Determinants of public service employee corruption: a conceptual model from the psychological contract perspective

A conceptual model is presented that explores the potential role of psychological contracts (PCs) upon corrupt acts within the public sector. The propositions we offer are based upon theoretical and empirical studies within the economics and management literatures. These have significant managerial implications because we postulate that even functional work environments can help foster corruption. Corruption may result when managerial decision makers overlook the range of expectations, embedded within the PC. On the one hand, contracts stimulate functional behaviours but when violations to these employee contracts occur, it is postulated that the resultant behaviour could lead to corruption because of the need for employees to recoup what they perceived are owed to them. Such propositions need to be empirically tested because, if confirmed will widen current thinking in relation to the antecedent factors causing corruption within the public service

Perceptions of organizational downsizing

This paper uses cognitive dissonance theory as a foundation for developing hypotheses about how past experience as a layoff agent influences respondents' perceptions of organizational downsizing. Consistent with many theoretical frameworks in organization studies, cognitive dissonance is conceptualized as an unmeasured construct that mediates between layoff agency and perceptions of organizational downsizing. Perceptions of organizational downsizing are operationalized along four different dimensions. The hypotheses about the effects of layoff agency on perceptions of organizational downsizing are tested with survey data, using controls for the respondent's past experience as a layoff victim and the respondent's ideological beliefs about business. The results show partial support for the hypotheses, indicating that layoff agents see downsizing as more inevitable and less of a breach of the implied contract between employer and employee than respondents without layoff agency experience. The results also reveal persistent effects of respondents' layoff victim experience and their ideological beliefs on their perceptions of downsizing