Open AccessPsychological Contract in IT: A Qualitative Exploration of Missed Expectations
Author(s) -
René Moquin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of the southern association for information systems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2325-3940
DOI - 10.17705/3jsis.00014
Subject(s) - psychological contract , reciprocity (cultural anthropology) , social psychology , salient , psychology , social contract , linkage (software) , identity (music) , social identity theory , political science , law , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , social group , politics , acoustics , gene
This study examines the nature of reciprocity between IT workers and their organization and the IT profession by applying two theoretical perspectives - social identity and the psychological contract. Social Identity Theory addresses the connection between individuals and their profession while Psychological Contract Theory addresses the mental retention of direct and indirect promises and their reciprocation. The linkage of these theories assesses the behavioral outcomes of missed expectations. The results from in-depth interviews with IT professionals generate a taxonomy of twenty-five themes that potentially influence a breach or violation of the psychological contract. The discussion then focuses on the four salient themes that were highly referenced by the interviewees and that closely aligned with the theoretical foundations of the study. This paper widens the operational aspects of the Psychological Contract by investigating the factors that potentially influence a Psychological Contract Breach and Psychological Contract Violation within the IT profession.