Trust and breach of the psychological contract

Administrative Science Quarterly,  Dec, 1996  by Sandra L. Robinson

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Psychological contract breach, along with its negative consequences, is likely to remain common in organizations as long as trends toward globalization, restructuring, and downsizing continue. As this study shows, the likelihood of psychological contract breach, and its negative impact, can be offset if employees' trust in their employer remains high. If restructuring and downsizing continue to be facts of organizational life, then the challenge for managers is to learn how to navigate such changes in a way that preserves employees' sense of trust. By effectively managing employees' trust, organizations may be able to avoid the negative ramifications of psychological contract breach.

I would like to thank Karl Aquino, Joel Brockner, Daniel Forbes, Matthew Kraatz, Judi McLean Parks, Alexandra Mithel, Lynn Shore, Jon Turner, Linn Van Dyne, Batia Wiesenfeld, Dale Zand, and four anonymous reviewers for their helpful assistance with this manuscript.

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