The Psychological Contract in Organizations (PCO) is both a theory and a method that helps explain why, when faced with the same event, some individuals perceive a contract breach while others see it as a simple adjustment. Developed in the late 1990s in the United States, this body of work in organizational behavior has been expanding in French-speaking countries since its translation/adaptation in 2015.

The PCO captures the complexity and diversity of organizational commitments: it is idiosyncratic (personal and biographical), but also normative, meaning it is shared by individuals within a given profession. It can be relational, when the primary goal is to maintain commitment, or purely transactional.

In the context of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), respecting and managing these forms of contractual commitment contributes to improving organizational life.