Process and outcome: gender differences in the assessment of justice

We studied the importance that women and men place on distributive and procedural justice. The relationship between distributive justice and several organizational outcomes (e.g. commitment, intent to stay) was stronger for men than women. The relationship between procedural justice and those same outcomes, however, was stronger among women than men. The relation of our findings in justice perceptions are related to other research on gender differences in interpersonal styles and perceptions. Future research ideas are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Justice and job engagement: The role of senior management trust

We examined whether job engagement mediated the effects of organizational justice dimensions on work behaviors and attitudes. Considering distributive and procedural justice from a motivational perspective, we proposed that job engagement would mediate these two dimensions' relations with the work outcomes of task performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and job satisfaction. We also expected this mediation effect would be magnified when senior management trust (SMT) was high. Our results showed that the simple mediation model was supported only for distributive justice. Alternatively, the indirect effect of procedural justice on work outcomes through job engagement was significant only when SMT was high. Implications of our findings and areas for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional exhaustion and job performance: The moderating roles of distributive justice and positive affect

In a field study among 241 shop assistants and their 59 supervisors in fashion chain stores in Mainland China and Hong Kong, we found a negative relationship between emotional exhaustion and four indicators of job performance (overall performance, emotional display, OCB‐O, and OCB‐I) when employees perceived high levels of distributive justice in the exchange relationship with the organization, whereas emotional exhaustion was unrelated to any of these performance types when employees perceived low levels of distributive justice. In addition, this negative two‐way interaction effect of emotional exhaustion by distributive justice on job performance was buffered when employees were high on positive affect and intensified when they were low on positive affect. We used the conservation of resources (COR) theory, the attribution model of justice, and the broaden‐and‐build theory of positive emotions to clarify and discuss the moderating roles of distributive justice and positive affect in the relationship between emotional exhaustion and job performance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trust as a mediator of the relationship between organizational justice and work outcomes: test of a social exchange model

Data obtained from full‐time employees of a public sector organization in India were used to test a social exchange model of employee work attitudes and behaviors. LISREL results revealed that whereas the three organizational justice dimensions (distributive, procedural and interactional) were related to trust in organization only interactional justice was related to trust in supervisor. The results further revealed that relative to the hypothesized fully mediated model a partially mediated model better fitted the data. Trust in organization partially mediated the relationship between distributive and procedural justice and the work attitudes of job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and organizational commitment but fully mediated the relationship between interactional justice and these work attitudes. In contrast, trust in supervisor fully mediated the relationship between interactional justice and the work behaviors of task performance and the individually‐ and organizationally‐oriented dimensions of citizenship behavior. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relationship between organizational justice and employee work outcomes: a cross‐national study

This study examined the influence of organizational justice perceptions on employee work outcome relationships as moderated by individual differences that are influenced by societal culture. Power distance, but not country or individualism, moderated the relationships between perceived justice and satisfaction, performance, and absenteeism. The effects of perceived justice on these outcomes were stronger among individuals scoring lower on power distance index, and most of these study participants were in the U.S. (versus Hong Kong) sample. Limitations of the study and the implications of the findings for managing cross‐culturally are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A multilevel analysis of procedural justice context

Using a multilevel framework, we hypothesized that both employee perceptions of procedural justice and a work unit level measure of procedural justice context would be associated with employee reports of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Three hundred and twenty-three employees from 53 branches of a financial services organization were used to test this hypothesis. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that procedural justice context explained variance in employee job satisfaction beyond that accounted for by individual perceptions of procedural justice. With regard to organizational commitment, this hypothesis was not supported. The results are discussed in connection with contextual aspects of procedural justice. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of gender in organizational justice perception

Two studies were used to examine the moderating effect of gender on the justice–outcome relationships. Contrary to hypothesis, gender moderates the relationship between distributive justice and trust in supervisor in sample 1. It is possible that women are concentrating more on distributive issues rather than procedural justice issues in order to address past pay discrepancies. Further, gender did not moderate any other justice–outcome relationships. These results may indicate a recent trend toward work value similarity and narrowing of gender differences. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Becoming an undercover police officer: a note on fairness perceptions,behavior, and attitudes

Reactions to an undercover police officer selection system were analyzed for 271 officers. Officers given undercover assignments had higher procedural justice perceptions and outcome satisfaction than others awaiting assignment in a qualified applicant pool. Procedural and distributive justice perceptions were subsequently related to the undercover officer's job performance, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social support,autonomy, and hierarchical level as moderators of the role characteristics-outcome relationship

Although previous theory suggests that social support, job autonomy, and hierarchical level moderate role characteristics-employee outcome relationships, the strength of these moderating effects among 2046 bank employees was practically zero. These theoretical moderators and three role characteristics (conflict, ambiguity, and overload) did have direct relationships with the outcomes (job satisfaction and job search intent), as summarized by canonical correlation. Recommendations for future research are offered.     

Political behaviors as moderators of the perceptions of organizational politics—work outcomes relationships

This study investigates the complexities involved in the relationships between perceptions of politics and work outcomes by examining the effects of political behavior on that relationship. More specifically, we suggest that political behavior may serve as a form of control or as a mechanism for coping with highly political organizational environments perceived by individuals to be aversive. As such, we propose moderating roles of self‐promotion and ingratiation on the relationships between perceptions of politics and the work outcomes of satisfaction with job in general, satisfaction with supervision, and intent to leave. It was hypothesized that increased exercise of self‐promotion and ingratiation behaviors would mitigate the negative effects of perceptions of organizational politics on those specific outcomes. Hypotheses were supported for the proposed relationships between self‐promotion and two of the work outcomes: satisfaction with supervision and intent to leave. Significant effects were also found for ingratiation; however, they were opposite to those proposed for the perceptions of organizational politics–intent to leave relationship. Implications of results and areas for future research are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Employee satisfaction in work groups with different gender composition

This study investigates the relationship between the gender composition of an employee's work group and the employee's job satisfaction, using a random sample over 1600 U.S. workers. After controlling possible confounding variables, our analysis shows that the level of an employee's job satisfaction is related to the gender composition of the employee's work group, and that the relationship of these variables does not differ between male and female employees. Both men and women working in gender-balanced groups have higher levels of job satisfaction than those who work in homogeneous groups. Employees working in groups containing mostly men have the lowest levels of job satisfaction, with those working in groups containing mostly women falling in the middle. These results are consistent with predictions based on Blau's theory of social structure, that satisfaction would be highest for employees in more heterogeneous groups. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of leadership consideration and structure on employee perceptions of justice and counterproductive work behavior

In this paper, we examine the effects of leadership consideration and structure on two important organizational behavior outcomes: employee perceptions of organizational justice and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). We examine these effects across two studies using multisource data (employees and supervisors in Study 1; employees and coworkers in Study 2). Results reveal that consideration and structure have distinct effects across distributive, procedural, informational, and interpersonal dimensions of justice. Moreover, results suggest that consideration and structure have multiplicative effects on employee CWB. We find the highest levels of CWB among employees of supervisors who exhibit high structure and low consideration. Interestingly, results also suggest that the effects of structure on CWB may be curvilinear (u‐shaped) such that moderate levels of structure are associated with the lowest levels of CWB. We discuss implications for future consideration and structure research as well as managerial practice. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An appraisal perspective of justice,structure, and job control as antecedents of psychological distress

Through the application of cognitive appraisal theory, this study unifies the emergent themes of studying justice in relation to organizational context, as well as justice in relation to employee feelings of psychological distress. A sample of 677 employees from 72 organizations was used to test hypotheses related to justice, job control, mechanistic structure, and employee feelings of anxiety and depression. We found procedural justice, within a primary appraisal role, to be a highly effective tool for minimizing psychological distress. In combination with both distributive justice as well as a mechanistic structure, procedural justice can help to minimize feelings of anxiety and depression, but in different manners for each variable. Further, a strong influence of job control upon both procedural justice and, ultimately, depression and anxiety highlighted its role as a perceived means for avoiding or minimizing the harm of a potential stressor. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Deciding on equity or parity: a test of situational,cultural, and individual factors

Previous cross-cultural research in distributive justice has neglected the situational and individual determinants of allocation preferences. This study incorporated the cultural value of Individualism–Collectivism (I–C), situational demands of task interdependence and system goals, and individual achievement motivation to examine their effects on the allocation decisions made by U.S. Americans and Hong Kong Chinese. It was found that the Americans and the Chinese in the study responded to situational demands in a similar fashion, i.e. equity was preferred under circumstances of low interdependence and the productivity goal whereas parity was preferred under circumstances of high interdependence and the solidarity goal. It was also found that in the U.S., I–C had no significant relation with the allocation differential (between the bonus amounts for the highest and the lowest performer), and the achievement motivation interacts with levels of interdependence and with goal priorities; in Hong Kong, both I–C and the achievement motivation related negatively to the allocation differential. Research and managerial implications for international management were discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organizational level as a moderator of the relationship between justice perceptions and work‐related reactions

In this study, we examined the role of organizational level as a moderator of the relationships of procedural and distributive justice with seven employee attitudes and behaviors. Based on social identity and resource allocation theories, we suggested an allocational model of authority in organizations. We posited that lower rank encourages a more process‐oriented perspective that emphasizes procedural concerns while higher rank imbues a more result‐oriented perspective that emphasizes distributive outcomes. We considered the cultural context that characterized work relationships in our sample of respondents from a Chinese state‐owned enterprise. Significant sets of interactions supported the predicted relationships of procedural justice with three outcomes at lower levels and distributive justice with four outcomes at higher levels. Implications and extensions of these findings are considered. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Episodic envy and counterproductive work behaviors: Is more justice always good?

The authors examined how perceived event‐specific procedural and distributive justice about own and envied others' outcomes interacts with episodic envy to predict counterproductive work behaviors. Our results were consistent with the attribution model of justice, finding that episodic envy significantly predicted counterproductive work behaviors aimed at envied others in the workplace and that this relationship was more pronounced when perceptions of procedural, but not distributive, justice about own or envied others' outcomes were high rather than low. We tested a moderated‐mediation model in which self‐attributions for the outcome mediated the effect of episodic envy on counterproductive work behaviors and that the effect of envy was stronger when perceptions of own or others' procedural justice were high rather than low. This research contributes to the literature on envy processes in the workplace and is the first to use a specific emotion, envy, as a proxy for a negative outcome in a demonstration of the attribution model of justice. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is it pay levels or pay raises that matter to fairness and turnover?

Two studies examined the relationship between actual pay and distributive and procedural justice, and the extent to which these perceptions were related to two important pay satisfaction dimensions, pay level and pay raise, and ultimately, impacted turnover. For each study the measures of pay and justice variables were obtained on a cross‐sectional basis, while the measure of turnover was necessarily lagged. Results showed that distributive justice mediated the relationship between pay and both pay level satisfaction and pay raise satisfaction. Furthermore, distributive justice was a stronger predictor of pay level satisfaction; whereas procedural justice was a stronger predictor of pay raise satisfaction. Procedural justice also played a moderating role in Study 2. The study also showed that only pay raise satisfaction was significantly and negatively related to turnover in Study 1, and to turnover via turnover intention in Study 2. Results support the value of considering pay satisfaction as multidimensional when evaluating justice issues in a compensation context. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

I can't get no job satisfaction: Meta‐analysis comparing permanent and contingent workers

Scholars are concerned that contingent workers experience more adverse psychological job outcomes than permanent employees, but the empirical work on job satisfaction is mixed. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively summarize the potential mean differences in job satisfaction between contingent workers and permanent employees. Meta‐analytic results from 72 primary studies (N = 237 856) suggest that compared with permanent employees, contingent workers experience lower job satisfaction (d = ?0.21); but when outlying primary studies are removed, the mean difference is small but significant (d = ?0.06). Methodological artifacts explain small but significant differences in job satisfaction but do not account for much variance. Moderator analyses support previous findings that contingent workers are not a homogeneous group; some contingent workers (e.g., agency workers) experience lower job satisfaction than permanent employees, whereas the job satisfaction of other contingent workers (e.g., contractors) is similar to permanent employees. The findings have implications for increasing our understanding of job satisfaction by showing that job satisfaction appears to vary by employment type. Practical implications suggest that extending human resource practices to contingent workers may increase their job satisfaction, which has been shown to influence job performance, citizenship behaviors, and turnover. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of job complexity and autonomy on cohesiveness in collectivistic and individualistic work groups: a cross‐cultural analysis

Increased job complexity and autonomy have often been associated with improved performance in work groups. This study examines the mediating effect of group cohesiveness. The moderating effects of individualism/collectivism on the relationship between job characteristics (both complexity and autonomy) and cohesiveness are also tested. The sample consists of 381 teams drawn from the Hong Kong and U.S. branches of an international bank. The findings indicate that an increase in job complexity and/or task autonomy will increase group cohesiveness, which subsequently translates to better performance. The positive effects of job complexity and autonomy on group cohesiveness are also found to be more prominent for individualistic rather than collectivistic work groups. The theoretical implications of the results and the limitations of the study are also discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Valuing diversity: a group‐value approach to understanding the importance of organizational efforts to support diversity

Using Leventhal's rules as well as the group‐value model of procedural justice, we first examined how the negative effects of perceived racial discrimination on procedural justice judgments can be attenuated by perceived organizational efforts to support diversity. Secondly, we examine how these effects ultimately impact affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior. We found that employees who believe some individuals in the workplace are discriminating against them on the basis of race tend to report lower levels of procedural justice from the organization. However, this negative relationship was attenuated when employees perceived that their organization was making efforts to support diversity. Results suggest that individuals' perceptions of organizational efforts to support diversity can help restore perceptions of procedural justice for employees who experience racial discrimination at work. Improving procedural justice also positively impacts affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior directed at the organization. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.