The JGM BitBlog: Broken Transactional Promises Hurt More for Expatriate Employees in the UAE
Khaldoun I. I. Ababneh, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
Raed Ababneh, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
Mohammed Al Waqfi, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
Evangelos Dedousis, American University in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
In a country where approximately 90% of the workforce is comprised of expatriate employees, it is vital for organizations, managers, and employees to comprehend what makes or breaks the expatriation experience. Recently, we conducted an experimental study in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by drawing on the Affective Events Theory (AET) to understand how broken employment promises, known as psychological contract (PC) breaches, impact expatriate employees' emotions, attitudes, and behaviors.
In line with the AET, our experimental study findings offer causal evidence that supervisors' failure to fulfill employment promises adversely impacts expatriate employees' perceptions of PC breaches, emotions, attitudes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intentions), and performance (task performance and organizational citizenship behavior). Interestingly, breaches of transactional promises such as salary and benefits caused more damage than relational ones (e.g., career development and job autonomy). This finding contrasts with those of Western-centric studies and highlights the practical realities of expatriate life in the Gulf region in general and the UAE in particular.
Our study findings go beyond theory by offering clear recommendations for managers: do not make promises you cannot keep, communicate transparently, and prioritize fulfilling employees' transactional expectations. For expatriate employees: manage your expectations and seek clarity about job offers and working conditions before signing on for expatriation.
To read the full article, please see the Journal of Global Mobility publication:
Ababneh, K.I., Ababneh, R., Al Waqfi, M. and Dedousis, E. (2025), "Expatriate employees' reactions to psychological contract breach: an empirical test of affective events theory", Journal of Global Mobility, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 292-322. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-02-2024-0014" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-02-2024-0014
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Professor Jan Selmer, Ph.D.
Founding Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Global Mobility (JGM)
Department of Management, Aarhus University
E-mail:
selmer@mgmt.au.dkTwitter: @JanSelmer_JGM
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