In a set of two studies, based on employees from two countries, we examined how emotion regulation moderates the relationship between psychological contract breach and (a) feelings of violation and (b) proactive behaviors (knowledge sharing and taking charge). We found that cognitive change buffers the negative effect of breach on feelings of violation and knowledge sharing (Study 1, United States). We replicate this result using taking charge as an outcome. In addition, we demonstrate that using high levels of attentional deployment as an emotion regulation strategy accentuates the negative effect of both social and generative breach on employees’ taking charge (Study 2, the Netherlands). Based on our results, we call for additional research on how emotion regulation modifies the relationship between psychological contract breach and work outcomes.
AdkinsC. L.WerbelJ. D.FarhJ. L. (2001). A field study of job insecurity during a financial crisis. Group & Organization Management, 26, 463-483.
2.
AikenL. S.WestS. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. San Francisco, CA: SAGE.
3.
AllenN. J.MeyerJ. P. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63, 1-18.
4.
BalP. M.ChiaburuD. S.JansenP. G. W. (2010). Psychological contract breach and work performance: Is social exchange a buffer or an intensifier?Journal of Managerial Psychology, 25, 252-273.
5.
BalP. M.De LangeA. H.JansenP. G. W.Van der VeldeM. E. G. (2008). Psychological contract breach and job attitudes: A meta-analysis of age as a moderator. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72, 143-158.
6.
BartolK. M.SrivastavaA. (2002). Encouraging knowledge sharing: The role of organizational reward systems. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 9, 64-76.
7.
BartolK. M.LiuW.ZengX.WuK. (2009). Social exchange and knowledge sharing among knowledge workers: The moderating role of perceived job security. Management and Organization Review, 5, 223-240.
8.
BindlU. K.ParkerS. K. (2010a). Proactive work behavior: Forward-thinking and change-oriented action in organizations. In ZedeckS. (Ed.), APA handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 567-598). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
9.
BindlU. K.ParkerS. K. (2010b). Feeling good and performing well? Psychologiengagement and positive behaviors at work. In AlbrechtS. (Ed.), The handof employee engagement: Models, measures and practice(pp. 385-398). Northampton, UK: Edward-Elgar”
10.
BlauP. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York, NY: John Wiley.
11.
CardonaP.LawrenceB. S.BentlerP. M. (2004). The influence of social and work exchange relationships on organizational citizenship behavior. Group & Organization Management, 29, 219-247.
12.
CarverC. S.ScheierM. F. (1994). Situational coping and coping dispositions in a stressful transaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 184-195.
13.
CarverC. S.ScheierM. F.Kumari WeintraubJ. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267-283.
14.
ChiaburuD. S.BakerV. L. (2006). Extra-role behaviors challenging the status-quo: Validity and antecedents of taking charge behaviors. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21, 620-637.
15.
ChiaburuD. S.HarrisonD. A. (2008). Do peers make the place? Conceptual synthesis and meta-analysis of coworker effects on perceptions, attitudes, OCBs, and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 1082-1103.
16.
ChiaburuD. S.OhI.-S.BerryC. M.LiN.GardnerR. G. (2011). The five-factor model of personality traits and organizational citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, doi: 10.1037/a002400410.1037/a0024004.
17.
ColeM. S.SchaningerW. S. J.HarrisS. G. (2002). The workplace social exchange network: A multilevel, conceptual examination. Group & Organization Management, 27, 142-167.
18.
ConwayN.BrinerR. B. (2002). A daily diary study of affective responses to psychological contract breach and exceeded promises. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 287-302.
19.
ConwayN.BrinerR. B. (2005). Understanding psychological contracts at work. A critical evaluation of theory and research. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
20.
CortinaJ. M. (1993). Interaction, nonlinearity, and multicollinearity: Implications for multiple regression. Journal of Management, 19, 915-922.
21.
Coyle-ShapiroJ. A. M.ConwayN. (2005). Exchange relationships: Examining psychological contracts and perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 774-781.
22.
Coyle-ShapiroJ. A. M.KesslerI. (2000). Consequences of the psychological contract for the employment relationship: A large-scale survey. Journal of Management Studies, 37, 903-930.
23.
CrantJ. M. (2000). Proactive behavior in organizations. Journal of Management, 26, 435-462.
24.
CropanzanoR.PreharC. A.ChenP. Y. (2002). Using social exchange theory to distinguish procedural from interactional justice. Group & Organization Management, 27, 324-351.
25.
DalbyP. (2006). Is there a process of spiritual change or development associated with ageing? A critical review of research. Aging & Mental Health, 10, 4-12.
26.
De JongJ.Den HartogD. (2010). Measuring innovative work behaviour. Creativity and Innovation Management, 19, 23-36.
27.
De VosA.BuyensD.SchalkR. (2003). Psychological contract development during organizational socialization: Adaptation to reality and the role of reciprocity. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24, 537-559.
28.
DiefendorffJ. M.RichardE. M.YangJ. (2008). Emotion regulation at work: Linking strategies to affective events and discrete negative emotions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73, 498-508.
29.
DuffyM. K.ShawJ. D.HooblerJ. M.TepperB. J. (2010). A time-based perspective on emotion regulation in emotional labor performance. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 29, 87-114.
30.
DulacT.Coyle-ShapiroJ. A. M.HendersonD. J.WayneS. J. (2008). Not all responses to breach are the same: The interconnection of social exchange and psychological contract processes in organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 51, 1079-1098.
31.
EvansM. G. (1985). A Monte Carlo study of the effects of correlated method variance in moderated multiple regression analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 36, 305-323.
32.
FarajS.SproullL. (2000). Coordinating expertise in software development teams. Management Science, 46, 1554-1568.
33.
GakovicA.TetrickL. E. (2003). Psychological contract breach as a source of strain for employees. Journal of Business and Psychology, 18, 235-246.
34.
GibneyR.ZagenczykT. J.MastersM. F. (2009). The negative aspects of social exchange: An introduction to perceived organizational obstruction. Group & Organization Management, 34, 665-697.
35.
GouldnerA. W. (1960). The norm of reciprocity: a preliminary statement. American Sociological Review, 25, 161-178.
36.
GrantA. M.AshfordS. J. (2008). The dynamics of proactivity at work. Research in Organizational Behavior, 28, 3-34.
37.
GriffinM. A.NealA.ParkerS. K. (2007). A new model of work role performance: Positive behavior in uncertain and interdependent contexts. Academy of Management Journal, 50, 327-347.
38.
GrossJ. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2, 271-299.
39.
GrossJ. J. (2001). Emotion regulation in adulthood: Timing is everything. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 214-219.
40.
GrossJ. J.JohnO. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 348-362.
41.
GrossJ. J.ThompsonR. A. (2007). Emotion regulation. Conceptual foundations. In GrossJ. J. (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 3-24). New York, NY: Guildford.
42.
GuerreroS.HerrbachO. (2008). The affective underpinnings of psychological contract fulfillment. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23, 4-17.
43.
HayesS. C.StrosahlK. D.WilsonK. G. (1999). Acceptance and commitment therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change. New York, NY: Guilford.
44.
HuberG. P. (2004). The necessary nature of future firms. Attributes of survivors in a changing world. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
45.
HunterL. W.ThatcherS. M. B. (2007). When do people produce? Effects of stress, commitment, and job experience on performance. Academy of Management Journal, 50, 953-968.
46.
JohnO. P.GrossJ. J. (2004). Healthy and unhealthy emotion regulation: Personality processes, individual differences, and life span development. Journal of Personality, 72, 1301-1333.
47.
JohnO. P.GrossJ. J. (2007). Individual differences in emotion regulation. In GrossJ. J. (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 351-372). New York, NY: Guildford.
48.
JohnsonJ. L.O’Leary-KellyA. M. (2003). The effects of psychological contract breach and organizational cynicism: Not all social exchange violations are created equal. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24, 627-647.
KickulJ.LesterS. W. (2001). Broken promises: Equity sensitivity as a moderator between psychological contract break and employee attitudes and behavior. Journal of Business and Psychology, 16, 191-217.
51.
KickulJ.LesterS. W.BelgioE. (2004). Attitudinal and behavioral outcomes of psychological contract breach. Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 4, 229-252.
52.
KickulJ.LesterS. W.FinklJ. (2002). Promise breaking during radical organizational change: Do justice interventions make a difference?Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 469-488.
LaughlinH. P. (1970). The ego and its defenses. New York, NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
55.
LeH.SchmidtF.HarterJ. K.LauverK. J. (2010). The problem of empirical redundancy of constructs in organizational research: An empirical investigation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 112, 112-125.
56.
LinC.-P. (2010). Learning task effectiveness and social interdependence through the mediating mechanisms of sharing and helping: A survey of online knowledge workers. Group & Organization Management, 35, 299-328.
57.
LindellM. K.WhitneyD. J. (2001). Accounting for common method variance in cross-sectional designs. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 114-121.
58.
MarinovaS. V.MoonH.Van DyneL. (2010). Are all good soldier behaviors the same? Supporting multidimensionality of organizational citizenship behaviors based on rewards and roles. Human Relations, 63, 1463-1485.
59.
MontesS. D.ZweigD. (2009). Do promises matter? An exploration of the role of promises in psychological contract breach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 1243-1260.
60.
Mor-BarakM. E. (1995). The meaning of work for older adults seeking employment: The generativity factor. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 41, 325-344.
61.
MorrisW. N.ReillyN. P. (1987). Toward the self-regulation of mood: Theory and research. Motivation and Emotion, 11, 215-249.
62.
MorrisonE. W.PhelpsC. C. (1999). Taking charge at work: Extra-role efforts to initiate workplace change. Academy of Management Journal, 42, 403-419.
63.
MorrisonE. W.RobinsonS. L. (1997). When employees feel betrayed: A model of how psychological contract violation develops. Academy of Management Review, 22, 226-256.
64.
NgT. W. H.FeldmanD. C. (2009). Age, work experience, and the psychological contract. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30, 1053-1075
65.
NgT. W. H.FeldmanD. C.LamS. S. K. (2010). Psychological contract breaches, organizational commitment, and innovation-related behaviors: A latent growth modeling approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 744-751.
66.
NgT. W. H.SorensenK. L. (2008). Toward a further understanding of the relationships between perceptions of support and work attitudes: A meta-analysis. Group & Organization Management, 33, 243-268.
67.
OrvisK. A.DudleyN. M.CortinaJ. M. (2008). Conscientiousness and reactions to psychological contract breach: A longitudinal field study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 1183-1193.
68.
ParkerS. K.BindlU. K.StraussK. (2010). Making things happen: A model of proactive motivation. Journal of Management, 36, 827-856.
69.
ParkerS. K.CollinsC. G. (2010). Taking stock: Integrating and differentiating multiple proactive behaviors. Journal of Management, 36, 633-662.
70.
ParkerS. K.WilliamsH. M.TurnerN. (2006). Modeling the antecedents of proactive behavior at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 636-652.
PodsakoffP. M.MacKenzieS. B.LeeJ.PodsakoffN. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879-903.
73.
RestubogS. L. D.BordiaP.TangR. L. (2007). Behavioural outcomes of psychological contract breach in a non-western culture: The moderating role of equity sensitivity. British Journal of Management, 18, 376-386.
74.
RigottiT. (2009). Enough is enough? Threshold models for the relationship between psychological contract breach and job related attitudes. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 18, 442-463.
75.
RobinsonS. L.KraatzM. S.RousseauD. M. (1994). Changing obligations and the psychological contract: A longitudinal study. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 137-152.
76.
RobinsonS. L.MorrisonE. W. (1995). Psychological contracts and OCB: The effect of unfulfilled obligations on civic virtue behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16, 289-298.
77.
RobinsonS. L.MorrisonE. W. (2000). The development of psychological contract breach and violation: A longitudinal study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 525-546.
78.
RousseauD. M. (1995). Psychological contracts in organizations: Understanding written and unwritten agreements. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
ScottB. A.ColquittJ. A. (2007). Are organizational justice effects bounded by individual differences? An examination of equity sensitivity, exchange ideology, and the big five. Group & Organization Management, 32, 290-325.
81.
SheppesG.MeiranN. (2007). Better late than never? On the dynamics of online regulation of sadness using distraction and cognitive reappraisal. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 1518-1532.
82.
SheppesG.MeiranN. (2008). Divergent cognitive costs for online forms of reappraisal and distraction. Emotion, 8, 870-874.
83.
SuazoM. M. (2009). The mediating role of psychological contract violation on the relations between psychological contract breach and work-related attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 24, 136-160.
84.
TaylorM. S.TekleabA. G. (2004). Taking stock of psychological contract research: Assessing progress, addressing troublesome issues, and setting research priorities. In Coyle-ShapiroJ. A. M.ShoreL. M.TaylorM. S.TetrickL. E. (Eds.), The employment relationship. Examining psychological and contextual perspectives (pp. 253-283). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
85.
TekleabA. G.TakeuchiR.TaylorM. S. (2005). Extending the chain of relationships among organizational justice, social exchange, and employee reactions: The role of contract violations. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 146-157.
86.
TekleabA. G.TaylorM. S. (2003). Aren’t there two parties in an employment relationship? Antecedents and consequences of organization–employee agreement on contract obligations and violations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24, 585-608.
87.
ThomasJ. P.WhitmanD. S.ViswesvaranC. (2010). Employee proactivity in organizations: A comparative meta-analysis of emergent proactive constructs. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83, 275-300.
88.
TurnleyW. H.BolinoM. C.LesterS. W.BloodgoodJ. M. (2003). The impact of psychological contract fulfillment on the performance of in-role and organizational citizenship behaviors. Journal of Management, 29, 187-206.
89.
TurnleyW. H.FeldmanD. C. (1999). The impact of psychological contract violations on exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect behaviors. Human Relations, 52, 895-922.
90.
Van DillenL. F.KooleS. L. (2007). Clearing the mind: A working memory model of distraction from negative mood. Emotion, 7, 715-725.
91.
WadlingerH. A.IsaacowitzD. M. (2011). Fixing our focus: Training attention to regulate emotions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15, 75-102.
92.
WeissH. M.CropanzanoR. (1996). Affective events theory: A theoretical discussion of the structure, causes and consequences of affective experiences at work. In StawB. M.CummingsL. L. (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior: An Annual Series of Analytical Essays and Critical Reviews (Vol. 18, pp. 1-74). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
93.
WuT.-Y.HuC. (2009). Abusive supervision and employee emotional exhaustion: Dispositional antecedents and boundaries. Group & Organization Management, 34, 143-169.
94.
ZhaoH.WayneS. J.GlibkowskiB. C.BravoJ. (2007). The impact of psychological contract breach on work-related outcomes: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 60, 647-680.
