The Impact of Psychological Contract Breach on the Work-Related Attitude and Behavior of Employees
心理契约破坏感对员工工作态度和行为的影响

Introduction The psychological contract has been viewed as an explanatory framework for understanding the employment relationship, and is regarded by some researchers as central to the understanding of employee attitudes and behaviors. Despite the importance ascribed to this concept, it remains theoretically underdeveloped and has received limited empirical attention. Method Using a sample of 398 employees from 32 firms, the present study examined whether perceived organizational support (POS) and leader-member exchange (LMX) mediate the relationship between psychological contract breach and its outcomes by applying the structural equation modeling analysis. Results Results indicated that perceived organizational support and leader-member exchange mediate the relationship between psychological contract breach and its outcomes: (1) POS was found to fully mediate the relationship between psychological contract breach and organizational identification; POS only partially mediates the relationship between psychological contract breach and intention to remain. (2) LMX was found to mediate the relationship between psychological contract breach and organizational citizenship behavior. (3) POS fully mediates the relationship between LMX and work-related attitudes, including intention to remain and organizational identification. Conclusions POS and LMX mediate the relationship between psychological contract breach and employees' work-related outcomes. Results highlight the importance of POS and LMX in enhancing the understanding of the links between psychological contract breach and its work-related outcome.