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There have been increasing calls to explore the psychological contract from the lens of power. By addressing this gap, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the assumption of mutuality in relation to power dynamics in the employment relationship.

A total of 43 in-depth interviews are conducted with 6 managerial and 37 non-managerial respondents in three major call center organizations in Pakistan. Template analysis is used to analyze the data.

By undermining the assumption of implicit mutuality, the analysis reveals indeterminacy, an issue that has been frequently underplayed in the psychological contract research. The results further suggest that – in reality – employability, flexibility and employee training do not promote mutuality to the extent that is theoretically assumed because of the employers’ manipulation of these issues in their own favor.

The focus on call centers limits the generality of findings with further qualitative research needed in other industries to explore how power asymmetries impact upon mutuality in different working environments.

The research implications suggest the significance of timely and explicit communication in order to curtail indeterminacy in the employment relationship. This will not only reduce the development of breach perceptions among employees but will also reinforce their psychological contracts with the organization.

This research contributes by highlighting the significance of mutual dependence rather than mutuality in the psychological contract. The mutual dependence approach efficiently acknowledges the implications of power asymmetries which remain largely under-researched in the psychological contract theory.

Relationship marketing has been playing an important role in the development of marketing theory and practice. Though the concept has been extensively applied in international marketing in understanding the dynamics of exporter-importer relationships, few studies have looked at dyadic data to investigate the impact of mutuality of relational variables on the exporter-importer relationships. The objective of this study is to understand the impact of mutuality of key relational variables on exporter-importer relationship performance. A dyadic model of mutuality is proposed. The model highlights the impact of balance, level and quality of perceptual bi-directionality of relational variables.

The model was tested using dyadic data collected from exporter-importer relationships involving Australian exporters and their Southeast Asian import partners through a cross-sectional, quantitative survey. Mutuality of relationship constructs was measured using the perceptual bi-directionality (PBD) method.

The results support the central hypothesis that mutuality of relational constructs has an impact on relationship performance.

The study is the first to apply the perceptual bi-directionality method to measure mutuality of relational constructs in an exporter-importer setting. The study contributes to the general understanding of international business and exporter-importer relationship performance in particular.

This paper aims to adopt the mutuality perspective from the field of human resource management (HRM) to examine family firms, specifically human resource (HR) practices that are likely to be found in Thai family firms.

The cross-case analysis of three successful unreformed or authoritarian family firms in Thailand draws on semistructured interviews with top managers and/or HR managers as well as the employees of each family firm, field visits to each firm and a review of archival documents and Web-based resources.

This paper proposes that the recruitment of employees via alternative or substream recruitment channels (especially the recruitment of current employees’ relatives or family members), paternalistic employee relations practices and the management of aging employees, specifically with regard to the absence of retirement age, the facilitation of financial planning, reduced workload, the appointment of mentors/advisors and the encouragement of aging employees to transfer knowledge to younger generations tend to be found across Thai family firms, especially the unreformed or authoritarian type. These HR practices are implemented across family firms because they help to manage high levels of debt that have accumulated over many years so that employees attain financial literacy before retirement and to foster and maintain positive relationships between managers and employees across firms. These positive relationships thus foster the retention of capable and loyal, aging employees who have been developed within the firm and who have worked with the firm for a long time (so-called Look-Mor), leading to the maintenance of tacit knowledge and experience within firms and the alleviation of the problem of labor shortage. Theoretically, this paper proposes that a family-like corporate culture typically found in family firms serves as the antecedent to the adoption and implementation of those HR practices (so-called culture determinism). In particular, the fit between corporate culture and HR practices is likely to foster the strong commitment among employees to firms and the feelings of job security among these employees (so-called commitment match in the mutuality of the employment relationship).

An important limitation of this study concerns its methodology. Because this study is based on the case studies of only three unreformed or authoritarian family firms located in Thailand, the findings in this paper only propose substream or alternative HR practices that are likely to be found across Thai family firms; therefore, generalization to all other types of family firms and all other family firms across countries is not possible. Examining whether the HR practices proposed in this paper are uniquely found across family firms should be the subject of future research. Another limitation of this study is that it does not include firms located in other industries, such as the health-care industry and the hotel and restaurant industry. Future research could explore the HR practices implemented by family firms in these industries. Moreover, quantitative studies using large samples of family firms across industries might be useful in deepening the understanding of the HR practices implemented in family firms from the mutuality perspective on HRM.

This paper has practical implications for top managers and/or HR managers across firms not only in Thailand but also in other countries. First, top managers and/or HR managers across family firms, especially those of the unreformed or authoritarian type, should implement the HR practices proposed in this paper that are aligned well with a family-like corporate culture found in family firms to foster the strong commitment among employees to firms and the feeling of job security among these employees. Second, other types of firms (e.g. publicly owned corporations and multinational corporations) that do not have a family-like corporate culture may have to adapt some of these HR practices to their corporate culture and workplace atmosphere within their firms. Third, to manage and retain high-quality aging employees within firms, top managers and HR managers across various types of firms should implement some of the HR practices for managing aging employees proposed in this paper so that the firms can retain invaluable aging employees over time.

This paper provides social/policy implications for the government and/or relevant public agencies of Thailand and of several other emerging market economies. These governments should encourage the firms located in their countries to implement some of the HR practices proposed in this paper to maintain and support knowledgeable and skillful aging employees in their firms.

This paper contributes to the two main bodies of literature on HRM and family business in the following ways. First, most previous studies on HRM have focused on the mainstream HR practices used in large firms while neglecting the alternative or substream HR practices used in family firms. Additionally, relatively little research has specifically examined the mutuality perspective with regard to HRM. Thus, this paper extends the literature on HRM and family business settings regarding HR practices that are likely to be found across Thai family firms, corporate culture as an antecedent of the adoption and implementation of those HR practices, and the fit between corporate culture and HR practices with respect to mutuality in the employment relationship. Moreover, the literature on HRM has typically overlooked the underresearched country of Thailand; most studies in this area have primarily focused on developed countries or other emerging market economies, including China and India. The findings of this paper provide an in-depth analysis of HR practices that are likely to be found in family firms located in the emerging market economy of Thailand according to the mutuality perspective with regard to HRM.

Better Health, Better Care Action Plan (Scottish Government, 2007) sets out how the Scottish Government intends to strengthen public ownership of the National Health Service in Scotland. The purpose of this paper is to advance extant knowledge by understanding how a state-led mutual health policy may be interpreted, and importantly, communicated.

The definitional problem of mutuality will be discussed and analysed in terms of how it is (or perhaps should be) communicated? will be offered.

It actually may be more instructive to think of, and communicate, mutuality as a metaphor to aid understanding of the openness and fluidity found in NHS Scotland.

The existence of paradox and ambiguity does not, however, negate the usefulness of the term “mutuality”. Quite the opposite in fact: it is precisely by examining healthcare and its delivery through the lens of mutuality (rather than rejecting its complexity as a failure) that this amorphousness can be better appreciated.

There is a need for more public, professional, and academic debate to explore and clarify its implementation, and how it is to be led. This must be provided whilst recognising the daily imperatives that NHS leaders must face. This would suggest, therefore, that a dual development path may help.

Although Better Health, Better Care Action Plan was published in 2007, some eight years on there is still confusion and misunderstanding as to what mutuality in healthcare is, not only in policy and theory, but also in practice. It is hoped that this analysis will help address, in part, some of this confusion and misunderstanding.

The mutualisation of two English third division football clubs in 2001 and the creation of a large number of supporters' trusts make it timely to consider whether there is a case for mutualisation of football clubs. This paper assesses whether mutuality would be of economic benefit for clubs, drawing heavily on the experience of mutuals in the financial sector. Our conclusions are mixed. The economic case rests on the distinctive feature of customer loyalty to a club, presuming this to be much stronger than loyalty to a financial institution. However, club members in a mutual must expect to be called upon to provide financial support.

The purpose of this article is to spotlight mutuality as a relevant, modern business model.

Discusses desk research plus gathered industry experience.

Mutuality fulfils archetypical societal needs, with values that have wider business implications, for strategic direction, organic growth and employee engagement.

Some form of employee ownership (mutuality) could help address current‐day organizational issues. Explore underpinning values when considering future strategic direction and organic growth. Fulfill the needs mutuality meets to ensure better employee engagement and motivation.

Unquantified, but expect higher motivation, satisfaction, retention, sales and loyalty.

This paper argues that supply chain management sourcing strategies are unlikely to be implemented successfully by many organisations because of a lack of internal buy‐in and non‐conducive external power regime structures. Furthermore, the paper contends that many of those arguing the case for “win‐win” outcomes from buyer and supplier relationship management fail to properly define or conceptualise what the concept of mutuality means. The paper contends that mutuality and the search for value capture (profitability) are not fully commensurable in business relationships, but that, since “win‐win” is not an absolute but a variable concept, business relationships can be aligned even when unequal exchange and tension exists between buyers and suppliers. The paper also demonstrates that under some circumstances “win‐lose” can be a preferable outcome than “win‐win” for buyers and suppliers managing business relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of social media guidelines (SMGs), as well as their impact on control mutuality, a sub-dimension of the organization–employee relationship (OER). A total of two studies compare guidelines with a focus that is either predominantly incentive or restrictive. In addition, they investigate the moderating effect of guideline writing style and enforcement.

In total, two online experiments were conducted among Belgian employees. Participants read a social media policy manipulated in terms of focus (restrictive vs incentive) and style (conversational vs corporate; Study 1) or enforcement (signature requested vs not requested; Study 2).

Incentive guidelines increase employee branding behavior more than their restrictive counterparts, while also safeguarding employees' perceived control mutuality. However, solid SMGs will not compensate for an organization's bad reputation among employees. The guidelines' style and manner of enforcement did not seem to matter.

Communication executives can use our findings to draft SMGs in a way that increases opportunities (e.g. ambassadorship) and reduces risks (e.g. criticism) associated with employee social media use.

Prior research on SMGs is predominantly descriptive and focused on the organizational perspective. This research paper contributes to both theory and practice by studying the causal impact of these guidelines on employees.

A monopolistic relationship between utilities and their customers creates a unique relational context in which the basic assumption of one's ability to terminate a relationship with an unsatisfactory relationship partner is violated. The purpose of this paper is to examine how attitudinal and behavioral outcomes are influenced by relational gap as the discrepancy between the expected relationships under deregulation and the experienced public relationships under monopolistic completion.

With this purpose, an online survey was conducted with customers of a monopolistic utility provider; a sample of 1,145 adults living in the region was provided from an academic online panel database project for research participants, yielding a response rate of 32 percent.

The key findings are that, among the four relational outcomes, control mutuality and satisfaction showed the biggest and significant shift to higher levels of performance expectations under competition than under a monopoly. Further, a shift in control mutuality and satisfaction led to more negative attitudes toward the company and a stronger intention to switch.

This study can contribute to the practice and study of communication management by suggesting a sound empirical framework in managing public relationships.

Based on data generated from a case study investigation of a well‐known partnership company the implications of partnership for employees are examined. The partnership approach received the endorsement of employees and it does appear to have brought them tangible benefits. Nevertheless, an assessment of employee perceptions of four key ingredients of partnership – employee voice, job security, quality of working life and job satisfaction, and trust – demonstrates the inappropriateness of “mutuality” as a device for conceptualizing the employment relationship under partnership regimes. The reality of market relations and the imbalance of power in the employment relationship imply that genuine mutuality is likely to be unobtainable in practice.