The Psychological Contract in Knowledge Management Service
- Noga Chipman-Steinwartz
- Aug 1, 2007
- 4 min read
The psychological contract is a well-known concept in organizational culture and labor relations. In its traditional sense, it is defined as an unwritten contract consisting of the sum of implicit and explicit mutual expectations between the organization and its employees. A component of the psychological contract might be, for example, the employee's expectation that the organization will provide interesting work or that they will be allowed to participate in the organization's decision-making process. Another example is the organization's implicit or explicit expectations of its employees, such as expectations to invest beyond working hours when the need arises or expectations to show loyalty to the organization.
In the world of knowledge management, this concept takes on new meanings: many studies have found that employees' prior expectations relate to their level of satisfaction and commitment to work. As such, one can assume and say that employees' expectations of the knowledge management project they are entering will predict their level of satisfaction with the project and their willingness to invest time in inputting content, sharing knowledge, and creating new knowledge. Indeed, reality in many organizations shows that the psychological contract plays a significant role in the success of knowledge management projects. To understand how the psychological contract affects the knowledge management project, we will try to detail the components of the concept and its various aspects.
The psychological contract is often built not from the promises the organization makes but from those promises that the employee believes the organization is committed to fulfilling. That is, in the process of building a new knowledge service, one should not rely only on the information we know we have conveyed to the employee but try to clarify with them what they believe the new knowledge service can do for them and what they expect from it regarding the streamlining of work processes. Exposing these hidden expectations will allow us to adapt them to reality and prevent situations where the employee is disappointed with a knowledge service, not because it isn't good, but because it isn't involved in work processes where the employee thought it would be involved. Hidden expectations can surface through interview conversations and focus groups, where one can hear the employee and respond to and address their statements.
The Psychological Contract: Its Dimensions and Implications for Knowledge Management
The psychological contract has two dimensions: the scope dimension and the fulfillment dimension. The scope of the psychological contract refers to the number of expectations an employee has from the knowledge management solution offered (many expectations or few expectations). The degree of fulfillment of the psychological contract signifies the extent to which the employee feels that the knowledge management solution meets their prior expectations. Research shows that employees with fewer expectations tend to demonstrate higher satisfaction and commitment. The reason is that when expectations are few, they tend to be targeted and focused, making it easier to meet all of them. In contrast, expectations become more complex and difficult to fulfill as they increase.
The implication is that when presenting a knowledge management solution to employees, it's beneficial to be specific and targeted to meet their expectations. For example, let's compare two cases: in the first, the employee believed that the knowledge management solution would enable better service. In the second case, the employee believed that the solution would enable better service to customers while saving work time on their part. Since implementing the solution initially often requires additional time investment until the system is fully integrated, the second employee may experience a psychological contract breach and consequently show lower satisfaction and commitment to the tool than the first employee.
Another aspect of the psychological contract is that it is subjective, dynamic, and changes over time. This means that expectations are not uniform across the employee population, and initial expectations may differ significantly from those that develop later. For example, the expectations of project leaders, content experts, and the user community may differ and require different approaches from the tool designers. Additionally, it's important to try to identify these expectations at different project stages and among the various stakeholders in the system to understand the implications they may have for future work.
In conclusion, it's important to remember that a knowledge management solution is not evaluated solely on its quality and the effectiveness of its design and construction process. A knowledge management solution is also evaluated on how well it is integrated into work processes and the organizational culture that characterizes its users. Therefore, attention must be paid to aligning expectations (both articulated and unarticulated), which form the psychological contract that develops toward the knowledge management solution. This approach is a cornerstone in the success of the knowledge management tool and in achieving the goals for which it was designed.
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