Journal of Business Research 70 (2017) 108–117

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Business Research

Promises to employees matter, self-identity too: Effects of psychological

contract breach and older worker identity on violation and
turnover intentions
Johannes Marcelus Kraak a,⁎, Renaud Lunardo b, Olivier Herrbach c, François Durrieu b
a
INSEEC Business School, 19 Quai de Bacalan, 33070 Bordeaux, France
b
Kedge Business School, 680 Cours de la Libération, 33400 Talence, France
c
University of Bordeaux, 35 Avenue Abadie, 33072 Bordeaux Cedex, France

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper examines the employment relationship of older workers by studying the effects of psychological con-
Received 16 December 2015 tract breach on psychological contract violation and turnover intentions. Despite an accumulating body of re-
Received in revised form 22 June 2016 search calling for a multidimensional conceptualization of the psychological contract, the majority of studies
Accepted 23 June 2016
adopt a unidimensional approach. Furthermore the literature on older worker psychological contracts is often
Available online 29 June 2016
limited to comparisons between age groups or different generations. This research addresses these gaps by
Keywords:
using a multidimensional approach of breach and expands research by including older worker identity in the ex-
Psychological contract amination of older worker psychological contracts. This research contributes to the literature by identifying spe-
Older worker identity cific areas of the psychological contract that exert a direct effect on violation and an indirect effect on turnover
Turnover intentions intentions. A second contribution lies in the finding that older worker identity moderates the relationship be-
Social identification tween breach and violation for those areas. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction In spite of this knowledge, a gap exists in the psychological contract

The extent to which organizations fulfill psychological contracts is
an important success factor for the employment relationship
(Conway, Kiefer, Hartley, & Briner, 2014; Restubog, Bordia, & Bordia,
2011; Restubog, Zagenczyk, Bordia, Bordia, & Chapman, 2015). These
contracts regroup employee perceptions of promises that the organiza-
tion makes in exchange for their efforts (Rousseau, 1995). Relevant lit-
erature accounts that psychological contract breach (i.e., when
psychological contracts are not fulfilled; Morrison & Robinson, 1997)
has negative effects, such as increased turnover intentions (Restubog
et al., 2011; Zhao, Wayne, Glibkowski, & Bravo, 2007). Furthermore,
these negative effects are influenced by psychological contract violation
(Dulac, Coyle-Shapiro, Henderson, & Wayne, 2008; Restubog et al.,
2015), which refers to the “affective and emotional experience of disap-
pointment, frustration, and anger” that employees potentially exhibit in
response to breach (Morrison & Robinson, 1997: 228).
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: jankraak@gmail.com (J.M. Kraak), renaud.lunardo@kedgebs.com
(R. Lunardo), olivier.herrbach@u-bordeaux.fr (O. Herrbach),
francois.durrieu@kedgebs.com (F. Durrieu).
literature due to the widespread appraisal of breach as a global (e.g.
Bordia, Restubog, & Tang, 2008; Conway et al., 2014; Robinson, 1996)
or two-dimensional construct (Raja, Johns, & Ntalianis, 2004;
Robinson, Kraatz, & Rousseau, 1994) while other academics point out
that the psychological contract is a multidimensional construct (e.g.
Freese, Schalk, & Croon, 2008b). The adoption of such a multidimension-
al conceptualization would yield a better understanding of the exact
areas of the psychological contract that influence outcome variables,
and thus more specific information that allows more precise and rele-
vant managerial recommendations (Lub, Bal, Blomme, & Schalk,
2016). The multidimensional conceptualization of breach would also
help to identify the role of violation in the effect of breach for specific
psychological contract dimensions, in a context where several studies
using breach as a global construct report a mediating role for violation
between breach and outcome variables (e.g. Dulac et al., 2008).
In addition, the relationship between psychological contract breach,
violation and outcomes may be examined through the lens of self-
identification as an older worker. The worldwide context of aging popula-
tions is prompting many governments like those of Belgium, Germany or
the United Kingdom to look for options to reduce the financial impact of
this considerable demographic change. For instance, the Dutch govern-
ment decided in 2010 on a gradual raise of the legal age for state

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.06.015
0148-2963/© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
 J.M. Kraak et al. / Journal of Business Research 70 (2017) 108–117
retirement benefits from 65 to 67 (Delsen, 2010). These changes have
major consequences for many people currently over 45 who will have
to work longer than previously planned. Thus employees will likely
have to keep on going in their careers, which might include job turnover
(e.g. Hall & Mirvis, 1995; Warr & Birdi, 1998), instead of moving into a dis-
engagement stage during which they start preparing their retirement
(Sterns & Subich, 2002). Changes in the legal retirement age therefore
add to the already existing demand for research on possible triggers for
turnover intentions for older workers (Mignonac, 2008).
The question then arises if these older workers, who are not yet
disengaging from their careers, will want to change employers when
their psychological contract is breached and/or violated or if they want to
stay put. Unfortunately, the extant research on this issue is scarce. Psycho-
logical contract literature mostly includes studies on chronological age
and tenure (e.g. Bal, De Lange, Jansen, & Van der Velde, 2008b; Freese &
Schalk, 1995) or generational differences (Hess & Jepsen, 2009; Lub, Bal, &
Blomme, 2011; Lub, Nije Bijvank, Bal, Blomme, & Schalk, 2012). Compared
to different (younger) groups, older workers will likely have lower turnover
intentions as age is negatively related to these kinds of flexible attitudes
(e.g. Van den Berg & Van der Velde, 2005) and because older workers will
be less likely to obtain a comparable or improved psychological contract
elsewhere (Ng & Feldman, 2009). However, as far as the authors are
aware, no studies focus on this group of employees that will have to adjust
to the new retirement reality on a reasonably short term.
Even though comparing different groups contributes to a better un-
derstanding of employment relationships across the lifespan, focusing ex-
clusively on older workers allows taking group-related characteristics
such as self-identification into account. To date, no psychological contract
study incorporates self-identification as an older worker. This is unfortu-
nate as older workers - those who are aged 45 and up (De Lange et al.,
2010; Gallo, Bradley, Siegel, & kasl, 2000) - are confronted with a range
of beliefs and stereotypical views that influence perceptions and reactions
(Noe, Wilk, Mulle, & Wanek, 1997). Hence, the following study addresses
these gaps by adopting a multidimensional approach in examining breach
perceptions of employees who still have 10 to 20 years of their career
ahead of them, placing the age-range of the sample between 45 and 55.
Additionally, violation is tested as a mediator between the different
areas of breach and turnover intentions. Furthermore, this study exam-
ines the moderating role of older worker identity on the effects of six di-
mensions of perceived psychological contract breach on violation.
2. Theoretical background
2.1. Psychological contracts, breach and violation
The psychological contract is subjective, with parties not necessarily
agreeing, and is therefore different from other constructs such as implied
contracts, which consist of commonly understood or shared expectations
within a society (Rousseau, 1989; Morrison & Robinson, 1997). Psycholog-
ical contracts refer to individual beliefs, created by the organization, that re-
late to the terms of an exchange agreement between employees and their
organization (Richard, McMillan-Capehart, Bhuian, & Taylor, 2009; Rous-
seau, 1995). These exchange terms place psychological contracts within So-
cial Exchange Theory (Blau, 1964). A series of perceived promises, either
verbal or derived from the observation of co-workers and organizational
practices (Rousseau & Schalk, 2000) regarding a reciprocal exchange will
produce obligations (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005; Robinson & Rousseau,
1994). Reciprocal means that one party will adapt their side of the exchange
following the extent to which the other party has fulfilled their obligations.
This is also referred to as the reciprocity norm (Gouldner, 1960). Psycholog-
ical contracts are therefore typically examined through promised and/or
delivered inducements in order to determine fulfillment, breach and/or vi-
olation. In line with the reciprocity principle, fulfillment generally leads to
positive outcomes. For instance, employee commitment and organizational
citizenship behavior increase when organizations fulfill their obligations
(e.g. Coyle-Shapiro & Kessler, 2000).
109
Contrary to fulfillment, breach is likely to have a negative impact on
employee behavior (e.g. Conway & Briner, 2002; Paillé & Raineri, 2015;
Zhao et al., 2007) and results in increased turnover intentions (Bellou,
2008; Robinson & Morrison, 2000; Robinson & Rousseau, 1994;
Tekleab, Orvis, & Taylor, 2013). Perceived contract violation is also asso-
ciated with a variety of negative outcomes such as increased turnover
(e.g. Robinson & Morrison, 2000; Turnley & Feldman, 2000; Zhao
et al., 2007). Violation is positively impacted by breach (Zhao et al.,
2007), but is not an automatic consequence of breach (Rigotti, 2009)
and employees may perceive breach without experiencing violation
(Conway & Briner, 2002; Morrison & Robinson, 1997). The interpreta-
tion or sensemaking process that employees go through following
breach determines if and how strongly they will perceive psychological
contract violation (Robinson & Morrison, 2000). The outcomes of this
process depend on the attribution of who is responsible for breach
and the perceived reasons why breach has occurred (Morrison &
Robinson, 1997; Parzefall & Coyle-Shapiro, 2011).
2.2. The multidimensional conceptualization of breach
But is every instance of breach the same? An increasing number of
studies report that the psychological contract is a multidimensional con-
cept. These studies (e.g. De Vos, Buyens, & Schalk, 2003; De Vos, De
Stobbeleir, & Meganck, 2009; De Hauw & De Vos, 2010; Freese, 2007;
Freese, Schalk, & Croon, 2008a, 2011; Freese et al., 2008b; Lub et al.,
2012, 2016; Van der Smissen, Schalk, & Freese, 2013; Willem, de Vos, &
Buelens, 2010) use some or all of the following six dimensions: (1) job
content is all about the characteristics of the job itself; is the work varied,
interesting and challenging? (2) Career development asks about
development-related issues such as training and opportunities for career
advancement. (3) Social atmosphere includes aspects of the interaction
between the different parties in an organization like acknowledgement
from the employer through appreciation and recognition or more practi-
cal aspects such as getting support from the manager. (4) Organizational
policies represent a collection of issues that can be considered as condi-
tions that regulate the interaction between the different parties. Are em-
ployees informed about organizational issues, does the company have
clear norms and guidelines? (5) Work-life balance is a dimension that fo-
cuses on the possibilities to balance private and professional life by for in-
stance looking at available opportunities to schedule holidays or being
able to work from home. Finally (6) rewards regroups issues that are relat-
ed to compensation and benefits, which vary from receiving an appropri-
ate base salary to being paid performance related bonuses.
Studying breach under this multidimensional lens instead of at a glob-
al level provides information about the specific areas of the psychological
contract where breach occurs (Freese et al., 2008a) and allows studying
the effect of each of them on employee outcomes (De Vos & Meganck,
2009). For instance, Lub et al. (2016) studied the psychological contracts
of different generations of workers with such a measure and show that
distinct dimensions of breach can have different effects: precisely, partic-
ipants belonging to Generation Y (born between 1981 and 1995; Smola &
Sutton, 2002) are more motivated by job content and career development
whereas Baby Boomers (born between 1945 and 1964; Smola & Sutton,
2002) are more motivated by social atmosphere. The current research
does not compare the actual levels of perceived breach for different gen-
erations, but rather focuses on the relationships between different areas
of breach, violation and one outcome of most importance for organiza-
tions, namely turnover intentions. As breach is positively related to viola-
tion (Zhao et al., 2007) this study adopts the view that breach will
positively affect violation and that violation is positively related to turn-
over intentions (Restubog et al., 2011; Turnley & Feldman, 2000; Zhao
et al., 2007). This suggests the following hypotheses:
H1. Psychological contract violation will be positively affected by
breach on the dimensions job content (H1a), career development
(H1b), social atmosphere (H1c), organizational policies (H1d), work-
110 J.M. Kraak et al. / Journal of Business Research 70 (2017) 108–117

life balance (H1e) and rewards (H1f), which in turn will positively affect As the boundary of the threshold of acceptable breach (Rigotti, 2009)
turnover intentions (H1g). depends on the psychological contract obligations that are important
to the employee (Schalk & Roe, 2007), employees who identify with
Previous research shows that violation mediates the relationship be-
the group of older workers are thus likely to discuss breach in areas
tween breach and intention to quit (e.g. Raja et al., 2004; Suazo, Turnley,
they find important with other members of that group while comparing
& Mai-Dalton, 2005). Violation will likely have a specific effect on turn-
their situation with that of other groups in the organization. Social iden-
over intentions, as this constitutes a strong emotional reaction to
tification therefore triggers responses for older workers and might
breach, such as outrage, resentment and anger (Rousseau, 1989).
make employees more sensitive to differences in psychological contract
Breach is a more rational cognitive process, which can fall within the
breach between groups. As a result, events of breach risk to be attribut-
employees' “zone of acceptance” (Rousseau, 1995: 148), whereas viola-
ed to the employer deliberately not delivering on promises and as unfair
tion occurs when the threshold of what is acceptable has been
treatment against the group of older workers, thereby reuniting both el-
surpassed (Rigotti, 2009). In that exact emotional state people will
ements identified by Robinson and Morrison (2000) as being a condi-
start to look for other options because they feel betrayed by their orga-
tion to more intense feelings of violation following breach, pushing
nization. Therefore, the stronger emotional nature of violation is likely
the older worker over the threshold of what is acceptable in terms of
to make this variable the key mechanism by which the different dimen-
breach (Rigotti, 2009). What precedes suggests the following
sions of breach are related to turnover intentions.
hypothesis:
H2. Violation will mediate the effect of psychological breach on turn-
H3. The extent to which employees identify themselves as an older
over intentions for the dimensions job content (H2a), career develop-
worker will moderate the relationship between psychological contract
ment (H2b), social atmosphere (H2c), organizational policies (H2d),
breach and violation such that the impact of psychological breach on
work-life balance (H2e), and rewards (H2f).
job content (H3a), career development (H3b), social atmosphere
(H3c), organizational policies (H3d), work-life balance (H3e) and re-
2.3. Older worker identity wards (H3f) on violation will be more pronounced for employees who
have a high (vs. low) older worker identify.
Empirical research shows that age influences the evaluation of the The aforementioned hypotheses lead to the following theoretical
psychological contract process and consequent reactions (e.g. Bal, De model (Fig. 1).
Lange, Jansen, & Van der Velde, 2008a; Bal, Jansen, Van der Velde, De
Lange, & Rousseau, 2010; Lub et al., 2012; Ng & Feldman, 2009;
3. Method
Vantilborgh, Dries, de Vos, & Bal, 2014). Some studies argue that older
workers have a better, more stable psychological contract (Freese &
3.1. Sample
Schalk, 1995; Rousseau, 2001) or that they have a decreased sensitivity
towards psychological contract evaluation (Bal, De Lange, Jansen, & Van
The sample consists of 1066 participants aged 45–55 in the
der Velde, 2013). However, Farr and Ringseis (2002) suggest that older
Netherlands. This country was chosen due to the average early retire-
employees perceive more psychological contract breach than younger
ment age that was just over 60. The authors contacted companies by
employees. As for reactions to perceived breach, the impact of age
e-mailing their Human Resource (HR) departments when contact data
could be outcome-specific. For instance, Bal et al. (2008b) found that
was available on the companies' website. The authors also contacted
age positively moderates the relationship between psychological con-
HR-professionals directly via LinkedIn. As professional or professional-
tract breach and trust and affective commitment, but negatively moder-
like employees are expected to be more flexible in the late career, par-
ates the link between psychological contract breach and job satisfaction.
ticipants had to have an intermediate vocational education degree or
However, evidence also exists that reactions to breach are not the same
higher in order to be able to participate. The mean age of the partici-
for every older worker (Bal et al., 2010, 2013). For instance, Bal et al.
pants was 50.1, 46% women against 54% male, 17% single and 83% mar-
(2010) report that older workers perceiving that they have a lot of
ried or cohabiting, 55% worked in the public sector and 45% in the
time left in organizational life, or life in general, tend to react more in-
private sector. Also, 52% of participants had worked for their current
tensively to breach. Besides ideas regarding their future lives, em-
employer for up to 10 years while 63% had changed job positions within
ployees will also differ in terms of how they categorize or identify
their organization in the last 5 years. The majority of participants
themselves. According to Parzefall and Coyle-Shapiro (2011) self-
worked full-time, with 81% of the sample working between 30 and
identity possibly helps employees reframe breach events, making social
40 h a week.
identification a potential important variable for the effects of breach.
Tajfel (1978, p. 63) defines social identification as “that part of an
individual's self-concept which derives from his knowledge of his mem- 3.2. Measures
bership of a social group (or groups) together with the value and emo-
tional significance attached to that membership.” Social Identity Theory A five-item scale measuring the participants' turnover intentions
suggests that people will react to negative images of their in-group by (i.e., intentions for moving to another employer) was adapted from
adopting coping strategies (Tajfel & Turner, 1986), which are influenced Nicholson and West (1988). A sample item is “changing employers for
by the permeability, legitimacy, and stability of the status hierarchy another job with more responsibilities” (α = 0.74).
(Chattopadhyay, Tluchowska, & George, 2004). To this regard, Gaillard Psychological contract violation was measured with a separate four-
and Desmette (2008) found that older worker identification is positive- item scale, from Robinson and Morrison (2000). A sample item of this
ly related to early exit intentions and competition with younger em- scale is “I feel a great deal of anger toward my organization” (α = 0.95).
ployees. Such results show that although an older worker is limited The multidimensional conceptualization of breach was measured
with regard to moving to other social groups because of unalterable through a measure by Freese et al. (2008a), which contains the six di-
characteristics such as age, they might challenge other groups in order mensions that were previously described. This measure was developed
to improve the status of their own group. in the Netherlands and the authors kindly provided the items in Dutch.
As stated above, the sensemaking process following breach will de- In order to calculate psychological contract breach, two response scales
termine if violation occurs. Employees will try to make sense of breach were used for the psychological contract sub-scales: (A) the degree to
through for instance observation, comparison and discussions with which the items were perceived to be obligations and (B) the degree
peers (Morrison & Robinson, 1997; Parzefall & Coyle-Shapiro, 2011). to which each item was provided in practice by the employer. A
 J.M. Kraak et al. / Journal of Business Research 70 (2017) 108–117 111

Fig. 1. Research model.

discrepancy measure (Coyle-Shapiro & Kessler, 2000) was used to mea- contract breach, violation, and outcome variables. Remaining years in
sure evaluation of the psychological contract. A fulfillment scale (indi- career was included because future time perspective has an influence
cated with C) was calculated by subtracting the degree to which each on employee reactions to employer contract fulfillment (Bal et al.,
item was provided in practice (indicated with B) from the degree to 2010). Working in the public or private sector was included because
which the item was perceived to be obligated (indicated with A). This findings by Willem et al. (2010) suggest that this variable may lead to
means the more positive the score, the lower the contract fulfillment. differences in the perceptions regarding psychological contracts and
In line with Coyle-Shapiro and Kessler (2000) a higher score therefore their evaluation. Finally, tenure and the time spent in the current posi-
reflects higher breach. tion were also included since both work experience and seniority may
At the time of data analysis no previous research using the psycho- have an impact on the stability of mental models (Rousseau, 2001).
logical contract measure on a sample of older workers was available.
Therefore both an exploratory and a confirmatory factor analyses 4. Results
were performed (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988). After the exploratory
analysis, nine items were deleted due to low factor loadings (b 0.05) Table 2 provides the correlation matrix between variables. Turning
or low communalities (b0.04) (Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson, & to the test of hypotheses and the examination of whether turnover
Tatham, 2014). The final six-factor structure had a Total Variance Ex-
plained of 55.0% and corresponds with the six dimensions. A confirma-
tory factor analysis was then conducted, which lead to another three
items being dropped. Goodness-of-fit statistics showed good fit for the Table 1
Standardized solutions for the 6-factor employer obligations structure.
six-factor structure (Satorra-Bentler scaled chi-square = 481.994,
df = 174, p b 0.001, CFI = 0.940, and RMSEA = 0.040). Robust methods Factor loadings
were used to correct for non-normality in large samples (Byrne, 2006). 1 2 3 4 5 6
Construct validity was assessed through discriminant and convergent
Job content (α = 0.82)
validity, which were both met with no latent variable value in the corre- Variation in your work 0.843
lation matrix being above 0.85 and standardized factor loadings being Challenging work 0.779
above 0.50 (Kline, 1998). The final dimensions of breach were all reli- Interesting work 0.781
able with Cronbach's alphas falling between 0.77 and 0.86 (αjob content = Career development (α = 0.83)
Career opportunities 0.669
0.82, αcareer development = 0.83, αsocial atmosphere = 0.86, αorganizational policies = Training and education 0.711
0.86, αwork-life balance = 0.75 and αrewards = 0.77). Professional development 0.760
Finally, older worker identity was measured with a three-item scale opportunities
from Gaillard and Desmette (2008). This cognitive identification scale Learning on the job 0.671
Opportunities to fully utilize 0.682
measures awareness of membership of a specific group and was
knowledge and skills
adapted from Ellemers, Kortekaas, and Ouwerkerk (1999). A sample Social atmosphere (α = 0.86)
item from this scale is “I see myself as belonging to the older workers” Good working atmosphere 0.842
(α = 0.80). Offer possibilities for good 0.892
All scales were measured using a five-point Likert response-scale, cooperation
Organizational policies (α = 0.86)
ranging from (1) “not at all” to (5) “to a great extent”. The scales mea- A fair supervisor 0.720
suring psychological contract violation, turnover intentions, and identi- cFeedback on performance 0.704
fication were translated from English into Dutch using translation/back- Clear and fair rules and 0.687
translation. Table 1 presents an overview of the measures. regulations
Keeping you informed 0.756
Open communication 0.802
3.3. Control variables Work-life balance (α = 0.75)
Opportunity to schedule own 0.616
The following control variables are included: (1) gender, (2) remain- holidays
Working at home 0.704
ing years before retirement (intended retirement-age minus chronolog-
Adjustment of working hours to fit 0.811
ical age), (3) working in the public or private sector, (4) tenure, and personal life
(5) number of years in current position. Gender was included since Rewards (α = 0.77)
Blomme, van Rheede, and Tromp (2010) suggest that men and Appropriate salary 0.713
women have different priorities regarding psychological contract ele- Reimbursement of training costs 0.689
Good benefits package 0.798
ments; gender is therefore likely to influence the processes between
112 J.M. Kraak et al. / Journal of Business Research 70 (2017) 108–117

Table 2
Descriptive statistics and correlations for main variables.

M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1. Job content 0.14 0.85 1.00

2. Career development 0.79 0.94 0.56⁎⁎ 1.00
3. Social atmosphere 0.67 1.02 0.39⁎⁎ 0.56⁎⁎ 1.00
4. Organizational policies 1.05 0.94 0.40⁎⁎ 0.65⁎⁎ 0.65⁎⁎ 1.00
5. Work-life balance 0.27 0.95 0.34⁎⁎ 0.43⁎⁎ 0.40⁎⁎ 0.40⁎⁎ 1.00
6. Rewards 0.59 0.88 0.33⁎⁎ 0.60⁎⁎ 0.43⁎⁎ 0.51⁎⁎ 0.44⁎⁎ 1.00
7. Violation 2.02 1.07 0.39⁎⁎ 0.54⁎⁎ 0.52⁎⁎ 0.58⁎⁎ 0.35⁎⁎ 0.44⁎⁎ 1.00
8. Older worker identity 2.41 0.86 0.05 0.07⁎ 0.12⁎⁎ 0.07⁎ 0.13⁎⁎ 0.09⁎⁎ 0.13⁎⁎ 1.00
9. Turnover intentions 2.31 0.71 0.27⁎⁎ 0.32⁎⁎ 0.29⁎⁎ 0.33⁎⁎ 0.21⁎⁎ 0.20⁎⁎ 0.39⁎⁎ −0.03 1.00

⁎ Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

⁎⁎ Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

intentions depend on psychological contract breach and violation, the
method consisted of testing the theoretical model using a path analysis.
The path analysis was conducted using EQS (Bentler, 1989). A multi-
group model enabling different regression coefficients, means, and in-
tercepts for each subsample of older worker identity was used to
examine the differences between employees who are low in older
worker identity and those who are high (see Bollen, 1989, p. 306).
4.1. Testing the overall model of the effects of psychological breach
The overall model was tested across the combined sample (low- and
high-older worker identity employees) with 100 bootstraps. As done in
previous research (Hui & Bateson, 1991), rival models were tested. This
iterative process resulted in the model that exhibited the best fit.
Because breach might have a direct influence on turnover intentions, di-
rect relationships were included in the model. The resulting model is
presented in Fig. 2, with the resulting standardized parameter esti-
mates. The resulting χ2 is 37.94 (p b 0.001; GFI = 0.99; AGFI = 0.95;
CFI = 0.99; RMSEA = 0.05; SRMR = 0.02), which suggests a good fit.
Specifically, results show that among the six dimensions of psycho-
logical breach, four exert a significant impact on psychological contract
violation. The dimensions of psychological breach that involve job con-
tent (β = 0.140, t = 3.74, p b 0.001), social atmosphere (β = 0.190, t =
5.32, p b 0.001), organizational policies (β = 0.334, t = 9.37, p b 0.001)
and rewards (β = 0.140, t = 4.53, p b 0.05) exert a positive impact on
psychological contract violation. These dimensions explain b 41.2% of
the variance in psychological contract violation. Two dimensions, career
development and work-life balance, did not affect violation (all

Fig. 2. Model with standardized paths coefficients.

 J.M. Kraak et al. / Journal of Business Research 70 (2017) 108–117
p's N 0.10). Therefore, these result support Hypothesis H1a, c, d and f,
whereas Hypothesis H1b and e are not supported.
As expected, and supporting H1g, psychological violation positively
affects turnover intentions (β = 0.317, t = 9.99, p b 0.001). Interesting-
ly, and although not hypothesized, turnover intentions is also directly
impacted by some dimensions of psychological breach. As shown by
the path coefficients, job content (β = 0.120, t = 3.63, p b 0.001) and
work-life balance (β = 0.067, t = 2.10, p b 0.05) exert a positive impact
on turnover intentions. Among the different dimensions of breach, ca-
reer development is the only one that was not found to affect turnover
intentions, neither directly nor through violation.
Turning to H2 and the notion that violation mediates the effect of
breach on turnover intentions, the procedure recommended by
Iacobucci, Saldanha, and Deng (2007) was followed. From the path anal-
ysis, the paths between breach, violation and turnover intentions were
examined, and a Z test (Sobel, 1982) was performed to compare the
size of the path between the dimensions of breach that were found to
affect violation (job content, social atmosphere, organizational policies,
and rewards) and turnover intentions in two models, one without vio-
lation and one with violation being included in the model. As shown
in Table 3, the results indicate that violation mediates the effects of
these four dimensions of breach, with the effects of social atmosphere,
organizational policies, and rewards on turnover intentions being fully
mediated. In other words, the four dimensions of breach (job content,
social atmosphere, organizational policies and rewards) lead to turn-
over intentions because of violation, thereby supporting Hypothesis
H2a, c, d and f.
4.2. The role of control variables
Because the control variables may explain differences in the effect of
psychological breach on violation and turnover intentions, these vari-
ables were considered as potential moderators of the effects of breach.
Multigroup analyses were thus performed to analyse their potential ef-
fect. For each analysis, the difference in the Chi-squares in the configural
invariance model (i.e., model with equal parameters) and the model
with unequal parameters was assessed to determine whether the con-
trol variable plays a moderating role in the effects of breach.
The first multigroup analysis was conducted with gender (493
women, 573 men) as the criterion used to separate the two groups of
observations. Results revealed a non-significant Chi-square difference
between the configural invariance model and the model with unequal
parameters (Δχ2 = 3.04, p = 1.000), indicating that gender plays no
role in the effects of breach on violation and turnover intentions. The
same procedure was followed regarding remaining years before retire-
ment. A median-split (Me = 14) was conducted to distinguish between
the two groups that were used in the multigroup analysis. As with gen-
der, results revealed no significant differences in the Chi-square of the
configural invariance model and that of the model with unequal param-
eters (Δχ2 = 25.28, p = 0.75). As with the previous variables, tenure
(Δχ2 = 59.69, p = 0.49) and time spent in the current position
(Δχ2 = 58.10, p = 0.55) did not reveal any significant differences be-
tween the configural invariance and unequal parameters models. How-
ever, and turning to the effect of the public (n = 583) versus private
sector (n = 483), a significant difference was found (Δχ2 = 53.76,
Table 3
The mediating effects of psychological contract violation (PCV).
Dimensions of breach (X) Effects of:
Breach (X) on turnover intentions (Y) Breach (X) on PCV (M)
Job content 0.120 0.140
Social atmosphere – 0.190
Organiz. policies – 0.334
Rewards – 0.140
113
p = 0.01), suggesting that the effects of breach differ according to the
sector. Specifically, results show that the dimensions of breach involv-
ing job content (βPublic = 0.19; βPrivate = 0.01), social atmosphere
(βPublic = 0.20; βPrivate = 0.14) and rewards (βPublic = 0.13; βPrivate =
0.04) have a stronger positive impact on violation in the public sector,
while those including career development (βPublic = 0.04; βPrivate =
0.25), organizational policies (βPublic = 0.24; βPrivate = 0.36) and
work-life balance (βPublic = − 0.01; βPrivate = 0.10) exert a stronger
positive impact for employees in the private sector. Of note, the link be-
tween violation and turnover intentions is also stronger for employees
working in the private sector (βPublic = 0.24; βPrivate = 0.40).
4.3. Comparing the effects of breach across groups differing in older worker
identity
The hypothesized moderating role of older worker identity was test-
ed using a multigroup analysis. A median split was conducted on older
worker identity and people who scored lower than the median
(Me = 2.33) were considered low in this variable while those who
scored higher than the median were considered high. The fit indices of
the multigroup analysis revealed a good fit (NFI = 0.98; NNFI = 0.96;
CFI = 0.99; RMSEA = 0.039) and, importantly, a significant Chi-
square difference between the configural invariance model (i.e., model
with equal parameters) and the model with unequal parameters
(Δχ2 = 51.78, p = 0.001). This significant difference indicates that
older worker identity, as expected, moderates the effects of psycholog-
ical breach.
More specifically, and depicted in Fig. 3, the results show that among
the dimensions of psychological breach, those of job content (βLow =
0.111, t = 2.48, p b 0.001; βHigh = 0.178, t = 4.46, p b 0.001) and social
atmosphere (βLow = 0.169, t = 3.40, p b 0.001; βHigh = 0.206, t = 3.90,
p b 0.001) exert stronger positive impact on violation when employees
are high in older worker identity. The opposite pattern is found regard-
ing the dimension of organizational policies, with a more positive im-
pact on violation for employees that are low in older worker identity
(βLow = 0.366, t = 7.48, p b 0.001; βHigh = 0.300, t = 5.79, p b 0.001).
No significant differences were observed in the effects of rewards across
conditions of older worker identity (βLow = 0.138, t = 3.36, p b 0.001;
βHigh = 0.138, t = 2.86, p b 0.001), rewards exert a positive impact
in both conditions of low and high older worker identity. Finally, Hy-
potheses H3b and d were not tested due to the lack of effects of career
development and work-life balance in the overall model. Although the
results do show a moderating effect of older worker identity on the re-
lationship between breach and violation, Hypothesis H3d (organiza-
tional policies) was not supported due to the other than hypothesized
direction for this moderating effect. The results do provide support for
Hypotheses H3a and c (job content, and social atmosphere). For these
two dimensions of breach there is a moderating effect of older worker
identity and breach leads to stronger violation for people that are high
(vs. low) in older worker identity.
Of interest, although public versus private sector was identified as a
control variable that could affect the effects of breach, the moderating
role of older worker identity on the effects of breach will not be distin-
guished according to this variable as this falls outside of the scope of this
study.
z Mediation type % mediation
PCV (M) on turnover intentions (Y)
0.317 3.50 Partial 27%
0.317 4.88 Complete 100%
0.317 7.38 Complete 100%
0.317 3.05 Complete 100%
114 J.M. Kraak et al. / Journal of Business Research 70 (2017) 108–117
Fig. 3. Multigroups model with standardized paths coefficients.
Although not hypothesized, the effect of violation across conditions
of older worker identity was consistently positive and of similar range
(βLow = 0.323, t = 8.45, p b 0.001; βHigh = 0.321, t = 6.22, p b 0.001).
The same lack of difference is observed in the direct effect of job content
(βLow = 0.120, t = 3.07, p b 0.001; βHigh = 0.127, t = 2.63, p b 0.001) on
turnover intentions that was found to be similar across conditions of
older worker identity. The direct effect of work-life balance on turnover
intentions was non-significant for both the low and high conditions of
older worker identity (βLow = 0.076, t = 1.84, p N 0.05; βHigh = 0.076,
t = 1.52, p N 0.05).
5. Discussion
By conceptualizing breach as a multidimensional construct, this re-
search contributes to the psychological contract literature by identifying
the specific dimensions of breach that exert a positive effect on turnover
intentions through violation for a sample of older workers. Interestingly,
the results show that four dimensions of breach (job content, social at-
mosphere, organizational policies, and rewards) exert a direct effect on
violation and an indirect effect on turnover intentions. The second con-
tribution to the literature lies in the moderating role of older worker
identity on the relationship between psychological contract breach
and violation. Interestingly, the dimensions job content and social at-
mosphere exert an increased positive effect on violation for people
who identify themselves strongly as older workers, but the dimension
of organizational policies exert such an effect for people who are low
(vs. high) on older worker identity.
5.1. Theoretical implications
This research advances the understanding of how different areas of
breach influence turnover intentions for older workers. While previous
research provides support for this notion (Dulac et al., 2008; Raja et al.,
2004), no other studies have examined the effects of specific dimen-
sions of breach on violation and subsequent turnover intentions. Since
research mostly appraises breach as a unidimensional construct
(e.g., Bordia et al., 2008; Conway et al., 2014; Robinson, 1996;
Robinson & Rousseau, 1994), the current results contribute to the
 J.M. Kraak et al. / Journal of Business Research 70 (2017) 108–117
literature by identifying four important dimensions of breach for older
workers that affect violation, while also identifying career development
and work-life balance as dimensions of lesser importance in the emer-
gence of violation. The results also provide additional information
concerning psychological contract dimensions. For instance, a recent
study by Lub et al. (2016) reports that the dimension career develop-
ment is less motivating for Baby Boomers than for younger generations
and that fulfillment on career development has less influence on turn-
over intentions for Baby Boomers. This study builds on those findings
by showing that breach on career development related inducements
does not result in stronger emotional reactions due to the absence of a
significant positive relationship with violation.
The current research also adds to the knowledge of the role of older
worker identity. To the author's knowledge this is the first study that in-
cludes older worker identity in a psychological contract study. This re-
search therefore goes further than establishing if stronger effects of
breach on violation exist for older workers compared to other age
groups (e.g. Bal et al., 2013; Farr & Ringseis, 2002; Hess & Jepsen,
2009), and thus, in other words, explores how older worker identity in-
fluences the dynamics between breach, violation, and turnover inten-
tions. The results indicate that the extent to which employees define
themselves in terms of older worker identity has an impact on the
more emotional perception of violation after the cognitive determina-
tion that breach has occurred.
A further theoretical contribution of this research lies in the identifi-
cation of which of the dimensions of psychological breach interact with
older worker identity. The finding that only four dimensions interacted
with older worker identity is in line with previous research.
The finding that breach on job content, which included three items
on challenging and interesting work and the variation in work, was
found to interact with older worker identity seems unsurprising. Ac-
cording to several authors (e.g. Kanfer & Ackerman, 2004; Kooij, De
Lange, Jansen, Kanfer, & Dikkers, 2011) intrinsic, job-related aspects,
such as enjoying oneself in the job and having interesting work, can
be more important to older workers. The dimension social atmosphere
focuses on having a good working atmosphere and possibilities for good
cooperation. Older workers are reported to attach more importance to
cooperating with their colleagues in studies on age or generational co-
horts and work values (e.g. Benson & Brown, 2011; Karp, Fuller, &
Sirias, 2001; Kooij, Jansen, Dikkers, & De Lange, 2010).
Another, more surprising finding, relates to that of organizational
policies on violation. Organizational policies include the conditions reg-
ulating interactions and provide fair treatment between the different
parties in an organization. They are therefore likely to be important to
every employee. However, the results for organizational policies were
opposite from the other three dimensions; low older worker identity re-
ported stronger positive moderating effects. A possible reason for this
might be that these participants attribute even more importance to
fair treatment in the organization, as this will help them to show to
their environment that they are not older workers. These employees
are competing with younger employees (Gaillard & Desmette, 2008)
to distance themselves from the group of older workers, for which
they need some degree of permeability between the different social
groups (Chattopadhyay et al., 2004). When people compete with
other groups they might be even more sensitive to equal treatment
(Lub et al., 2016), which would explain why the group that has a low
identification with being an older worker identity shows a stronger pos-
itive moderating effect for older worker identity.
The last result of importance is that the effect of breach on violation
regarding monetary related items such as receiving an appropriate sal-
ary and a good benefits package is not moderated by older worker iden-
tity. Compensation is an important HR-Practice for older workers
(Armstrong-Stassen, 2008; Benson & Brown, 2011; Kooij et al., 2010)
and older workers have been found to have high expectations regarding
salary (Freese & Schalk, 1996; Kalleberg & Rognes, 2000) and benefits
(Westwood, Sparrow, & Leung, 2001). This area of breach is constant,
115
regardless of older worker identity, making it the only dimension to
predict violation and turnover intentions across the different identity
groups.
5.2. Implications for practitioners
The findings of this study provide implications for age-conscious HR
policies. The results show that organizations should make sure that they
make realistic promises regarding relevant HR practices so that they can
actually deliver on these obligations. However, the results can also be
translated in other HR policies. The roles of job content and career de-
velopment seem to suggest that older workers are not particularly sen-
sitive to the organization not delivering on career development
obligations, which is in line with previous research (e.g. Lub et al.,
2016), but at the same time they are responding in the form of violation
to breach on job content obligations, which include a varied, interesting
and challenging job. Organizations should therefore find the right bal-
ance between pushing people on career development related obliga-
tions and making sure that the job is still interesting enough for the
older worker to continue to invest.
Turning to work-life balance, breach did not have a significant effect
on violation. These results appear to be in line with Lub et al. (2012)
who report that Baby Boomers attribute less importance to work-life
balance obligations than younger generations. Organizations may bene-
fit from work values of older workers being strongly oriented towards
hard work (Cogin, 2012) by explicitly discussing HR practices such as
working from home or planning one's holiday. If the organization
would just choose to offer more opportunities to younger employees
then older workers might perceive this as an unfair HR policy but if
the organization by means of the supervisor discusses the interest for
these HR practices, older workers might actually be willing to lower ex-
pectations on these less important obligations, which in turn could free
up more resources for the younger employees. However, even if older
workers initially agree, organizations should continue to invest suffi-
cient time in communication in order to inform employees and prevent
misunderstandings (Cassar & Buttigieg, 2015).
Finally, examining the role of older worker identity yields an inter-
esting result. With the exception of rewards, a stronger positive moder-
ating role on the effect of breach on violation is observed for people who
score either high or low on older worker identity, depending on the area
of breach. These findings show that older workers do not automatically
identify themselves in the same way and that treating all the older
workers alike might lead to stronger reactions in the form of violation
for those employees that do or do not see themselves as an older work-
er. Communication is again paramount; HR and supervisors should talk
with employees in order to establish an appropriate set of HR practices.
The fact that rewards is the only constant predictor of violation and
turnover intentions across the different identity groups underscores
the importance for employers to make sure that this HR practice is up
to the expectations of older workers.
To conclude, employers will have to aim for an individualized set of
HR practices, which is not the same as having standardized HR practices
for older workers and calling it age-conscious. Instead of trying to for-
malize these practices the organization can benefit from improved com-
munication by framing an individualized approach at a departmental
level and delegating relevant HR tasks to supervisors.
5.3. Limitations and implications for further research
A limitation of this study is the use of a self-report questionnaire as
the relationships between variables measured by these measures are
frequently considered as being necessarily and routinely upwardly bi-
ased (Conway & Lance, 2010). Podsakoff, Mackenzie, Jeong-Yeon, and
Podsakoff (2003) proposed a number of procedural remedies for better
control of method variance. Some of these remedies were not a solution
for this study because individual beliefs that only exist “in the eye of the
116 J.M. Kraak et al. / Journal of Business Research 70 (2017) 108–117
beholder” (Rousseau, 1989) were measured: the psychological contract
is by definition an individual perception (Freese & Schalk, 2008) and the
same can be said for older worker identity and turnover intentions.
However, a Harman's single factor test was performed, resulting in
33.67% TVE and indicating that no problem of method variance had to
be fixed. Hence, and in accordance with Conway and Lance (2010), no
other post-hoc statistical correction procedures were performed.
This study focuses on the psychological contract of older workers
and does not compare different age groups. However, the question
arises if older worker identity is only reserved for employees over the
age of 45. Future research may profit from comparing younger and
older employees by including older worker identity to examine wheth-
er this variable plays the same role across different age categories. In ad-
dition researchers can study older worker identity across multiple
industries that are associated with different age stereotypes. Such an in-
vestigation would allow studying if younger employees might already
consider themselves older workers when they work for instance in a
start-up company or in a young industry, and if such a perception of
being an older worker makes them react differently to breach than peo-
ple of the same age in another industry.
Besides the type of industry, future research may gain from includ-
ing public versus private sector as a moderating variable. This variable
moderates the effects of breach in this study; further research may
thus investigate if the moderating effect of older worker identity may
differ according to the public versus private sector.
Another promising avenue for further research lies in the inclusion
of stereotypes in the model. Although no specific stereotypes against
older workers were measured in this research, studying both older
worker identity and stereotypes might be interesting in order to see if
the social group with which the older workers identify themselves has
a predominantly positive or negative stigma. According to Krings,
Sczesny, and Kluge (2011) positive stereotypes are part of the frame-
work in which negative stereotypes are also placed. Negative stereo-
types such as “employability will likely decrease as employees get
older” (Nauta, De Vroome, Cox, Korver, & Kraan, 2005), “older workers
are waiting for retirement” (Gaillard & Desmette, 2008), and “older
workers have an absence of a flexible, innovative and/or change orien-
tation” (van Veldhoven & Dorenbosch, 2008) may also influence the in-
terpretation process following psychological contract breach. Older
worker identity and negative stereotypes might also be linked to per-
ceived vulnerability. Therefore it is not unlikely that identifying oneself
as an older worker might be a way to acknowledge certain stereotypes
or feelings of vulnerability. Future research might gain from including
these variables in order to examine if there is a separate or confounded
affect with regard to older worker identity.
Finally, longitudinal research will allow researchers to establish if
the drive to change employers persists or if these feelings decrease as
the employee gets a grip on the emotions related to the perceived con-
tract violation. Older workers are less likely to leave the organization
(e.g. Benson & Brown, 2011), so it is possible that turnover intentions
will decrease when people get less emotional or that they manifest
themselves through other withdrawal behaviours than quitting, such
as absenteeism, tardiness, reduced organizational commitment or orga-
nizational citizenship behaviours.
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