Academics and Breach of the Psychological Contract in the University Sector: Insights from an Australian Business School

Changing government policy and internationalisation of the Australian University sector are seeing increased competition between universities, and expectations of academics have greatly increased. These environmental and organisational changes are dramatically altering the context in which academics' psychological contracts are formed and enacted Further, this changing environment constitutes a context in which breaches of psychological contracts are more likely to occur. Such breaches have generally been seen to result in feelings of anger, betrayal and resentment, which in turn have been associated with a resultant decrease in employee motivation, organisational commitment, loyalty and trust, as well as an increase in staff turnover. This paper explores the antecedents and outcomes of breaches of the psychological contracts established by university academics. In doing so, it specifically seeks to enhance knowledge and understanding of the effects of breaches on teaching and how factors such as academic professionalism moderate the academics' response to contract breach.