Employees' reactions to psychological contract breach: A moderated mediation analysis

• Employees' experienced psychological contract breach (PCB) was positively related to their acquiescent silence.
• Employees' acquiescent silence was negatively related to their job satisfaction
• Acquiescent silence mediated the effects of PCB on job satisfaction.
• Employee's perceived ethical climate moderated the influence of PCB on acquiescent silence.
• Perceived ethical climate moderated the mediation effects of acquiescent silence on the PCB–job satisfaction relationship.

This study examined the mediating role of acquiescent silence in the relationship between psychological contract breach and employee job satisfaction, as well as the moderating roles of perceived ethical climate on that relationship and on the mediation effect of acquiescent silence. Survey data were collected from a sample of 273 full-time employees from nine high-tech firms in Taiwan. The results showed that acquiescent silence partially mediated the relationship between psychological contract breach and job satisfaction. Moreover, the results from the moderation analysis showed that perceived ethical climate moderated the influence of psychological contract breach on acquiescent silence and the results from the moderated mediation analysis revealed that this mediation of acquiescent silence was moderated by perceived ethical climate such that at the lower level of perceived ethical climate, the mediation effect of acquiescent silence became stronger. Implications for managerial practices and suggestions for future research were discussed.