Determinants of Employee Psychological Contract Breach and Its Consequences for Organisational Citizenship Behaviour in Nigerian Manufacturing Firms

This study empirically investigates the determinants of psychological contract breach and its consequences for organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) among employees of Nigerian manufacturing firms, with data drawn from companies in the Aba Industrial Cluster, Abia State, South East Nigeria. Psychological contracts, as employees' subjective beliefs about mutual employment obligations, are frequently violated in Nigeria's challenging business environment, yet their behavioural consequences remain empirically underexplored in indigenous manufacturing contexts. A quantitative analytical design was employed, with 245 employees completing validated measures of psychological contract breach, perceived organisational support, and OCB dimensions. Multiple regression and path analysis were applied to test the hypothesized model. Rousseau's Psychological Contract Theory and Organ's OCB Framework provide the theoretical foundation. Results confirm that psychological contract breach significantly and negatively predicts all five dimensions of OCB, with the strongest suppression effects on altruism and civic virtue behaviours. Perceived organisational support moderates the breach-OCB relationship, buffering negative consequences among employees who feel genuinely valued by their organizations. The study identifies poor communication of policy changes and management failure to honour verbally communicated promises as the primary triggers of breach perceptions in the sample. The analytical gap addressed is the absence of indigenous manufacturing context data on psychological contracts in Nigeria's HR literature, which has previously relied heavily on Western or service sector samples. Recommendations include proactive psychological contract communication strategies and regular management accountability audits. Keywords: psychological contract breach, organisational citizenship behaviour, manufacturing, Abia State, Nigeria