africa, 28(1), 8–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2018.1426808

Bashshur, M. R., & Oc, B. (2015). When voice matters: A multilevel review of the impact of voice in organizations. Journal of Management, 41(5), 1530–1554. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314558302

Bateman, T. S., & Crant, J. M. (1993). The proactive component of organizational behavior: A measure and correlates. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14(2), 103–118. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030140202

Bhatnagar, J. (2014). Mediator analysis in the management of innovation in Indian knowledge workers: The role of perceived supervisor support, psychological contract, reward and recognition and turnover intention. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(10), 1395–1416. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2013.870312

Blau, P. (1964). Power and Exchange in Social Life. John Wiley & Sons.

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Erlbaum.

Cropanzano, R., & Mitchell, M. S. (2005). Social exchange theory: An interdisciplinary review. Journal of Management, 31(6), 874–900. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305279602

Cullinane, N., & Dundon, T. (2006). The psychological contract: A critical review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 8, 113–129. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2006.00123.x

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/10.1037/0021-9010.89.1.52

De Azevedo, M. C., Schlosser, F., & McPhee, D. (2021). Building organizational innovation through HRM, employee voice and engagement. Personnel Review, 50(2), 751–769. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-12-2019-0687

Deery, S. J., Iverson, R. D., & Walsh, J. T. (2006). Toward a better understanding of psychological contract breach: A study of customer service employees. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(1), 166. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.1.166

Fairchild, A., & MacKinnon, D. (2009). A general model for testing mediation and moderation effects. Preventative Sciences, 10(2), 87–99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-008-0109-6

Festinger, L. (1957). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (Vol. 2). Stanford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503620766

Field, A. (2009). Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. Sage.

Flood, P. C., Turner, T., Ramamoorthy, N., & Pearson, J. (2001). Causes and consequences of psychological contracts among knowledge workers in the high technology and financial services industries. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12(7), 1152–1165. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190110068368

Guo, Y. (2017). Effect of psychological contract breach on employee voice behavior: Evidence from China. Social Behavior and Personality, 45(6), 1019–1028. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.6326

Hagedoorn, M., Van Yperen, N. W., Van de Vliert, E., & Buunk, B. P. (1999). Employees’ reactions to problematic events: A circumplex structure of five categories of responses, and the role of job satisfaction. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20(3), 309–321. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(199905)20:3<309::AID-JOB895>3.0.CO;2-P

Hartmann, N. N., & Rutherford, B. N. (2015). Psychological contract breach’s antecedents and outcomes in salespeople: The roles of psychological climate, job attitudes, and turnover intention. Industrial Marketing Management, 51, 158–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.07.017

Hasan, F., & Kashif, M. (2021). Psychological safety, meaningfulness and empowerment as predictors of employee well-being: A mediating role of promotive voice. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 13(1), 40–59. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-11-2019-0236

Hirschman, A. O. (1970). Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States. Harvard University Press.

Hobfoll, S. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1109/NETWKS.2008.4763690

Hobfoll, S. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested‐self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology, 50(3), 337–421. https://doi.org/10.1111/1464-0597.00062

Hu, D., Zhang, B., & Wang, M. (2015). A study on the relationship among transformational leadership, organizational identification and voice behavior. Journal of Service Science and Management, 8(1), 142–148. https://doi.org/10.4236/jssm.2015.81017

Janssen, O. (2000). Job demands, perceptions of effort-reward fairness and innovative work behaviour. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73(3), 287–302. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317900167038

Kasekende, F., Munene, J. C., Ntayi, J. M., & Ahiauzu, A. (2015). The interaction effect of social exchanges on the relationship between organizational climate and psychological contract. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(7), 833–848. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-01-2014-0007

Kaya, B., & Karatepe, O. M. (2020). Attitudinal and behavioral outcomes of work-life balance among hotel employees: The mediating role of psychological contract breach. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 42(January), 199–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.01.003

Kiazad, K., Kraimer, M. L., & Seibert, S. E. (2019). More than grateful: How employee embeddedness explains the link between psychological contract fulfillment and employee extra-role behavior. Human Relations, 72(8), 1315–1340. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726718806352

Kiazad, K., Seibert, S. E., & Kraimer, M. L. (2014). Psychological contract breach and employee innovation: A conservation of resources perspective. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87(3), 535–556. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12062

Klaas, B. (2020). Workplace voice: Assessing its impact on the individual and the organization. In A. Wilkinson, T. Dundon, J. Donaghey & R. B. Freeman (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Employee Voice (pp. 540–555). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788971188.00041

Kutaula, S., Gillani, A., & Budhwar, P. S. (2020). An analysis of employment relationships in Asia using psychological contract theory: A review and research agenda. Human Resource Management Review, 30(4), 100707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2019.100707

Lee, G. L., Diefendorff, J. M., Kim, T. Y., & Bian, L. (2014). Personality and participative climate: Antecedents of distinct voice behaviors. Human Performance, 27(1), 25–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2013.854363

LePine, J. A., & Van Dyne, L. (1998). Predicting voice behavior in work groups. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(6), 853–868. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.83.6.853

Liang, J., Farh, C., & Farh, J.-L. (2012). Psychological antecedents of promotive and prohibitive voice: A two-wave examination. Academy of Management Journal, 55(1), 71–92. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0176

Liu, H., Yang, J., & Chen, X. (2020). Making the customer-brand relationship sustainable: The different effects of psychological contract breach types on customer citizenship behaviours. Sustainability, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12020630

Lu, Y., Shen, Y., & Zhao, L. (2015). Linking psychological contract breach and employee outcomes in China: Does leader-member exchange make a difference? Chinese Economy, 48(4), 297–308. https://doi.org/10.1080/10971475.2015.1044856

Maynes, T. D., & Podsakoff, P. M. (2014). Speaking more broadly: An examination of the nature, antecedents, and consequences of an expanded set of employee voice behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(1), 87–112. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034284

Memon, K. R., & Ghani, B. (2020). The relationship between psychological contract and voice behavior—A social exchange perspective. Asian Journal of Business Ethics, 9(2), 257–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13520-020-00109-4

Milliken, F. J., Morrison, E. W., & Hewlin, P. F. (2003). An exploratory study of employee silence: Issues that employees don’t communicate upward and why. Journal of Management Studies, 40(6), 1453–1476. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00387

Millward, L. J., & Hopkins, L. J. (1998). Psychological contracts, organizational and job commitment. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28(16), 1530–1556. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1998.tb01689.x

Morrison, E. W. (2011). Employee voice behavior: Integration and directions for future research. Academy of Management Annals, 5(1), 373–412. https://doi.org/10.1080/19416520.2011.574506

Morrison, E. W. (2014). Employee voice and silence. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 1(1), 173–197. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091328

Morrison, E. W., & Robinson, S. L. (1997). When employees feel betrayed: A model of how psychological contract violation develops. Academy of Management Journal, 22(1), 226–256. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1997.9707180265

Newton, S. K., Blanton, J. E., & Will, R. (2011). Innovative work and citizenship behaviors from information technology professionals: Effects of their psychological contract. Information Resources Management Journal, 21(4), 27–48. https://doi.org/10.4018/irmj.2008100102

Ng, T. W. H., & Feldman, D. C. (2012). Employee voice behavior: A meta‐analytic test of the conservation of resources framework. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(2), 216–234. https://doi.org/10.1002/job

Ng, T. W. H., Feldman, D. C., & Butts, M. M. (2014). Psychological contract breaches and employee voice behaviour: The moderating effects of changes in social relationships. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 23(4), 537–553. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2013.766394

Ng, T. W. H., Feldman, D. C., & Lam, S. S. K. (2010). Psychological contract breaches, organizational commitment, and innovation-related behaviors: A latent growth modeling approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(4), 744–751. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018804

Organ, D. (1990). The motivational basis of organizational citizenship behavior. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior (pp. 43–72). JAI Press.

Pallant, J. (2013). SPSS Survival Manual. London: McGraw-Hill Education.

Parker, S. K., Williams, H. M., & Turner, N. (2006). Modeling the antecedents of proactive behavior at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(3), 636–652. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.3.636

Raja, U., Johns, G., & Ntalianis, F. (2004). The impact of personality on psychological contracts. Academy of Management Journal, 47(3), 350–367. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5465/20159586

Ramamoorthy, N., Flood, P., Slattery, T., & Sardessai, R. (2005). Determinants of innovative work behaviour: Development and test of an integrated model. Creativity and Innovation Management, 14(2), 142–150. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8691.2005.00334.x

Rasheed, M. A., Shahzad, K., Conroy, C., Nadeem, S., & Siddique, U. M. (2017). Exploring the role of employee voice between high-performance work system and organizational innovation in small and medium enterprises. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 24(4), 670–688. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-11-2016-0185

Rees, C., Alfes, K., & Gatenby, M. (2013). Employee voice and engagement: Connections and consequences. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(14), 2780–2798. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2013.763843

Rigotti, T. (2009). Enough is enough? Threshold models for the relationship between psychological contract breach and job-related attitudes. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 18(4), 442–463. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320802402039

Robinson, S. L. (1996). Trust and breach of the psychological contract. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(4), 574–599. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393868

Robinson, S. L., & Morrison, E. W. (2000). The development of psychological contract breach and violation: A longitudinal study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21(5), 525–546. https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1379(200008)21:5%3C525::AID-JOB40%3E3.0.CO;2-T

Robinson, S. L., & Rousseau, D. M. (1994). Violating the psychological contract: Not the exception but the norm. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 245–259. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030150306

Rousseau, D. M. (1989). Psychological and implied contracts in organizations. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 2(2), 121–139. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01384942

Rousseau, D. M. (1995). Contract making. In Psychological Contracts in Organizations: Understanding Written and Unwritten Agreements (pp. 23–54). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452231594.n2

Rousseau, D. M. (2011). The individual–organization relationship: The psychological contract. In S. Zedeck (Ed.), APA Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Vol.3: Maintaining, Expanding, and Contracting the Organization (pp. 191–220). https://doi.org/10.1037/12171-005

Rousseau, D. M., & McLean Parks, J. (1993). The contracts of individuals and organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 15(1), 1–43.

Rousseau, D. M., & Wade-Benzoni, K. A. (1994). Linking strategy and human resource practices: How employee and customer contracts are created. Human Resource Management, 33(3), 463–489. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.3930330312

Rusbult, C. E., Farrell, D., Rogers, G., & Mainous, A. G. (1988). Impact of exchange variables on exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect: An integrative model of responses to declining job satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 31(3), 599–627. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5465/256461

Schalk, R., & De Ruiter, M. (2019). Mutuality and reciprocity in the psychological contract: A critical review and analysis. In Y. Griep & C. Cooper (Eds.), Handbook of Research on the Psychological Contract at Work (pp. 35–62). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788115681.00010

Soares, M. E., & Mosquera, P. (2019). Fostering work engagement: The role of the psychological contract. Journal of Business Research, 101(August), 469–476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.01.003

Statistics South Africa. (2020). Statistical Release P0302: Mid-Year Population Estimates 2020. http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022017.pdf

Strydom, A. S. (2013). The Influence of Organisational Behaviour Variables on Corporate Entrepreneurship [PhD thesis University of South Africa].

Tavakol, M., & Dennick, R. (2011). Making sense of Cronbach’s alpha. International Journal of Medical Education, 2, 53–55. https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd

Tekleab, A. G., Laulié, L., De Vos, A., De Jong, J. P., & Coyle-Shapiro, J. A. M. (2020). Contextualizing psychological contracts research: A multi-sample study of shared individual psychological contract fulfilment. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 29(2), 279–293. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2019.1608294

Tekleab, A. G., & Taylor, S. M. (2003). Aren’t there two parties in an employment relationship? Antecedents and consequences of organization-employee agreement on contract obligations and violations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(Spec. Issue), 585–608. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.204

Turnley H. W., & Feldman, C. D. (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

Unler, E., & Caliskan, S. (2019). Individual and managerial predictors of the different forms of employee voice. Journal of Management Development, 38(7), 582–603. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-02-2019-0049

Van Dyne, L., Ang, S., & Botero, I. C. (2003). Conceptualizing employee silence and employee voice as multidimensional constructs. Journal of Management Studies, 40(6), 1359–1392. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00384

Van Dyne, L., Cummings, L. L., & Parks, J. M. (1995). Extra-role behaviors: In pursuit of construct and definitional clarity. Research in Organizational Behavior, 17, 215–285.

Van Dyne, L., & LePine, J. A. (1998). Helping and voice extra-role behaviors: Evidence of construct and predictive validity. Academy of Management Journal, 41(1), 108–119. https://doi.org/10.2307/256902

Yousaf, K., Abid, G., Butt, T. H., Ilyas, S., & Ahmed, S. (2019). Impact of ethical leadership and thriving at work on psychological well-being of employees: Mediating role of voice behaviour. Business, Management and Education, 17(2), 194–217. https://doi.org/10.3846/bme.2019.11176

Zagenczyk, T. J., Cruz, K. S., Cheung, J. H., Scott, K. L., Kiewitz, C., & Galloway, B. (2015). The moderating effect of power distance on employee responses to psychological contract breach. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 24(6), 853–865. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2014.961432

Zagenczyk, T. J., Gibney, R., Kiewitz, C., & Restubog, S. L. D. (2009). Mentors, supervisors and role models: Do they reduce the effects of psychological contract breach? Human Resource Management Journal, 19(3), 237–259. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2009.00097.x