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Can Psychological Contracts Decrease Opportunistic Behaviors?
Leinan Zhang1, Qingyan Zeng1, Liu Yang2
1Department of Marketing, Business School, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|June 20, 2022
Summary
This study reveals that psychological contracts significantly enhance relationship quality and reduce opportunistic behaviors in marketing. Trust and commitment are key mediators, with dependence moderating the contract-quality link.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Psychology
- Relationship Marketing
- Organizational Behavior
Background:
- Relationship marketing increasingly relies on behavioral psychology.
- Existing research overlooks the negative aspects of interorganizational relationships.
- Formal contracts do not fully prevent opportunistic behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the role of psychological contracts in mitigating opportunistic behaviors.
- Examine the impact of psychological contracts on relationship quality.
- Understand the moderating effect of dependence on the psychological contract-relationship quality link.
Main Methods:
- Empirical analysis of psychological contracts and opportunistic behaviors.
- Statistical modeling to assess the influence of trust and commitment.
- Examination of the moderating role of dependence in buyer-seller relationships.
Main Results:
- Psychological contracts positively influence relationship quality.
- Psychological contracts negatively affect opportunistic behavior via trust and commitment.
- Dependence moderates the positive relationship between psychological contracts and relationship quality.
Conclusions:
- Psychological contracts are crucial for reducing opportunistic behaviors in marketing.
- Trust and commitment mediate the positive impact of psychological contracts.
- This research expands understanding of psychological contracts in relationship marketing.
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