Do broken promises matter? The effects of psychological contract breach on job embeddedness and nurses' work attitudes

PurposeThis research investigates the effects of psychological contract breach on the fit, links and sacrifice dimensions of job embeddedness as well as the mediating roles of these three subcomponents in the relationships between psychological contract breach and nurses' work attitudes.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 591 nurses from private general hospitals in northern Thailand. The hypotheses were tested and analyzed by means of a confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling and a bootstrapping procedure.FindingsThe results indicate that psychological contract breach was negatively associated with the three dimensions of job embeddedness, signifying that the fit, links and sacrifice dimensions are distinct constructs. Also, these three subcomponents mediated the relationship between psychological contract breach and loyal boosterism. Only the links and sacrifice dimensions were found to have mediating effects on turnover intention.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research may consider longitudinal data to avoid potential method biases and draw causal inferences among study variables. Employing cross-cultural research in future studies would also be beneficial.Practical implicationsIf possible, health care organizations should not make any promises that they cannot keep or fulfill. Fine-tuning expectation and managing communication in a timely manner may signal commitments to fulfill the contracts and minimize any potential inducement-outcome discrepancies.Originality/valueThis study adds to the literature by furthering understanding of the employee-organization relationship through the lens of psychological contract and job embeddedness theories.