High-performance work practices: overcoming employee frustration from a breached psychological contract

Purpose This study aims to explore how high-performance work practices (HPWPs) influence expatriates' decisions to engage in constructive, rather than negative, behaviors in response to their perceived psychological contract being unfulfilled (PCU). Design/methodology/approach A survey of 305 expatriates in Dubai's SMEs was conducted. Hypotheses were evaluated using the SPSS PROCESS macro, and the model was assessed using SmartPLS. Employees from various industrial sectors provided data. Findings Organizational creativity was not influenced by employee frustration but was positively influenced by the perception of the psychological contract being unfulfilled (PSU). HPWPs moderated the latter relationship. This study highlights the organizational priority to reduce employee frustration stemming from perceived resource loss for SMEs globally. Originality/value Until now, limited research had explored the constructive employee behavioral outcomes resulting from PCU. This study uniquely investigates how these perceptions lead to resource loss and how HPWPs serve as a resource gain.