Beyond Exchange and Affect: An Updated Meta-Analytic Review and Regulatory Framework for Psychological Contract Breach

Abstract Psychological contract breach has primarily been studied through social exchange theory and affective events theory, but these perspectives fail to fully explain why breach produces such wide-ranging effects across attitudes, behaviors, and wellbeing. Through the most comprehensive meta-analysis of breach to date – 517 studies, 91 correlates of breach – we conduct a systematic synthesis of the empirical landscape. Our work offers three contributions to the literature. First, we reveal effects of breach that extend beyond exchange disruptions or emotional triggers, suggesting the need for a theoretical lens that can account for diverse regulatory responses across domains. We integrate these findings with self-regulation theory to develop a process-oriented framework organizing breach responses around three interconnected regulatory mechanisms – contract monitoring, discrepancy evaluation, and resource regulation – that operate across individual, relational, and collective levels. Second, we examine temporal directionality in relation to key correlates, revealing sophisticated patterns that challenge reciprocity assumptions. Third, we examine the conceptualization and measurement of breach, finding generally limited differences across operationalizations. Our framework addresses current theoretical tensions and offers a generalizable account of how employees manage workplace disruptions over time.