In the vigorous development process of China's knowledge - based economy, highly educated employees, with their knowledge, skills, information, and technology, have become the core force in corporate value creation. For modern enterprise management, they are already crucial strategic resources for building corporate competitive advantages. In view of this, in the new economic situation of the 21st century, how to effectively motivate highly educated employees, fully stimulate their work initiative and enthusiasm, maximize their creativity, and enhance corporate competitiveness has become a vital issue. This paper first analyzes the unique nature of the psychological contract of highly educated employees based on the psychological contract theory and under the guidance of the equity theory, incentive theory, etc. Subsequently, the psychological contract of highly educated employees is accurately divided into three dimensions: transactional, relational, and developmental. Finally, starting from these three dimensions, corresponding incentive mechanisms are constructed respectively, aiming to provide comprehensive and in - depth theoretical support and practical guidance for enterprises to effectively motivate highly educated employees.

Ziqi Yuan. A Study on the Incentive Mechanism for Highly Educated Employees in Enterprises from the Perspective of Psychological Contract Theory. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences(2025), Vol. 8, Issue 3: 31-38. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2025.080305.

[1] Tekleab A, Takeuchi R, Taylor M.  Extending the Chain of Relationship among Organizational, Justice, Social Exchange and Employee Reactions: The Role of Contract Violations [J]. Academy of Management Journal, 2005(48): 146-157.

[2] Morrison E, Robinson S. When Employees Feel Betrayed: A Model of How Psychological Contract Violation Develops [J]. Academy of Management Review, 1997(22): 226-256.

[3] Guest D. Is the psychological contract worth taking seriously? [J]. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 1998(19): 649-664.

[4] Argyris, C. Understanding organizational behavior [M]. London: Tavistock Publications, 1960.

[5] Levinson, H., Price, C, Munden, K, Mandle, H and Solley, CM. Management and Mental Health[J]. MA: Harvard University Press, 1962.

[6] John P. Kotter, Managing External Dependence [J]. The Academy of Management Review, 1779(1): 87-92.

[7] Schein. Organizational Psychology [M]. New Jersey: Prentice- Hall, 1998.

[8] Herriot, P. Manning W. E. G. & Kidd, J. M. The Content of the Psychological Contract   [J].British Journal of Management, 1997(8): 151-162.

[9] Rousseau D. New Hire Perceptions of Their Own and Their Employer's Obligations: A Study of Psychological Contracts [J]. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 1990(11): 389-400.

[10] Marks A. Developing a Multiple Conceptualization of the Psychological Contract [J]. Employee Relations, 2001(4): 54- 67.