Psychology Commons^™

The Psychological Contract Of Multiple Agency Relationships: Understanding The Attitudes And Behaviors Of Contractors, Cynthia J. Maahs

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Previous research offers inconsistent findings with respect to attitude and behavior differences for contingent and permanent workers. The current study proposes the psychological contract as an explanatory framework for understanding differences between contractors and regular employees. The hypotheses examined attitudinal and behavioral measures: organizational commitment, job satisfaction, intent to quit, job performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors. The two components of the psychological contract (relational vs. transactional) were thought to impact differentially the outcome measures. Approximately 650 employees in a technology contracting organization completed an on-line survey designed to test the hypotheses. The two-factor structure of psychological contract was confirmed and …