Abstract

The objective of this study was based on the social exchange theory (SET) to investigate the effect of psychological contract (PC) on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and the mediating effects of the professors’ emotion labor strategy (ELS) on the relationship between PC and OCB.  The sample was 504 professors randomly selected from 40 public universities in China. Measures of psychological contract, organizational citizenship behavior, and emotional labor strategy were administered to the respondents. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were conducted on the data collected. The results indicate a significant relationship between PC and OCB. In addition, ELS plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between PC and OCB. The results provide not only some evidence by which the nature of PC affects OCB but also a theoretical framework for investigating the mediating role of ELS in the relationship between PC and OCB. In addition, the results have important practical implications for training, motivating, and evaluating professors.

Key words: Social exchange theory, psychological contract, organizational citizenship behavior, emotional labor strategy.