Kevin Henderson

This study examines sequential psychological contract breach, which is defined as patterns of breach and fulfillment that unfold over time within the same organization, such that earlier events shape responses to subsequent ones. Using an experimental design, we manipulated breach sequences across two time periods among 329 college students. Participants either experienced no breach, breach early, breach later, or breach twice. Results show that breach negatively impacts trust and job satisfaction and positively impacts violation and intention to quit. In addition, participants not experiencing breach had the most positive attitudes, while participants experiencing two breaches had the most negative attitudes, but declines were less pronounced following a second breach. Timing also mattered. While attitudes were significantly worse at the end of the study for those who experienced breach only later, early breach had a more significant negative impact on attitudes, but attitudes were able to recover following subsequent fulfillment. Together, these findings underscore the importance of breach history and timing in shaping employee reactions, contribute to the limited research on post-breach processes, and highlight the dynamic nature of psychological contracts, including conditions under which organizations may recover from breach.