Organization-Based Self-Esteem, Psychological Contract Fulfillment, and Perceived Employment Opportunities: A Test of Self-Regulatory Theory

This study addresses organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) development by examining the role of perceptions of employer psychological contract fulfillment, and the self-regulatory processes by which OBSE evolves and produces its effects. Self-regulatory theory helps reveal why psychological contract fulfillment relates to OBSE, how OBSE mediates its effects, and the ways in which OBSE might interact with perceived employment opportunities to affect job satisfaction, performance, and turnover intentions. The results show that OBSE is related to and mediates the relationships between relational contract fulfillment and employee job satisfaction and performance, but OBSE is not related to transactional contract fulfillment. Nor does OBSE mediate the relationships between transactional contract fulfillment and the dependent variables. Perceived employment opportunities moderate the relationships of OBSE with job satisfaction and turnover intentions. This study concludes with recommendations of ways managers can increase their sensitivity to the types of messages they communicate to employees.