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An exploration of small firm psychological contracts

Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, c.d.atkinson{at}mmu.ac.uk

It is argued here that more sophisticated frameworks of analysis than currently exist are required to support deeper understanding of small firm employment relationships. A psychological contract framework is adopted, presenting data on three small firm case studies and contrasting this with existing perspectives on small firm employment relationships. The degree of heterogeneity demonstrated in employment relationships in the small firm sector leads to the argument that a single typology of `small firm' employment relationships is not possible. While small firms may differ in nature to large firms, there is a range of forces in so heterogeneous a sector that go to create employment relationships and a narrow framework, especially one predicated upon notions of size, will not adequately reflect the complexities of the relationships under consideration. A broader, less deterministic, framework such as the psychological contract supports the development of more nuanced understandings of small firm employment relationships.

Key Words: employment relationships • psychological contract • small firms

Work, Employment & Society, Vol. 22, No. 3, 447-465 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0950017008093480


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