Abstract
Research on psychological contracts is increasingly focusing on the mutual relationship between employee and employer. In an organization several agents act as employers towards their employees and the present study directs the attention to the supervisor’s role in the psychological contract. This study examines the relation between supervisor communication, as reported by both supervisor and employees, and employees’ rating of employer inducements. In addition the study tests the effect of employer inducements on team performance. Data were collected from 42 supervisors and 151 employees from a Norwegian hospital. The study found strong support for supervisor communication, as perceived by employees, predicting the employees’ rating of employer inducements. There was however no support for supervisor communication as perceived by the supervisor. The effect of employer inducements on team performance was also partially supported. The findings indicate that supervisor communication is an antecedent to psychological contracts, although the results are unclear about how sensitive the supervisor is to individual exchange relationships with employees. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.