The effects of overhearing peers discuss an authority's fairness reputation on reactions to subsequent treatment

Fairness heuristic theory was used to examine how information from one's peers affects an individual's interpretation of, and reactions to, an authority's subsequent behavior. Participants (N=105) overheard their peers discuss an experimenter's reputation (fair, unfair, or absent) before interacting with the experimenter who behaved more versus less fairly. Results showed that the social cues biased participants' subsequent information processing: controlling for the experimenter's behavior, interactional justice mediated the effect of social cues on retaliation. Social cues and the authority's behavior also interacted to predict retaliation. Participants who were treated less fairly retaliated more after being led to expect fair treatment than did participants who heard no prior information about the experimenter.     

Exploring the role of emotions in injustice perceptions and retaliation

Although organizational justice scholars often describe unfairness as an emotionally laden experience, the role of emotion is underresearched. In a study of individuals who experienced being laid off (N = 173), the authors found that outcome favorability interacts with both procedural and interactional justice to predict participants' emotions. The pattern of interaction differed for inward-focused (i.e., shame and guilt) and outward-focused (i.e., anger and hostility) negative emotions. Attributions of blame mediated the relationship between fairness perceptions and outward-focused negative emotion. Outward-focused emotion mediated the relationship between fairness perceptions and retaliation.     

When explanations for layoffs are not enough: Employer's integrity as a moderator of the relationship between informational justice and retaliation

Victims of downsizing often perceive their layoff as being unfair, which can lead to various forms of retaliation. Informational justice, defined as providing employees with adequate explanations in a timely manner, has been prescribed as a way to mitigate the retaliation tendencies associated with unfairness perceptions. Few studies, however, have examined contexts in which informational justice might be more vs. less effective in this regard. In the present research, we explored whether employees' perception of the employer's integrity moderates the relationship between informational justice and retaliation among layoff victims. Results from a field and laboratory study suggest that informational justice helps manage retaliation only when layoff victims perceived that their employer had high (vs. low) integrity prior to the layoff. In Study 2, we found that perceived sincerity mediated the impact of informational justice by integrity interaction on retaliation.     

Service Employees’ Reactions to Mistreatment by Customers: A Comparison Between North America and East Asia

The authors proposed that customer service employees’ reactions to mistreatment by customers can vary between North American and East Asian employees due to differences in their cultural values. Customer mistreatment was predicted to be associated with direct, active, and target‐specific reactions (i.e., sabotage directed toward the source of mistreatment) more so among North American employees as compared to East Asian employees. In contrast, customer mistreatment was predicted to relate to more indirect, passive, and target‐general reactions (i.e., withdraw organizational citizenship behavior directed toward customers in general) among employees in East Asia as compared to employees in North America. A field study of customer service employees (N = 213) working in the same hotel chain in China and Canada found support for these predictions. Mediation analyses showed that individualism and collectivism accounted for these differences. Theoretical and practical implications are provided, and future directions are discussed.     

Applicants' and Employees' Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility: The Moderating Effects of First‐Party Justice Perceptions and Moral Identity

This research explored individuals’ reactions to perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) using a multimotive framework. In 2 studies, the authors explored the boundary conditions of CSR effects among job applicants and internal employees. A scenario‐based experiment (N = 81) showed that the effect of CSR perceptions on job applicants’ job pursuit intentions was mitigated by applicants’ first‐party justice experiences, whereas it was amplified by their moral identity (Study 1). Survey data from 245 full‐time employees (Study 2) further supported the interactive effects revealed in Study 1. Specifically, first‐party justice perceptions attenuated the positive relationship between employees’ CSR perceptions and their organizational citizenship behavior (OCB); and the relationship between CSR perceptions and OCB was more pronounced among employees high (versus low) in moral identity. Our findings bridge the CSR and organizational justice literatures, and reveal that the effects of individuals’ CSR perceptions are more complicated than previously thought. The findings shed light on micro (employee)‐level CSR phenomena and offer implications for both research and practice.     

When Social Accounts Backfire: The Exacerbating Effects of a Polite Message or an Apology on Reactions to an Unfair Outcome1

We examined the effects of ex ante polite or apologetic messages on an individual's responses to a low (unfair) outcome offered in an ultimatum (take‐it‐or‐leave‐it) situation. Results show that these 2 messages (a) increased, rather than decreased, participants' perceptions of unfairness; and (b) decreased, rather than increased, their acceptance of the outcome. Moreover, participants engaged in more punishing behaviors when the outcome was accompanied by either of the messages than when no account was provided. Further analysis revealed that perceived manipulative intent mediated participants' reactions to the polite message and to the apology. These results indicate that if a message seems insincere and manipulative, it can exacerbate an individual's negative reactions to an unfair outcome accompanying the message.     

The Relationship Between Perceptions of Fairness and Voluntary Turnover Among Retail Employees1

Research on the relationship between perceived fairness and employee turnover has tended to focus on turnover intentions rather than behavior, and the few studies that have assessed actual turnover have reported inconsistent results. In the present study, we examined the interactive effects of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice on turnover among 159 retail employees. Results showed that the effect of distributive justice on turnover was stronger when interactional justice was perceived as low rather than high. Our findings also suggest that disproportionate turnover group base rates favoring stayers over leavers can affect results of justice turnover research.     

Frame-of-Reference Training: Overcoming the Effects of Organizational Citizenship Behavior on Performance Rating Accuracy

Frame-of-reference (FOR) training has been shown to increase rating accuracy. Studies suggest, however, that organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) can influence performance ratings insomuch as they are considered in the rating process. We examined the effects of OCB on the effectiveness of FOR training for improving performance rating accuracy. Results from 77 managers showed that OCB attenuates FOR training effectiveness because of rating inflation, unless the managers are trained to observe and evaluate the OCB.