Idiosyncratic deals in less competitive labor markets: testing career i-deals in the Greek context of high uncertainties

This study investigates the impact of pre-hiring (ex-ante) and after-hiring (ex-post) negotiation on organizational citizen behavior (OCB), through three serially connected relationships: (1) between the timing of negotiation and career i-deals (idiosyncratic deals), moderated by feelings of self-worth; (2) between career i-deals and OCB, mediated by psychological contract fulfillment, and employee organizational commitment; and (3) between employer and employee psychological contract fulfillment, mediated by employee organizational commitment. To do so, it utilizes the social exchange theory, and a sample of 1768 employees working within 162 private organizations in the current context of high economic and financial uncertainties in Greece. Using a comprehensive framework tested by structural equation multilevel modeling, the study conclusions imply that in the less-competitive labor market of Greece, (a) core self-evaluation (CSE), which reflect individual differences, do not moderate the relationship between timing of negotiation and career i-deals, but independently predicts career i-deals; (b) career i-deals influence psychological contract expressed in promises fulfillment (PF); employee organizational commitment constitutes the binding epicenter of the relationships between employer and employees PF and between career i-deals and OCB. Based on these findings, the study has several theoretical and practical implications for high uncertainty contexts.