The impact of psychological contract fulfillment on the performance of in-role and organizational citizenship behaviors

This research examines the relationships between psychological contract fulfillment and three types of employee behavior: in-role performance, organizational citizenship behavior directed at the organization, and organizational citizenship behavior directed at individuals within the organization. Using a sample of 134 supervisor-subordinate dyads, this study suggests that the extent of psychological contract fulfillment is positively related to the performance of all three types of employee behavior In addition, the results indicate that psychological contract fulfillment is more strongly related to citizenship behavior directed at the organization than to citizenship behavior directed at one's colleagues. Finally, this research investigates if employees' attributions regarding the reasons that psychological contract breach occurred also impact their work performance. However the data provide only limited support for the idea that employees are most likely to reduce their work effort when they perceive that the organization has intentionally failed to live up to its commitments. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.