Psychological contract in IT outsourcing: A systematic literature review

Recent IT Outsourcing (ITO) studies have highlighted the importance of a construct known as the Psychological Contract (PC) and its impact over the outcome of ITO agreements. However, there is still a lack of a consolidated view on the subject matter. To address this matter, we conducted a systematic review and analysis on the PC within ITO studies by examining the main themes, topics and methodologies that have been used in the research to date. Our findings suggest that despite the importance of the PC in ITO being well recognised, it is still an under explored concept with only 12 studies identified to date. Furthermore, subsequent analysis of these studies also highlighted several gaps caused by a lack of consistency over the definition, boundaries and application of the PC. To ensure that these gaps are addressed, we propose several recommendations that we encourage future studies take into consideration.