Sadia Jahanzeb, Dave Bouckenooghe, Tasneem Fatima, Madiha Akram
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on social exchange literature, this study explores the mediating role of affective commitment between employees' assessments of contract breaches and opportunistic silence, along with the invigorating effect of hostile attribution bias.
Design/methodology/approach
We tested the hypotheses using multi-wave data collected from employees working in higher education institutions in Pakistan.
Findings
Perceived contract breaches elicit intentional, selfish and retaliatory motives of silence, largely because employees lack emotional attachments to their organization. This mechanism is more prominent among employees who tend to blame others and perceive them as antagonistic even when they are not.
Practical implications
For human resource managers, this investigation highlights a crucial feature – affective commitment – by which employees' perceptions of psychological contract breaches facilitate opportunistic silence. Our results suggest that this process is more likely to intensify when employees have distorted thinking, motivating them to attribute the worst motives to their employer's actions.
Social implications
Perceived contract breaches within universities can have far-reaching societal consequences, affecting trust, reputation, economic stability, and the overall quality and accessibility of education and research. Addressing and preventing such breaches is essential to maintaining the positive societal role of universities.
Originality/value
This study provides novel insights into the process that underlies the connection between perceived contract breach and opportunistic silence by revealing the hitherto overlooked role of employees' hostile attribution bias, which renders them more susceptible to experiencing unfavorable forms of social exchange.
期刊介绍:
Personnel Review (PR) publishes rigorous, well written articles from a range of theoretical and methodological traditions. We value articles that have high originality and that engage with contemporary challenges to human resource management theory, policy and practice development. Research that highlights innovation and emerging issues in the field, and the medium- to long-term impact of HRM policy and practice, is especially welcome.