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A Systematic Review of Broken Psychological Contracts in Employment Relationships and Actions to Manage Them

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Dissertation(835.63 KB)

Date

2024

Authors

Supervisor

Cooper-Thomas, Helena

Item type

Dissertation

Degree name

Master of Business

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Auckland University of Technology

Abstract

The psychological contract (PC) has been widely studied over the past few decades as a valuable framework for understanding the employment relationship. However, many PC studies have taken an employee perspective and focused primarily on the effects of the broken PC on a limited number of outcomes. There has been a lack of attention on the practical actions organisations have taken or could take to manage these breakages. Therefore, a systematic review from an organisational viewpoint can provide a better understanding of the complexity of relationships between the broken PCs and a large number of work-related outcomes, and solutions for managing these broken PCs. We implemented systematic review methods to identify 80 primary studies from 1989 to 2024. Our findings reveal that a broken PC negatively affects work-related outcomes, not only have detrimental effects on organisational performance but also on employee health in both contexts of dyadic relationships and third parties witnessing these relationships. Findings also suggest that organisations should focus their efforts on prospective prevention strategies, repair tactics, and potential moderators for mitigating the effects of broken PCs. To our knowledge, this systematic review is the first to conduct a qualitative review of primary studies to identify practical actions that are or could be taken to prevent or mitigate the adverse effects of broken PCs from an organisational perspective. Future research is needed to manage broken PCs within specific contexts, such as in different occupational settings. Moreover, time and health-related outcomes are two gaps for future PC research.

Description

Keywords

broken psychological contract, systematic review, employment relationship, work-related outcomes, practical actions

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DOI

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Permanent link

http://hdl.handle.net/10292/18237

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Masters Dissertations