A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship among Psychological Contract Breach, Turnover Intention, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Abstract

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Psychological contract can profoundly affect employees’ willingness to stay and contribute to a company beyond their performance requirements. With the fast-paced advancement of internet and technology over these years, information has become readily accessible and transparent. The free flow of information not only can trigger new business models, but may also lead to a change in the mutual obligation between employees and their organization. This research aims to confirm the effect of psychological contract breach (PCB) on two important employee outcomes, turnover intention (TI) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). A quantitative approach was used by conducting a meta-analysis to synthesize the overall effect among the three variables from studies published between 2010 and 2019. A total of 76 articles were included in this meta- analysis. 38 articles on PCB and TI, and another 38 articles on PCB and OCB. The forest plot, subgroup analysis, moderation analysis, and publication bias analysis were applied to test the hypotheses. The results show PCB having a positive effect on TI, and a negative effect on OCB over the last 10 years. Country difference is found to moderate the association between PCB and OCB, but not the relationship between PCB and TI. Power distance strengthens the negative association between PCB and OCB. Uncertainty avoidance and the percentage of individual using internet weaken the negative association between PCB and OCB. This study adds new value to the literature on PCB, TI, and OCB. The findings confirm the severe workplace consequences caused by PCB and lead to the suggestion to improve company’s talent management procedure and enhance the mutual communication between employees and employers.