View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Texas A&M Repository MULTIPLE OBLIGATIONS: DISTINGUISHING THE DIMENSIONALITY AND CONFIRMING THE ROLE OF IDEOLOGY WITHIN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT FRAMEWORK A Dissertation by JOHN BYRON BINGHAM Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2005 Major Subject: Management MULTIPLE OBLIGATIONS: DISTINGUISHING THE DIMENSIONALITY AND CONFIRMING THE ROLE OF IDEOLOGY WITHIN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT FRAMEWORK A Dissertation by JOHN BYRON BINGHAM Submitted to Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, Richard W. Woodman Committee Members, Adrienne J. Colella Elizabeth E. Umphress Winfred Arthur, Jr. Head of Department, Angelo S. DeNisi August 2005 Major Subject: Management iii ABSTRACT Multiple Obligations: Distinguishing the Dimensionality and Confirming the Role of Ideology within the Psychological Contract Framework. (August 2005) John Byron Bingham, B.A., University of Utah; M.S., University of Utah Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Richard W. Woodman I seek to further understand and empirically test the role of ideology, or commitment to an espoused cause, as part of a multidimensional psychological contract among employees in organizational settings. I present and provide a preliminary validation of a measure of ideological contracts and propose a model that suggests employees develop perceived obligations with their employers based on economic, social, and ideological reasons. Different behaviors are likely to be expected based on the obligation types that are most significant to the employees. Specifically, my model suggests obligations stemming from the espousal of a cause may elicit positive employee contributions toward organizational goals. Further, I posit that employees may seek to benefit distinct individuals and/or entities within the organization based on their psychological contract form. Cross-sectional data from four distinct samples provided strong support for the idea that transactional, relational, and ideological components of the psychological contract are distinct, and preliminary support that such components are predictive of specific individual-level outcomes. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It takes a village to raise a doctoral student. I wish to thank the many friends and associates who brought me successfully through this process. First, I would like to thank the faculty and doctoral students who helped break me down and then develop me to understand how to be a good scholar. I want to thank my chair, Dick Woodman, and committee members, Adrienne Colella, Elizabeth Umphress, Bert Cannella, and Winfred Arthur. I also express thanks to Wendy Boswell and Michael Wesson for their selfless investments of time and energy and Ramona Paetzold and Gilad Chen for their methodological expertise. All these individuals spent countless hours providing developmental feedback and instruction. I also thank David Hicks and the executives and human resource managers of Chaco, Trajen, Roycebuilders.com, and Petzl for providing venues through which this study was conducted. I want to thank my outstanding friends and ever-supportive cohort members, Race Yu, Luis Perez-Batres, Celile Iter Gogus, Carrie Belsito, and Chazara Clark-Smith. I thank my family members, who provided never ending support and encouragement, and my own little family— Amy, Hannah, and William. This dissertation is yours as well. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..............................................................................................iv TABLE OF CONTENTS...................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES..........................................................................................................vii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................1 Overview of the Research Method.............................................................................7 Organization of the Dissertation ................................................................................8 II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .......................................................................10 Psychological Contract Form...................................................................................10 Psychological Contract Fulfillment..........................................................................13 Social Exchange .......................................................................................................18 Exchange Relationships in Organizations................................................................18 Ideology in the Employee-Employer Relationship ..................................................23 III HYPOTHESES...................................................................................................34 The Psychological Contract and Employee Behaviors ............................................34 Transactional Component of the Psychological Contract....................................45 Relational Component of the Psychological Contract .........................................48 Ideological Component of the Psychological Contract........................................50 IV METHOD ...........................................................................................................56 Sample and Procedure..............................................................................................56 Measure Development..............................................................................................58 Measures...................................................................................................................60 Dependent Variable..............................................................................................60 In-role and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors. ..........................................60 vi CHAPTER Page Independent Variables..........................................................................................62 Psychological Contract Form. ..........................................................................62 Psychological Contract Fulfillment..................................................................63 V RESULTS.............................................................................................................65 Psychological Contract Form...................................................................................65 Psychological Contract Fulfillment..........................................................................66 General Descriptive Results.....................................................................................71 Formal Tests of Hypotheses.....................................................................................74 Performance Outcomes ............................................................................................82 Structural Model.......................................................................................................85 VI DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, AND CONCLUSION.................................99 The Ideological Contract Instrument and the Multidimensional Contract.............101 Psychological Contract Form.............................................................................103 Psychological Contract Fulfillment....................................................................104 Psychological Contract Fulfillment as a Predictor of Employee Behavior............105 Psychological Contract Fulfillment on Individual-Level Outcomes......................107 Managerial Implications.........................................................................................117 Study Limitations and Additional Directions for Future Research........................123 Conclusion..............................................................................................................129 REFERENCES...............................................................................................................130 APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................141 APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................152 VITA ............................................................................................................................154 vii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1 Components and Outcomes in the Multidimensional Contract…………...........9 Figure 2 3-Component Measurement Model for Psychological Contract Forms……….67 Figure 3 3-Component Measurement Model for Psychological Contract Fulfillment….70 Figure 4 Basic Model with Freely Estimated Parameters……………………………….89 Figure 5 Structural Model with Freely Estimated Parameters…………………………..90 viii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 Exploratory Factor Analysis for Psychological Contract Forms……………68 Table 2 Exploratory Factor Analysis for Psychological Contract Fulfillment………69