Back to results

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

The Mediating Effects of Psychological Contract on Human Resource Practices and Employee Retention Relationship: An Employer-Employee Perspective.

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The importance of retaining employees is emphasized by the negative outcomes of employee turnover such as the costs in finding a replacement, as well as the valuable knowledge, skills and connections that employee has. The psychological contract plays a crucial role as a framework in understanding the fundamentals of the employee-employer relationship, as it deals with the fulfilment of obligations and promises an organization has made to the employee, and vice versa. With the use of the psychological contract in employee retention, the gaps between what is promised and the extent of how the promises are met can be determined. Based on these gaps, employers can strategize employee retention practices accordingly. In this thesis, practices of the organization (HR practices) are used as contents of the psychological contract of which its importance to the employees and the extent of its fulfilment (psychological contract) is identified, which would result in employee retention. A crosssectional study using survey questionnaires were distributed to organizations within the Event Management industry. These organizations are those registered under the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) where 50 employee-employer dyads returned the completed questionnaires. The data obtained were then analysed using descriptive, correlational, independent samples t-tests, and regression analysis to determine the relationship between the variables of this study. This research found that there is a positive significant relationship between HR practice and psychological contract fulfilment (Employee: β = 0.355, p-value < 0.001; Employer: β = 0.456, p-value = 0.001), psychological contract fulfilment and employee retention (Employee: β = 0.236, p-value = 0.019; Employer: β = 0.384, p-value = 0.016), as well as a full mediation of the psychological contract fulfilment towards the relationship between HR practices and employee retention. This study also found that there is no significant difference between the perceptions of both parties in regards to HR practices (p > 0.05). However, there was a significant difference between employee and employer regarding the psychological contract (p = 0.00) and employee retention (p = 0.013). These findings contribute to the HRM domain and offers a valuable connection between HR practices and the psychological contract, and also the link between psychological contract and social exchange theory. Additionally, matched data of employee and employer provides valuable and corresponding information regarding the perceptions of the psychological contract.

Degree

thesis:*
Name dc:type.qualificationname
dba
Level dc:type.qualificationlevel
doctoral
Grantor dc:publisher.institution
University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Year dc:date.issued
2024

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Stephen, Shaun Anthony

Subjects

dc:subject × 1

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Grantnumber
UWTSD
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:2814

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Base URL
repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/cgi/oai2
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Stephen, Shaun Anthony. The Mediating Effects of Psychological Contract on Human Resource Practices and Employee Retention Relationship: An Employer-Employee Perspective.. doctoral thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2024. https://doi.org/10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00002814