Philippine E-Journals

Investigating the Relationship between Psychological Contract Breach and Civic Virtue Behavior: Evidence for the Buffering Roles of Leader-Member Exchange and Perceived Organizational Support

Robert L. Tang | Simon Lloyd D. Restubog | Peter Lemuel T. Cayayan

Discipline: Psychology, Organizational Culture

 

Abstract:

The present study builds on previous research on psychological contracts by examining the moderating roles of leader-member exchange (LMX) and perceived organizational support (POS) in the psychological contract breach-civic virtue behavior dynamics. A survey was administered to 241 front-line branch employees. Results suggest that psychological contract breach, LMX, and POS were related to civic virtue behavior. Furthermore, LMX and POS moderated the relationship between contract breach and civic virtue behavior. This suggests that high levels of LMX and POS buffer the negative effects of breach. In other words, both LMX and POS may serve as social support mechanisms mitigating the negative effects of psychological contract breach on civic virtue behavior. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.