If you digress, shall we not neglect? Investigating the moderating role of individual cultural values while predicting job neglect among doctors as footprint of psychological contract violation

Services provided by the health care sector is imperative for the society. Therefore, deviant behaviors among doctors is crucial to address for ensuring high-quality patient care, maintaining healthcare standards, and enhancing overall organizational efficiency in public sector hospitals. This study aims to predict deviant behavior resulting from psychological contract violations among doctors employed in public sector hospitals in Pakistan. It also examines the moderating effects of individual cultural differences, particularly mastery orientation and gender. The objective of the study is to emphasize on the factors contributing in negative behavioral outcomes in healthcare sector resultantly providing compromised services to the patients. A cross-sectional, two-way research design was employed, targeting doctors working in public hospitals. Structured questionnaires were employed for data collection. Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS and Smart-PLS 4.0, employing partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings reveal a significant positive relationship between psychological contract violation and job neglect. Furthermore, mastery orientation was found to moderate this relationship: doctors with high mastery orientation were less likely to exhibit deviant behavior in response to psychological contract violations compared to those with low mastery orientation. Gender was also examined as a moderating variable with significant impact. The study highlights the importance of managing counterproductive behaviors among doctors by implementing appropriate pre- and post-intervention strategies. Limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.