In a cross-sectional questionnaire study with 245 employees from West Germany and 357 employees from East Germany, the inferior labour market and economic situation in East Germany could be shown to be related, as expected, to the psychological contract, with a poorer delivery of the deal and lower levels of justice and trust. Affective commitment, on the other hand, was shown to be higher in the East than in the West German sample. Moderated multiple regression analyses revealed that the cognitive perception of psychological contract breaches is less related to emotional strain and distributive justice in the East German than in the West German sample. Results are discussed within the framework of economic and normative differences, and also with reference to social exchange theories.
Adams, J.S. (1963) `Toward an Understanding of Inequity', Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology67: 422—36.
2.
Adams, J.S. (1965) `Inequity in Social Exchange', pp. 267—99 in L. Berkowitz (ed.) Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 2. New York: Academic Press.
3.
Aguinis, H. (2004) Regression Analysis for Categorical Moderators . New York: Guilford Press.
4.
Aguinis, H., S.A. Petersen and C.A. Pierce (1999) `Appraisal of the Homogeneity of Error Variance Assumption and Alternatives to Multiple Regression for Estimating Moderating Effects of Categorical Variables', Organizational Research Methods2: 315—39.
5.
Aguinis, H., J.C. Beaty, R.J. Boik and C.A. Pierce (2005) `Effect Size and Power in Assessing Moderating Effects of Categorical Variables Using Multiple Regression: A 30-Year Review ', Journal of Applied Psychology90: 94—107.
6.
Aiken, L.S. and S.G. West (1991) Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions . Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
7.
Aryee, S., P.S. Budhwar and Z.X. Chen (2002) `Trust as a Mediator of the Relationship between Organizational Justice and Work Outcomes: Test of a Social Exchange Model ', Journal of Organizational Behavior23: 267—85.
8.
Bartlett, M.S. (1937) `Properties of Sufficiency and Statistical Tests ', Proceedings of the Royal SocietyA160: 268—82.
9.
Bock, R.D., R. Gibbons, S.G. Schilling, E. Muraki, D.T. Wilson and R. Wood (2003) `TESTFACT 4', computer software and manual. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International .
10.
Borg, I. and M. Braun (1996) `Work Values in East and West Germany: Different Weights, But Identical Structures', Journal of Organizational Behavior17: 541—55.
11.
Brixy, U. and B. Christensen (2002) Wie viel würden Arbeitslose für einen Arbeitsplatz in Kauf nehmen? [How Much Would Unemployed Do for a Job?], IAB-Kurzbericht Nr. 25. Nürnberg: Bundesanstalt für Arbeit.
12.
Brockner, J., G. Ackerman, J. Greenberg, M.J. Gelfand, A.M. Francesco, Z.X. Chen, K. Leung, G. Bierbrauer, C. Gomez, B.L. Kirkman and D. Shapiro (2001) `Cultural and Procedural Justice: The Influence of Power Distance on Reactions to Voice', Journal of Experimental Social Psychology37: 300—15.
13.
Cohen, J., P. Cohen, S.G. West and L.S. Aiken (2003) Applied Multiple Regression/ Correlational Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 3rd edn. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
14.
Cohen-Charash, Y. and P.E. Spector (2001) `The Role of Justice in Organizations: A Meta-Analysis ', Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes86(2): 278—321.
15.
Colquitt, J.A., D.E. Conlon, M.J. Wesson, C.O.L.H. Porter and K.Y. Ng (2001) `Justice at the Millennium: A Meta-Analytic Review of 25 Years of Organizational Justice Research', Journal of Applied Psychology86: 425—45.
16.
Cook, J. and T. Wall (1980) `New Work Attitude Measures of Trust, Organizational Commitment and Personal Need Non-Fulfilment', Journal of Occupational Psychology53: 39—52.
17.
Danne, G. (1996) Die Rolle von Mentalität und arbeitsbezogenen Wertstrukturen in Transformationsgesellschaften [The Role of Mentality in Work-Related Value Structures within Transforming Societies]. Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovac.
18.
Dormann, C. and D. Zapf (1999) `Social Support, Social Stressors at Work, and Depressive Symptoms: Testing for Main and Moderating Effects with Structural Equations in a Three-Wave Longitudinal Study', Journal of Applied Psychology84: 874—84.
19.
Fischer, R. (2004) `Organizational Reward Allocation: A Comparison of British and German Organizations', International Journal of Intercultural Relations28: 151—64.
20.
Fischer, R. and P.B. Smith (2004) `Values and Organizational Justice: Performance-and Seniority-Based Allocation Criteria in the United Kingdom and Germany', Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology35(6): 669—88.
21.
Folger, R. and R. Cropanzano (1998) Organizational Justice and Human Resource Management . London: Sage.
22.
Frese, M., D. Fay, T. Hilburger, K. Leng and A. Tag ( 1997) `The Concept of Personal Initiative: Operationalization, Reliability and Validity in Two German Samples', Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology70: 139—61.
23.
Grünert, H. and B. Lutz (2003) `Aus der Geschichte lernen? Neue Lösungen für die geburtenstarken Jahrgänge in Ostdeutschland', pp. 132—55 in K. Berger and G. Walden (eds) Öffentliche Ausbildungsförderung in Ostdeutschland unter der Lupe [Checking Public Promotion of Vocational Training in East Germany]. Bielefeld: Bertelsmann.
24.
Guest, D. (1998) `Is the Psychological Contract Worth Taking Seriously? ', Journal of Organizational Behavior19: 649—64.
25.
Guest, D. (2004) `The Psychology of the Employment Relationship: An Analysis Based on the Psychological Contract', Applied Psychology: An International Review53: 541—55.
26.
Guest, D. and N. Conway (2002) `Communicating the Psychological Contract: An Employer Perspective', Human Resource Management Journal12: 22—38.
27.
Heyn, S., K.U. Schnabel and P.M. Roeder (1997) `Von der Options- zur Realitätslogik. Stabilität und Wandel berufsbezogener Wertvorstellungen in der Status-passage Schule-Beruf', pp. 281—305 in A. Meier, U. Rabe-Kleberg and K. Rodax (eds) Transformation und Tradition in Ost und West [Transformation and Tradition in East and West]. Opladen: Leske und Budrich.
28.
Ho, V.T., L.R. Weingart and D.M. Rousseau (2004) `Responses to Broken Promises: Does Personality Matter?', Journal of Vocational Behavior65: 276—93.
29.
Jaccard, J. and R. Turrisi (2003) Interaction Effects in Multiple Regression. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
30.
Jacobsen, C.W. (1978) `Relationship between Dummy Variable Regression and Multiple Classification Analysis', Mid-American Review of Sociology3(1): 83—93.
31.
Jensen, R. (1978) `New Presses for Old Grapes I: Multiple Classification Analysis', Historical Methods11(4): 174—6.
32.
Kickul, J.R., G. Neuman, C. Parker and J. Finkl (2001) `Settling the Score: The Role of Organizational Justice in the Relationship between Psychological Contract Breach and Anticitizenship Behavior', Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal13: 77—93.
33.
Kickul, J., S.W. Lester and E. Belgio (2004) `Attitudinal and Behavioural Outcomes of Psychological Contract Breach: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the United States and Hong Kong Chinese', International Journal of Cross-CulturalManagement4: 229—52.
34.
Kirkcaldy, B.D., R.M. Trimpop and A. Furnham (1999) `German Unification: Persistent Differences between those from East and West', Journal of Managerial Psychology14(2): 121—33.
35.
Lester, S., W. Turnley, J. Bloodgood and M. Bolino (2002) `Not Seeing Eye to Eye: Differences in Supervisor and Subordinate Perceptions of and Attributions for Psychological Contract Breach', Journal of Organizational Behavior23: 39—56.
36.
Lewicki, R.J., C. Wiethoff and E.C. Tomlinson (2005) `What is the Role of Trust in Organizational Justice?', pp. 247—70 in J. Greenberg and J.A. Colquitt (eds) Handbook of Organizational Justice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
37.
Lührig, M. (2002) `Bericht der Bundesregierung zur Berufs- und Einkommenssituation von Frauen und Männern'; Ministerium der Finanzen des Landes Brandenburg, format B, 5; at: www.mi.brandenburg.de/sixcms/detail.php/57456
38.
Lutz, B. (2001) Im Osten ist die zweite Schwelle hoch. Fehlende Arbeitsplätze und Nachwuchsstau vor den Toren des Arbeitsmarktes [The Second Threshold is High in the East: Lacking Jobs and Offspring's Hold-Up at the Gate of the Labour Market] (Forschungsberichte aus dem ZSH 01—2). Halle: Zentrum für Sozialforschung Halle e.V. an der Martin-Luther-Universität.
39.
McLeod, L.D., K.A. Swygert and D. Thissen (2001) `Factor Analysis for Items Scored in Two Categories ', pp. 189—216 in D.M. Thissen and H. Wainer (eds) Test Scoring . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
40.
Maier, G.W., G. Rappensperger, L. v. Rosenstiel and I. Zwarg (1994) `Berufliche Ziele und Werthaltungen des Führungsnachwuchses in den alten und neuen Bundesländern' [Professional Goals and Values of Future Leaders in the Old and New Federal States], Zeitschrift für Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie38: 4—12.
41.
Mesner-Andolsek, D. and J. Stebe (2004) `Multinational Perspectives on Work Values and Commitment', International Journal of Cross-CulturalManagement4: 181—209.
42.
Mohr, G., A. Müller and T. Rigotti (2005a) `Normwerte der Skala Irritation: Zwei Dimensionen psychischer Beanspruchung' [Standardization Data of the Irritation Scale: Two Dimensions of Mental Strain], Diagnostica51(1): 12—20.
43.
Mohr, G., T. Rigotti and A. Müller (2005b) `Irritation — ein Instrument zur Erfassung psychischer Beanspruchung im Arbeitskontext. Skalen- und Itemparameter aus 15 Studien' [Irritation: An Instrument Assessing Mental Strain in Working Contexts: Scale and Item Parameters from 15 Studies], Zeitschrift für Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie49: 44—8.
44.
Mohr, G., A. Müller, T. Rigotti, Z. Aycan and F. Tschan (2006) `The Assessment of Psychological Strain in Work Contexts: Concerning the Structural Equivalency of Nine Language Adaptations of the Irritation Scale', European Journal of Psychological Assessment22: 198—206.
45.
Morris, M.W. and K. Leung (2000) `Justice for All? Progress in Research on Cultural Variation in the Psychology of Distributive and Procedural Justice', Applied Psychology: An International Review49: 100—32.
46.
Morrison, E.W. and S. Robinson (1997) `When Employees Feel Betrayed: A Model of How Psychological Contract Violation Develops', Academy of Management Review22: 226—56.
47.
Müller, A., G. Mohr and T. Rigotti (2004) `Differentielle Aspekte psychischer Beanspruchung aus Sicht der Zielorientierung. Die Faktorstruktur der Irritations-Skala' [Differential Aspects of Psychological Strain with Respect to Goal Orientation: The Factor Structure of the Irritation Scale], Zeitschrift für Differentielle und Diagnostische Psychologie25: 213—25.
48.
Oecd (1999) Classifying Educational Programmes. Manual for ISCED-97 Implementation in OECD Countries, 1999 edn. Paris: OECD.
49.
Otto, K. and C. Dalbert (forthcoming) `Job Insecurity, Work Involvement and its Consequences for Professional Identity', manuscript submitted for publication.
50.
Pillai, R., C.A. Schriesheim and E.S. Williams (1999) `Fairness Perceptions and Trust as Mediators for Transformational and Transactional Leadership: A Two-Sample Study', Journal of Management25: 897—933.
51.
Raja, U., G. Johns and F. Ntalianis (2004) `The Impact of Personality on Psychological Contracts ', Academy of Management Journal47: 350—67.
52.
Rigotti, T. (2005) `The Impact of Personality Traits on Expectations towards an Employment Relationship', poster at the International Symposium on Personality at Work, Lüneburg , 20—22 May 2005.
53.
Rigotti, T. and G. Mohr (2004) `Der Erklärungswert des Psychologischen Vertrages in drei organisationalen Kontexten', pp. 495—500 in W. Bungard, B. Koop and C. Liebig (eds) Psychologie und Wirtschaft leben. Aktuelle Themen der Wirtschaftspsychologie in Forschung und Praxis [Psychology and Economy Are Living: Recent Issues in Economic Psychology in Research and Practice]. Munich: Rainer Hampp.
54.
Robinson, S.L. (1996) `Trust and Breach of the Psychological Contract ', Administrative Science Quarterly41: 574—99.
55.
Rousseau, D.M. (1990) `New Hire Perceptions of their Own and their Employer's Obligations: A Study of Psychological Contracts', Journal of Organizational Behavior11: 389—400.
56.
Rousseau, D.M. and R. Schalk (2000) Psychological Contracts in Employment: Cross National Perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
57.
Schein, E.H. (1992) Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
58.
Spieß, E. and A. Brüch (2002) `Auswirkungen von interkulturellen Erfahrungen für die Motivation beruflicher Auslandsaufenthalte ost- und westdeutscher Studierender' [Effects of Cross-Cultural Contacts and Experiences on the Motivation of Students from East and West Germany to Work Abroad], Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie33: 219—28.
59.
Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder ( 2005) `Erwerbstätigkeit — Arbeitsmarkt' [Gainful Employment — Labour Market]; at: www.statistik-portal.de/Statistik-Portal/de_jb02_jahrtab13.asp [Online] (accessed 13 April 2005).
60.
Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland (2005) `Erwerbstätigkeit' [Gainful Employment]; at: www.destatis.de/themen/d/thm_erwerbs.php (accessed 13 April 2005).
61.
Thomas, D.C., K. Au and E.C. Ravlin (2003) `Cultural Variation and the Psychological Contract ', Journal of Organizational Behavior24: 451—71.
62.
Tremblay, M. and P. Roussel (2001) `Modeling the Role of Organizational Justice: Effects on Satisfaction and Unionization Propensity of Canadian Managers', The International Journal of Human Resource Management12: 717—73.
63.
Tyler, T.R., E.A. Lind and Y.L. Huo (2000) `Cultural Values and Authority Relations: The Psychology of Conflict Resolution across Cultures', Psychology, Public Policy and Law6: 1138—63.
64.
Wasti, S.A. (2003) `The Influence of Cultural Values on Antecedents of Organizational Commitment: An Individual-Level Analysis', Applied Psychology: An International Review52: 533—54.
65.
Younts, C.W. and C.W. Mueller (2001) `Justice Processes: Specifying the Mediating Role of Distributive Justice', American Sociological Review66: 125—45.
