Corporate Goodwill and Ethical Attitudes: Mitigating Psychological Contract Breach Among Taiwanese Employees

This study examines how demographic factors (education level, marital status, and gender) moderate the relationship between psychological contract breach (PCB) and turnover intention among Taiwanese employees. Using survey data from 398 respondents and structural equation modeling, three PCB dimensions are investigated: employee care, fair pay, and fair evaluation. Results reveal three key findings that challenge existing Western theories: First, fair pay significantly predicts turnover intention across all demographic groups (β = 0.400‒0.600), confirming the primacy of transactional breaches in East Asian contexts. Second, fair evaluation shows differential effects based on gender, marital status, and education level, with only male, married, and postgraduate employees showing significant turnover responses to evaluation unfairness. Third, contrary to relational contract theory, employee care showed no significant relationship with turnover intention across all groups, suggesting that paternalistic care may be less valued than economic fairness in contemporary Taiwan. These findings challenge assumptions about overeducated employees’ hypersensitivity to PCB and highlight the need for culturally sensitive HR strategies that prioritize compensation fairness while tailoring evaluation systems to employee demographics.