Psychological Contract Fulfillment: A Theorized Model and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Despite decades of research on employment relationships, organizations continue to struggle with understanding how unmet or fulfilled promises shape employee commitment and performance. This dissertation addresses this persistent gap by examining the construct of psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) — the extent to which employees perceive that employers have delivered on their obligations — and by quantifying its impact across studies.

Drawing from Social Exchange Theory, this thesis undertakes a meta-analysis to validate a theorized model of psychological contract fulfillment (PCF). Specifically, this dissertation is grounded in Social Exchange Theory, which explains how reciprocal obligations form the basis of enduring employee–employer relationships. Psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) represents the degree to which employees perceive that these obligations have been honored. Understanding PCF is therefore critical to clarifying how perceptions of fairness and reciprocity influence workplace behavior. Guided by this theoretical lens, the present study employs a meta-analytic approach to synthesize findings across the PCF literature and to test a comprehensive model linking antecedents, mediators, and outcomes

Through meta-analysis, my aim is to bring coherence to the disparate studies on PCF, thereby advancing knowledge that directly informs applied organizational interventions such as employee engagement strategies, leadership communication practices, and HR systems designed to strengthen mutual trust and reciprocity. A key aspect of this is to review, and meta-analytically test, a PCF model proposed and assessed by researchers of primary studies. This research allows for identification of the most common variables and associations, including antecedents, consequences, mediators, and moderators. Also from this process, I develop and test (using meta-analytically derived parameter estimates and structural equation modeling -- SEM) an integrative and theoretically informed model of the antecedents, outcomes, mediators, and moderators of PCF, and propose a research agenda.