Psychological contracts and reciprocity: a study in a Finnish context

Abstract

Existing research has demonstrated how the norm of reciprocity operates as a general principle in exchange relationships. However, limited explicit theoretical and empirical attention has been paid to its role in the functioning of the psychological contract. Using a sample of Finnish public sector employees, this study investigated the impact of perceived employer fulfilment of psychological contract on employee perceptions of the form of reciprocity underlying the exchange relationship. The potential mediating role of the reciprocity perceptions between perceived contract fulfilment and its outcomes (affective commitment, continuance commitment and intention to leave) was also examined. The results show that perceived employer fulfilment is positively associated with employee perceptions of the generalized form of reciprocity, and negatively with perceptions of the balanced form of reciprocity. Further, perceptions of generalized reciprocity were found to mediate the relationship between perceived contract fulfilment and affective commitment and intentions to leave the organization. Results and implications are discussed.

Keywords:

• psychological contract
• public sector
• reciprocity
• social exchange

Notes

1. See comparisons on economic competitiveness by World Economic Forum (http://www.weforum.org), International Institute for Management Development, (http://www.imd-international.com) and Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (http://www.unice.org).