Strategic Management Thought

An Investigation into Psychological Contract Content in Academic Staff (The Case of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Faculty member of Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

By psychological contract, as opposed to formal contract, we mean individual beliefs about terms of agreement exchanged between the individual and his/her organization. These contracts explain the real relation between people and their organizations. Exploring and identifying the content of psychological contract enable organization leaders to manage their organizational human capitals. The objective here is to explore the psychological contract content in academic staff in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. To do this a mixed method, with the priority given to quality over quantity stage, has been used. At qualitative stage, the data was gathered through forty semi- structured interviews with academics, analyzed by thematic technique. At quantitative stage, the previously found content was validated through questionnaires submitted to a large representative sample of 305 academics. The findings show that fairness in interactions with, job security and support for academic staff are the main university promises. Meanwhile, improving the university status, engaging in extra activity and upgrading the educational level of the university are the faculty's main academic promises in psychological contracts.

Keywords

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Strategic Management Thought
Volume 7, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
December 2013
Pages 99-122
  • Receive Date: 29 December 2013
  • Revise Date: 01 January 2014
  • Accept Date: 06 March 2014