Multiple obligations: distinguishing the dimensionality and confirming the role of ideology within the psychological contract framework
Abstract
I seek to further understand and empirically test the role of ideology, or
commitment to an espoused cause, as part of a multidimensional psychological contract
among employees in organizational settings. I present and provide a preliminary
validation of a measure of ideological contracts and propose a model that suggests
employees develop perceived obligations with their employers based on economic,
social, and ideological reasons. Different behaviors are likely to be expected based on
the obligation types that are most significant to the employees. Specifically, my model
suggests obligations stemming from the espousal of a cause may elicit positive employee
contributions toward organizational goals. Further, I posit that employees may seek to
benefit distinct individuals and/or entities within the organization based on their
psychological contract form. Cross-sectional data from four distinct samples provided
strong support for the idea that transactional, relational, and ideological components of
the psychological contract are distinct, and preliminary support that such components are
predictive of specific individual-level outcomes.
Citation
Bingham, John Byron (2005). Multiple obligations: distinguishing the dimensionality and confirming the role of ideology within the psychological contract framework. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /4336.