“Silent reactions”: a PLS-NCA study of workplace conflict and psychological contract breach

Purpose Taking conservation of resources (COR) theory as a theoretical base, the study aims to examine the role of psychological contract breach (PCB) as an underlying mechanism through which workplace conflict impacts employee silence. Task and relationship conflicts were considered two dimensions of workplace conflict, while three forms of employee silence (acquiescent, defensive and prosocial) were considered dependent variables. Design/methodology/approach Responses were collected from 430 employees working in the Indian Information Technology sector. Variance-based PLS-SEM and necessary condition analysis (NCA) were used to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings The results showed that task and relationship conflicts significantly impact acquiescent, defensive and prosocial silence. PCB significantly mediated the relationship between workplace conflicts (task and relationship conflict) and employee silence (acquiescent, defensive and prosocial). Practical implications This research’s implications are beneficial for organizations that want to assess the silence behavior of employees that arises due to conflict at the workplace and further breach of the psychological contract. Originality/value The study’s novel contribution examines how PCB mediates the association between workplace conflict (task and relationship conflicts) and the three silences (acquiescent, defensive and prosocial).