I didn’t promise, I said inshallah: Saudi Arabian employees’ perceptions of the importance of implicit promises within the psychological contract and their effects

Maryam Aldossari, Maxine Robertson

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The psychological contract was conceptualised and has largely been investigated in a Western context. Whilst research has demonstrated its utility for exploring the nature of the individual employment relationship in other cultures, the fundamental tenets of the psychological contract have never been challenged. In particular, Montes and Zweig (2009) argue that implicit promises do not play a significant role in employees’ perceptions of psychological contract breach or fulfillment. However, this argument disregards how implicit promises might be viewed in Eastern contexts. Based on two case studies in Saudi Arabia, this research highlights how implicit promises are conveyed to employees and how perceptions of promises made or broken subsequently influenced employees’ beliefs as to whether their psychological contract had been breached or fulfilled. These findings demonstrate significant differences between cultural contexts regarding the promissory element of the psychological contract and the nature of the employment relationship in Saudi Arabia.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 4 Nov 2016
Event EAWOP Small Group Meeting on “Unravelling the Role of Time in Psychological Contract Processes - London, United Kingdom
Duration: 3 Nov 20164 Nov 2016

Conference

Conference EAWOP Small Group Meeting on “Unravelling the Role of Time in Psychological Contract Processes
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityLondon
Period3/11/164/11/16

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Psychological contract – promises – national culture – organisational culture – Saudi Arabia

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