Sarbari Bordia

Breach Begets Breach: Trickle-Down Effects of Psychological Contract Breach on Customer Service

Adopting a multifoci approach to psychological contract breach (i.e., breach by the organization referent and breach by the supervisor referent), the authors propose a trickle-down model of breach. Results from three studies show that supervisor perceptions of organizational breach are negatively related to supervisor citizenship behaviors toward the subordinate, resulting in subordinate perceptions of supervisory breach. Subordinate breach perceptions are, in turn, negatively related to subordinate citizenship behaviors toward the customer and, ultimately, customer satisfaction. The findings demonstrate the interconnected nature of social exchange relationships at work and draw attention to the effects of breach for other employees and customers.

If You Wrong Us, Shall We Not Revenge? Moderating Roles of Self-Control and Perceived Aggressive Work Culture in Predicting Responses to Psychological Contract Breach

The authors develop and test a moderated mediation model that accounts for employee emotions (psychological contract violation), employee motivation (revenge cognitions), employee personality (self-control), and context (perceived aggressive culture) in the relationship between psychological contract breach and workplace deviance. In Sample 1, involving 146 hospitality workers and their peers, the authors found support for a conditional indirect effect of psychological contract violation in predicting workplace deviance via revenge cognitions for those employees who perceive a high as opposed to low aggressive work culture. In addition, they found that at high levels of perceived aggressive work culture, the conditional indirect effects of psychological contract violation in predicting workplace deviance via revenge cognitions were statistically significant for those employees with low as opposed to high self-control. These results were replicated in Sample 2 using an independent sample of 168 hospitality workers in a different cultural context. Overall, the results suggest that self-control and perceived aggressive culture, taken together, influence the enactment of deviant acts. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Student Expectations of TESOL Programs: Student and Teacher Perspectives.

Sarbari Bordia, University of South Australia Sarbari Bordia is a lecturer in Business Communication for NESB students in the School of Management, University of South Australia. She has a Ph. D. in TESOL Studies from the University of Queensland and an Ed. M. in TESOL from Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. Lynn Wales, University of Queensland Lynn Wales is a Senior Lecturer in The School of English, Media Studies and Art History. She teaches in Linguistics and TESOL studies. Jeffery Pittam, University of Queensland Jeffery Pittam is a retired Associate Professor from The School of English, Media Studies and Art History. He taught in Communication studies. Cindy Gallois, University of Queensland Cindy Gallois is a Professor in the School of Psychology. She is currently the Director of Research, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences.

Emerging Issues in International Education in Business Contexts

This paper identifies and explores some of the emerging research topics that assist in conceptualising and mapping the field of international education in business. The identified issues include the commercialisation of international education, the role of institutional promises in creating student expectations, student satisfaction, developing international and cultural leadership, cultural identity and adaptation in the new socio‐educational context as well as teaching with spirit and about spiritual issues. These diverse agendas illustrate the broad and inter‐disciplinary nature of the subject matter particularly where issues surrounding international education in business are approached holistically.

What do employees want and why? An exploration of employees’ preferred psychological contract elements across career stages

Employees’ psychological contracts comprise their beliefs about what they have to contribute to their organizations and what inducements they will receive in return. One recommended approach to attract and retain employees is to design psychological contracts that allow them to contribute in desirable ways and receive attractive inducements. However, we know little about the factors that affect psychological contract preferences. We present a qualitative study on the preferred psychological contracts of employees who are in different career stages. Our findings reveal that the roles and self-concepts that employees take on at a particular career stage may shape preferences for stage-relevant contributions and inducements. These findings advance psychological contract theory by highlighting the plausible link between employees’ career stages and their psychological contract preferences.

Effects of Resource Availability on Social Exchange Relationships: The Case of Employee Psychological Contract Obligations

Applications of social exchange theory in organizational research have tended to ignore the resource context and its impact on a focal dyadic social exchange. Integrating insights from the social exchange theory and the conservation of resources theory, we examine the role of resource availability in the social exchange of resources. The type of social exchange we focus on is the psychological contract. Specifically, we examine the antecedents and consequence of breach of employee obligations to an employer. We test our predictions using multisource data obtained from employees over three measurement periods in Sample 1 and matched triads (employee, supervisor, and coworker) in Sample 2. We found that family–work conflict (FWC) and breach of employer obligations are positively, while conscientiousness is negatively, related to employees’ perceptions of breach of their obligations. Conscientiousness moderated the FWC–breach relationship: Employees low on conscientiousness have a stronger positive relationship between FWC and breach of employee obligations. Breach of employee obligations is, in turn, negatively related to employee career progression (a job promotion over the following year in Sample 1 and supervisor-rated promotability in Sample 2). Findings highlight the interconnected nature of demands, resources, and obligations and that dyadic social exchange obligations should be examined in the context of other demands.

Raising the curtain: Exploring dancers' perceptions of obligation through the psychological contract lens

The current study takes an exploratory approach to investigate which situational factors influence perceptions of psychological contracts, as well as the content that comprises psychological contracts in the dance training industry. Semi-structured interviews (n = 10) were conducted with students enrolled in a higher education institution in Australia. Results indicated that intending dancers take several factors into consideration when contemplating a professional dance career: natural progression of skill, employment opportunities, location, and peer recommendation. In addition, intending dancers have several perceived institutional obligations: skill development, quality of teachers and training, and networking opportunities. The current article adds novel insights to dance education literature by considering the trainee–institution relationship through the psychological contract lens. It is anticipated that the findings will assist future research that seeks to incorporate student perceptions into dance curriculum development.

Piecing the Puzzle: A Framework for Developing Intercultural Online Communication Projects in Business Education.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a framework based on lessons learnt from a recently completed project aimed at developing intercultural online communication competencies in business students.Design/methodology/approach – The project entailed collaboration between students and staff in business communication courses from an Australian and European university. The project was designed as a response to calls within the literature to equip business graduates with intercultural expertise for global online collaboration.Findings – Based on theoretical perspectives, staff experience and data based on student evaluations of the project, a framework has been constructed based on the issues that emerged. The issues include: institutional support, project and course goal alignment, interpersonal and intercultural relationship management and technological capabilities.Research limitations/implications – The paper is limited to the experiences and responses from the Australian university. Future rese...

What do international students really want? An exploration of the content of international students’ psychological contract in business education

ABSTRACT International students have a substantial presence in western business schools. Yet, research on international students’ experiences remains sparse. Following recent calls to understand the international student–educational institution relationship, we examine the content, formation, and fulfilment of their psychological contract. We conduct a qualitative study of international students in two Australian business schools with large international student cohorts. The findings indicate that international students use social and institutional sources to create the contract, which, when fulfilled, leads to positive educational and psychological outcomes. Our research contributes to the business and international education literature by identifying the key content of the contract. We also highlight the interconnected roles of three tiers of the institution – academic staff, business school and university – in fulfilling the contract. Knowledge of international students’ psychological contract will help business schools better manage the student–institution relationship and create a sustainable international student expansion strategy.

Do you think i'm worth it? The self-verifying role of parental engagement in career adaptability and career persistence among STEM students

Parents contribute a great deal to their children’s career development. Despite the central importance of the self-concept to career development, little research has examined the role played by parental engagement in the link between the child’s self-concept and career development. Integrating self-verification and career construction theories, we develop and test the prediction that parental engagement indirectly contributes to career adaptability and career persistence by serving as a tacit signal of the child’s positive worth. Using a time-lagged survey design, we tested the proposed moderated mediation model in a sample of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) university students. The results show full support for the hypothesized model. Consistent with self-verification theory, STEM students’ self-esteem was only associated with subsequent career adaptability and career persistence if they also perceived high levels of parental engagement. This result held despite statistically controlling for parent-reported parental engagement. We discuss implications for career development, STEM career persistence, and career counseling.