Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction effect of organizational climate and social exchanges and how they fuse to affect psychological contract in the public service in Uganda. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical design. The authors employ structural equation modeling to test hypotheses. Using proportionate and simple random sampling procedures, a sample of 346 respondents was drawn from Uganda public service commissions and agencies of which a response rate of 61.5 percent was obtained. Findings – The magnitude effect of organizational climate on psychological contract depends on social exchanges; implying that the assumption of non-additivity is met. Research limitations/implications – Only a single research methodological approach was employed and future research through interviews could be undertaken to triangulate. Practical implications – In order to boost the employee-employer relationship of public servants in Uganda commissions and agencies, managers should always endeavor to find a viable organizational climate-social exchanges mix or blend that can add value to employee-employer relationship. Originality/value – This is one of the few studies that focus on testing the interactive effects of social exchanges on the relationship between organizational climate and psychological contract in Uganda public service commissions and agencies.

Research paper