Temporary agency workers and their psychological contracts

Purpose – The aim of this article is to test the assumption that both management and co‐workers constitute multiple contract constituencies, as advocated for in recent research on psychological contracts. It also aims to test the theory of cognitive schemas as predictors of psychological contract development. Finally, it aims to examine the validity of the relational subscale of psychological contracts.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through three survey studies in different workplaces, areas and settings and were analyzed through Fisher's exact test, principal component analysis and hierarchical regression analysis.Findings – The results supported the notion of multiple contract constituencies. Partial support was found for the theory of cognitive schemas and their influence on psychological contract development. The study also revealed new sub‐dimensions of the psychological contract, here called “Fellowship” and “Challenge/Development”. These new sub‐dimensions respond differently to ...

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