The Role of psychological contracts within internal service networks

Abstract

This article explores internal service relationships within the service delivery process of a large telecommunications company. The empirical research generates an expression of the psychological contracts held between internal customers and suppliers based upon the content analysis of qualitative interviews. Seven hundred and twenty three contractual expectations are reduced into 17 categories and this analytical framework is applied to measure the strength of the psychological contract between three interdependent service groups. The research explores how established psychological contracts encouraged the provision of flexible internal services and how psychological contract breach precipitated service delivery problems with clear implications for managers and service organisations