Psychological contract’s effect on job mobility: Evidence from Chinese construction worker

• Main Authors: Xincheng Wang, Jide Sun, Xiaoxue Liu, Mian Zheng, Jiawen Fu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2019-01-01
• Series: Ekonomska Istraživanja
• Subjects: psychological contract; migrant construction worker; job mobility; evolutionary game theory
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2019.1638280

The subject of this study is that the psychological contract (PC) approaches to job mobility within the construction industry with special reference to migrant construction workers in China. Using a semi-structured interview to elicit a full range of the PC’s content of construction worker, we unravel the mechanism of such contract to influence the informal job mobility of workers through the lens of the evolutionary game framework. The results demonstrate that, in the case of fulfilling PC, the informal job mobility of workers is under control, and both workers and employers benefit from this situation. This study deepens the understanding of the PC’s effect on the job mobility of construction workers in China during the course of economic change. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.