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Psychological Contracts, Organizational and Job Commitment
Author(s) -
Millward Lynne J.,
Hopkins Lee J.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1998.tb01689.x
Subject(s) - psychological contract , transactional leadership , psychology , social psychology , transactional analysis , organizational commitment , character (mathematics) , relational contract , yield (engineering) , microeconomics , economics , materials science , geometry , mathematics , metallurgy
Increased use of time‐limited contracts as the mainstay of employer‐employee relations has implications for the psychological character of the exchange relationship. To investigate this, the current study is framed by Rousseau's (1995) psychological contract model (PCM). The psychological contract pertains to beliefs held by individuals about their contractual terms and conditions. The findings yield evidence for Rousseau's distinction between two types of contractual belief (relational and transactional), as well as the explanatory potential of the PCM over and above the concept of organizational commitment. As predicted. temporary workers were more transactional than relational in their contractual orientation. The findings are discussed with reference to a need to develop a theoretical basis for research on organizational involvement.