Abstract:
Even though the impact of psychological contract to several job related
outcomes is well documented, less attention has been drawn to check
the relationship between psychological contract and job performance,
especially in the Sri Lankan context. The main purpose of this study is
to identify whether there is a positive relationship between the contents
of the psychological contract and job performance of audit trainees
who have engaged in international audit firms. Further, the current
study was designed to identify the relationships of transactional
contract and relational contract on the job performance of audit
trainees. This is cross-sectional descriptive research in nature. A
standard questionnaire was used to collect primary data through a
survey. The respondents were the audit trainees those who are working
for international audit firms, selected from four international audit
firms operating in Sri Lanka. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and one- way
ANOVA was used to analyze the data and to make conclusions. Findings discovered that the contents of a psychological contract have
a significant positive relationship with the job performance of audit
trainees. Further, it was revealed that both transactional and relational
contracts also have positive relationships with the job performance of
audit trainees in international audit firms. Finally, it is concluded that
psychological contract has a strong positive significant relationship
with audit trainees’ job performance and further, it is concluded that
the relational contract has a major impact on the job performance of
audit trainees than transactional contract. It is suggested that audit
firms may address the requirements and expectations of the trainees in
order to attain high performance. Cross validation of the findings of
this study to be done in different industries and cultures comparatively
a bigger sample in these subsequent studies are recommended, which
will add more insights to the substance of the present study.
