Psychological contract violation, turnover intention, relationship quality and workplace deviance among employees of agriculture and food directorates in Kenya

Abstract

Due to the increased incidence of deviant behaviour within organisations, there is a growing interest among researchers and practitioners in the topic of workplace deviance. Earlier studies have demonstrated a connection between psychological contract violation and workplace deviance, but little research has been conducted on the moderated mediation of Relationship Quality and Turnover Intention. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Psychological Contract Violation on Workplace Deviance through the moderation of Relationship Quality and mediation of Turnover Intention. The specific objectives are to examine: the effects of Psychological Contract Violation on Workplace Deviance; effects of Psychological Contract Violation on Turnover Intention; effects of Turnover Intention on Workplace Deviance, and the mediation of Turnover Intention on the relationship between Psychological Contract Violation and Workplace Deviance. It was also to establish the moderation of Relationship Quality on the relationship between; Psychological Contract Violation and Workplace Deviance; Psychological Contract Violation and Turnover Intention; and Turnover Intention with Workplace Deviance. Finally, the study sought to determine the moderating effect of Relationship Quality on the indirect effect of Psychological Contract Violation on Workplace Deviance through Turnover Intention. The psychological contract and social exchange theories guided this study. In accordance with the positivism research philosophy and explanatory research design, stratified and systematic random sampling methods were used to select 443 Kenyan Agriculture and Food Directorate employees. Self- administered structured questionnaires anchored on seven-point Likert scale were used to collect data. Reliability and validity of the research instrument were tested using Cronbach Alpha and Factor Analysis respectively. Hierarchical regression models, using Hayes Process Macro were used to analyze data and test hypotheses. The findings of the study show that: Psychological Contract Violation has an effect on Workplace Deviance [ß = .1041; p = 0033], while it has influence on Turnover Intention at [ß = .5382; p = .0000]. Turnover Intention does influence Workplace Deviance [ß = -.1307; p = .0036]. and mediates the relationship between Psychological Contract Violation and Workplace Deviance at ß = -.0703, and CI = (-.1257 to -.0200). Relationship Quality moderated the relationship between Psychological Contract Violation and Workplace Deviance at ß = -.2548, and p = .0000. Relationship Quality did not moderate Psychological Contract Violation and Turnover Intention, at ß = .0153, p = .6072 with a CI of -.0431 to .0737. Relationship Quality moderated Turnover Intention and Workplace Deviance at [ß = -.1037, p = .0078 with a CI of -.1801 to -.0274. Finally, conditional indirect effects of Relationship Quality indicate that the moderation is significant at one standard deviation higher than the mean, (ß = -.0482, SE = .0182, CI = [-.0923 to -.0184]). This study contributes to the theoretical knowledge base of workplace deviance by including Relationship Quality as a moderator and Turnover Intention as a mediator. Organizational managers should inculcate good relations with their employees as this determines the engagement in Workplace Deviance. These insights are helpful to policy makers in the management of workplace deviance.