Abstract
Social exclusion has negative outcomes in the workplace, yet we know little about its antecedents. We argue that employees’ perceptions of psychological contract breach (by their organizations) lead them to perceive that they are being excluded by co-workers. We further argue that the individual-level cultural values of collectivism and individualism play important roles in determining the degree to which employees perceive co-worker exclusion. Using a sample of 265 employees across two points in time, we find a positive association between perceptions of psychological contract breach and perceptions of co-worker exclusion. We also find that employees’ collectivistic orientations weaken this positive relationship, while employees’ individualistic orientations strengthen this positive relationship. Our findings add to the growing body of research exploring the interconnectedness of social exchange relationships in the workplace, as well as how cultural values affect these social exchange relationships.
Notes
Results of analyses including dummy variables for race were substantively the same.
References
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park: SAGE.
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497.
Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). Bad is stronger than good. Review of General Psychology, 5, 323–370. https://doi.org/10.1037//1089-2680.5.4.323.
Baumeister, R. F., Twenge, J. M., & Nuss, C. K. (2002). Effects of social exclusion on cognitive processes: Anticipated aloneness reduces intelligent thought. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 817–827. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.83.4.817.
Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York: Wiley.
Bordia, P., Restubog, S. L. D., Bordia, S., & Tang, R. L. (2010). Breach begets breach: Trickle-down effects of psychological contract breach on customer service. Journal of Management, 36, 1578–1607. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310378366.
Clugston, M., Howell, J. P., & Dorfman, P. W. (2000). Does cultural socialization predict multiple bases and foci of commitment? Journal of Management, 26, 5–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600106.
Dawson, J. F. (2014). Moderation in management research: What, why, when. and how. Journal of Business and Psychology, 29, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-013-9308-7.
Earley, P. C., & Gibson, C. B. (1998). Taking stock in our progress on individualism-collectivism: 100 years of solidarity and community. Journal of Management, 24, 265–304. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639802400302.
Ferris, D. L., Brown, D. J., Berry, J. W., & Lian, H. (2008). The development and validation of the workplace ostracism scale. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 1348–1366. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012743.
Furrer, O., Liu, B. S.-C., & Sudharshan, D. (2000). The relationships between culture and service quality perceptions: Basis for cross-cultural market segmentation and resource allocation. Journal of Service Research, 2, 355–371. https://doi.org/10.1177/109467050024004.
Gouldner, A. W. (1960). The norm of reciprocity: A preliminary statement. American Sociological Review, 25, 161–178. https://doi.org/10.2307/2092623.
Greenberg, J., Ashton-James, C. E., & Ashkanasy, N. M. (2007). Social comparison processes in organizations. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 102, 22–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2006.09.006.
Grosser, T. J., Sterling, C. M., Scott, K. D., & Labianca, G. (2010). Social Networks, groups, and social exclusion: Combining sociometric and psychometric approaches to understanding social exclusion in organizational settings. In L. Neider & C. Schriesheim (Eds.), The "dark" side of management (pp. 143–191). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Ho, V. T. (2005). Social influence on evaluations of psychological contract fulfilment. Academy of Management Review, 30, 113–128. https://doi.org/10.2307/20159098.
Ho, V. T., & Levesque, L. L. (2005). With a little help from my friends (and substitutes): Social referents and influence in psychological contract fulfillment. Organization Science, 16, 275–289. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0121.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values. Newbury Park: Sage.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills, VA: Sage.
Jackson, C. L., Colquitt, J. A., Wesson, M. J., & Zapata-Phelan, C. P. (2006). Psychological collectivism: A measurement validation and linkage to group member performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 884–899. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.4.884.
Kagitçibaşi, Ç., & Berry, J. W. (1989). Cross-cultural psychology: Current research and trends. Annual Review of Psychology, 40, 493–531. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ps.40.020189.002425.
Kiewitz, C., Restubog, S. L. D., Zagenczyk, T., & Hochwarter, W. (2009). The interactive effects of psychological contract breach and organizational politics on perceived organizational support: Evidence from two longitudinal studies. Journal of Management Studies, 46, 806–834. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2008.00816.x.
Kouchaki, M., & Wareham, J. (2015). Excluded and behaving unethically: Social exclusion, physiological responses, and unethical behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100, 547–556. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038034.
Kurtessis, J. N., Eisenberger, R., Ford, M. T., Buffardi, L. C., Stewart, K. A., & Adis, C. S. (2017). Perceived organizational support: A meta-analytic evaluation of organization support theory. Journal of Management, 43, 1854–1884. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206315575554.
Laulié, L., & Tekleab, A. G. (2016). A multi-level theory of psychological contract fulfillment in teams. Group & Organization Management, 41, 658–698. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601116668972.
Moorman, R. H., & Blakely, G. L. (1995). Individualism-collectivism as an individual difference predictor of organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16, 127–142. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030160204.
Morrison, E. W., & Robinson, S. L. (1997). When employees feel betrayed: A model of how psychological contract violation develops. Academy of Management Review, 22, 226–256. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1997.9707180265.
Oyserman, D. (1993). The lens of personhood: Viewing the self, others, and conflict in a multicultural society. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 993–1009. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.65.5.993.
Oyserman, D., Coon, H. M., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2002). Rethinking individualism and collectivism: Evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 3–72. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.128.1.3.
Pickett, C. L., Gardner, W. L., & Knowles, M. (2004). Getting a cue: The need to belong and enhanced sensitivity to social cues. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 1095–1107. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203262085.
Ployhart, R. E., & Ward, A.-K. (2011). The "quick start guide" for conducting and publishing longitudinal research. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26, 413–422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-011-9209-6.
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 539–569. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100452.
Rhoades, L., & Eisenberger, R. (2002). Perceived organizational support: A review of the literature. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 698–714. https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.87.4.698.
Robinson, S. L., & Morrison, E. W. (2000). The development of psychological contract breach and violation: A longitudinal study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 525–546. https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1379.
Rousseau, D. M. (1995). Psychological contracts in organizations: Understanding written and unwritten agreements. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Schneider, K. T., Hitlan, R. T., & Radhakrishnan, P. (2000). An examination of the nature and correlates of ethnic harassment experiences in multiple contexts. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.1.3.
Scott, K. L., Restubog, S. L. D., & Zagenczyk, T. J. (2013). A social exchange-based model of the antecedents of workplace exclusion. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98, 37–48. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030135.
Thau, S., Aquino, K., & Poortvliet, P. M. (2007). Self-defeating behaviors in organizations: The relationship between thwarted belonging and interpersonal work behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 840–847. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.3.840.
Thomas, D. C., Au, K., & Ravlin, E. C. (2003). Cultural variation and the psychological contract. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24, 451–471.
Triandis, H. C. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, CO. Westview.
Vardaman, J. M., Allen, D. G., Otondo, R. F., Hancock, J. I., Shore, L. M., & Rogers, B. L. (2016). Social comparisons and organizational support: Implications for commitment and retention. Human Relations, 69, 1483–1505. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726715619687.
Wagner III, J. A., & Moch, M. K. (1986). Individualism-collectivism: Concept and measure. Group & Organization Studies, 11, 280–304. https://doi.org/10.1177/105960118601100309.
Wagner III., J. A. (1995). Studies of individualism-collectivism: Effects on cooperation in groups. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 152–172. https://doi.org/10.2307/256731.
Williams, K. D. (2001). Ostracism: The power of silence. New York: Guilford Press.
Zagenczyk, T. J., Cruz, K. S., Cheung, J. H., Scott, K. L., Kiewitz, C., & Galloway, B. (2015a). The moderating effect of power distance on employee responses to psychological contract breach. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 24, 853–865. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2014.961432.
Zagenczyk, T. J., Purvis, R. L., Shoss, M. K., Scott, K. L., & Cruz, K. S. (2015b). Social influence and leader perceptions: Multiplex social network ties and similarity in leader–member exchange. Journal of Business and Psychology, 30, 105–117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-013-9332-7.
Zagenczyk, T. J., Smallfield, J., Scott, K. L., Galloway, B., & Purvis, R. L. (2017). The moderating effect of psychological contract violation on the relationship between narcissism and outcomes: An application of trait activation theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1–110. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01113.
Zhao, H., Wayne, S. J., Glibkowski, B. C., & Bravo, J. (2007). The impact of psychological contract breach on work-related outcomes: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 60, 647–680. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2007.00087.x.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cruz, K.S., Zagenczyk, T.J., Scott, K.L. et al. Perceptions of Psychological Contract Breach and Perceptions of Co-Worker Exclusion: The Moderating Effects of Collectivism and Individualism. Occup Health Sci 2, 233–245 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-018-0024-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-018-0024-6