Der psychologische Vertrag – die implizite Seite des Personalmanagements

The employment relationship is not only based on a legal contract, but also on a mutual exchange of perceived promises and obligations between employee and employer – the psychological contract. Although the origins of the concept are rooted already in the nineteen-sixties, it has just recently evolved into a ‘fashionable’ framework and a mature phase in the development of the concept has been reached. Nevertheless several critiques of the psychological contract have also appeared, limitations remain and conceptual shortcomings require development. To point out those theory inherent disputes is a major purpose of the paper. Furthermore a conceptualization of the psychological contract is offered. It shows that the psychological contract is a concept that captures a fundamental behavioral force of employers and employees throughout the whole duration of the employment and the entire set of HRM-practices