The relationship between career-related antecedents and graduates' anticipatory psychological contracts

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate career-related antecedents of graduates’ anticipatory psychological contracts. Design/Methodology/Approach: A survey was filled out by a sample of 722 graduates addressing questions on career strategy, individual career management, work importance, and beliefs about employer and employee obligations. Findings. Graduates with a high score on careerism, who are engaged in a high level of individual career management and with management ambitions, reported a higher level of employer obligations and a higher level of employee obligations related to flexibility and employability. Implications: This study adds to the literature by addressing the initial stage of psychological contract formation, taking place in the anticipatory socialization stage. The obligations that are salient in graduates’ pre-employment beliefs are likely to affect their psychological contracts after organizational entry. Moreover, depending on their career goals and other career-related factors, graduates approach their future employment relationship with different beliefs about what they should contribute and what they will receive in return. Employers may use these findings when working out recruitment strategies for young graduates. They also provide input for actively managing the expectations of new hires. Originality/Value. Most studies on psychological contracts addressed the relationship between employees’ psychological contract evaluations and subsequent attitudes and behaviors. Only recently scholars have started to address the topic of psychological contract formation. This study adds to this line of research by addressing the pre-employment stage. It also adds to the literature by addressing the relationship between career-related antecedents and psychological contracts.