Causal explanations of psychological contract breach characteristics

Cassar and Briner (2005) indicated that psychological contract breach is characterized by at least five characteristics, namely delay, magnitude, type-form, inequity, and reciprocal imbalance. This study investigated the extent to which explanations differed across different characteristics of breach, as well as the relationships of explanations to response reactions. Ninety-four participants supplied 180 episodes of contract breach, together with explanations and reactions. Results showed that explanations (Rousseau, 1995) differed across different breach characteristics. No association was found between explanations and response reaction types. The study highlights specific implications about the management of breach depending on the quality of the breach experience.