Integrating Psychological Contracts and Ecosystems in Career Studies and Management

Psychological contracts, an individual’s system of beliefs regarding exchange arrangements, are key components in the construction and development of individual careers and the career systems of organizations and societies. In explicating careers and their management, multiple stakeholders are increasingly relevant to worker psychological contracts as individuals shoulder greater responsibility for their own careers and seek resources and ties with diverse career agents. The roles played by stakeholders who serve as career agents vary as a function of the larger career ecosystem in which the individual is embedded. We offer an ecosystem’s perspective as a bridge for understanding the intersection between psychological contracts, careers and the multiple stakeholders of each.