Owner-employee relations in small firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the type of exchange relationship that small business owners establish with their employees. In particular, this study examines how the personality trait of “conscientiousness” among small business owners relates to relational “psychological contracts,” breach and violation that develop between owners and employees. Design/methodology/approach – This was a quantitative survey design conducted in Canada. Participants were 253 employees and the 50 small firm owners for whom they worked. Findings – Results indicate that owner conscientiousness was positively associated with a relational psychological contract with employees and perceived breach mediated a negative relationship between owner-rated relational contract obligations and feelings of contract violation among employees. Owner-rated relational contract obligations also mediated a negative relationship between owner conscientiousness and employee perceptions of breach and violation. Practical imp...