Ideological currency in psychological contracts: the role of team relationships in a reciprocity perspective

Abstract

This study focused on the role of ideology in psychological contracts, which has been a neglected theme in psychological contract research. A study among Dutch middle managers in education revealed that ideological psychological contract fulfillment explained additional variance in relation to employee obligations toward the organization. Moreover, it was found that team relationships moderated the relations between some aspects of employer contract fulfillment and employee obligations, but no significant interactions were found between employer ideological fulfillment and team relationships in relation to employee obligations.

Keywords:

• employee obligations
• ideology
• middle managers
• psychological contract
• team relationships

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Guido de Bruin and Marcel Bos for their comments on the ideological contract scales.