Abstract
To investigate the relationship between fairness and organizational outcomes, the present study examined the survey responses of government employees at six Federal installations. Indices of procedural and distributive fairness were factor-analytically derived. Multiple regression analyses indicated that both the procedural measures and the distributive measures were significantly related to measures of job satisfaction, evaluation of supervisor, conflict/harmony, trust in management, and turnover intention. Procedural fairness accounted for significantly more variance than distributive fairness in each of these criterion measures, except for turnover intention. These findings are related to conceptual and methodological issues concerning procedural fairness and organizational behavior.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, J. S. (1963). Toward an understanding of inequity.J. Abnor. Soc. Psychol. 67: 422–436.
Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In Berkowitz, L. (ed.),Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 2, Academic Press, New York, pp. 267–299.
Alexander, S., and Russ, T. L. (1985).Procedural and distributive justice effects: The role of social context. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles.
Blau, P. (1964).Exchange and Power in Social Life John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Bullock, R. J. (1983). Participation and pay.Group Organi. Stud. 8: 127–136.
Cammann, C., Fichman, M., Jenkins, G. D., Jr., and Klesh, J. R. (1983). Assessing the attitudes and perceptions of organizational members. In Seashore, S. E., Lawler, E. E., III, Mirvis, P., and Cammann, C. (eds.),Assessing Organizational Change, John Wiley and Sons, New York, pp. 71–138.
Carrell, M. R. (1978). A longitudinal field assessment of employee perceptions of equitable treatment.Organ. Behav. Hum. Perf. 21: 108–118.
Coch, L., and French, J. R. P. (1948). Overcoming resistance to change.Hum. Rel. 1: 512–532.
Cohen, J., and Cohen, P. (1975).Applied Multiple Regression: Correlation Analyses for the Behavioral Sciences, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, N.J.
Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests.Psychometrika 16: 297–334.
Deutsch, M. (1975). Equity, equality and need: What determines which value will be used as the basis for distributive justice?J. Soc. Issues 31: 137–149.
Deutsch, M. (1977). Recurrent themes in the study of social conflict.J. Soc. Issues 33: 222–225.
Dittrich, J. E., and Carrell, M. R. (1976). Dimensions of organizational fairness as predictors of job satisfaction, absence, and turnover.Proc. Acad. Manag., 79–83.
Dittrich, J. E., and Carrell, M. R. (1979). Organizational equity perceptions, employee job satisfaction, and departmental absence and turnover rates.Organ. Behav. Hum. Perf. 24: 29–40.
Driscoll, J. W. (1978). Trust and participation in organizational decision making as predictors of satisfaction.Acad. Manag. J. 21: 44–56.
Finn, R. H., and Lee, S. M. (1972). Salary equity: Its determinants, analysis, and correlates.J. Appl. Psychol. 56: 283–292.
Folger, R. (1977). Distributive and procedural justice: Combined impact of “voice” and improvement on experienced inequity.J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 35: 108–119.
Folger, R., Rosenfield, D., Grove, J., and Corkran, L. (1979). Effects of “voice” and peer opinions on responses to inequity.J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 37: 2253–2261.
French, J. R. P., Jr., Caplan, R. D., and Harrison, R. V. (1982).The Mechanisms of Job Stress and Strain, John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Goodman, P. S. (1974). An examination of referents used in the evaluation of pay.Org. Behav. Hum. Perf. 12: 170–195.
Goodman, P. S., and Friedman, A. (1971). An examination of Adams' theory of inequity.Adm. Sci. Quart. 16: 271–288.
Greenberg, J. (1982). Approaching equity and avoiding inequity in groups and organizations. In Greenberg, J., and Cohen, R. L. (eds.),Equity and Justice in Social Behavior, Academic Press, New York, pp. 389–435.
Greenberg, J. (1986). Determinants of perceived fairness of performance evaluations.J. Appl. Psychol. 71: 340–342.
Greenberg, J., and Folger, R. (1983). Procedural justice, participation, and the fair process effect in groups and organizations. In Paulus, P. B. (eds),Basic Group Processes Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 235–256.
Homans, G. G. (1961).Social Behavior: Its Elementary Forms Harcourt, Brace, New York.
Landy, F. J., Barnes, J. L., and Murphy, K. R. (1978). Correlates of perceived fairness and accuracy of performance evaluation.J. Appl. Psychol. 63: 751–754.
Landy, F. J., Barnes-Farrell, J. & Cleveland, J. N. (1980). Perceived fairness and accuracy of performance evaluation: A follow-up.J. Appl. Psychol. 65: 355–356.
LaTour, S., Houlden, P., Walker, L., and Thibaut, J. W. (1976). Procedure: Transnational perspectives and preferences.Yale Law J. 86: 258–290.
Lawler, E. E., III. (1968). Equity theory as a predictor of productivity and work quality.Psychol. Bull. 70: 596–610.
Lawler, E. E., III. (1971).Pay and Organizational Effectiveness: A Psychological View. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Lawler, E. E., III. (1977). Reward systems. In Hackman, J. R., and Suttle, J. L. (eds.),Improving life at work: Behavioral science approaches to organizational change Goodyear Publishing Co., Santa Monica, CA, pp. 163–226.
Leventhal, G. S. (1976). Fairness in social relationships. In Thibaut, J., Spence, J. T., and Carson, R. T. (eds.),Contemporary Topics in Social Psychology General Learning Press, Morristown, NJ, pp. 211–239.
Leventhal, G. S. (1980). What should be done with equity theory? In Gergen, K. J., Greenberg, M. S., and Willis, R. H. (eds.),Social Exchange: Advances in Theory and Research Plenum Press, New York, pp. 27–55.
Lind, E. A., Kurtz, S., Musante, L., Walker, L., and Thibaut, J. W. (1980). Procedure and outcome effects on reactions to adjudicated resolution of conflicts of interest.J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 39: 643–653.
Lord, R. G., and Hohenfeld, J. A. (1979). Longitudinal assessment of equity effects on the performance of major league baseball players.J. Appl. Psychol. 64: 19–26.
Oldham, G. R., and Miller, H. E. (1979). The effect of significant other's job complexity on employee reactions to work.Hum. Rel. 32: 247–260.
O'Reilly, C. A., III. (1978). The intentional distortion of information in organizational communications: a laboratory and field investigation.Hum. Rel. 31: 173–193.
O'Reilly, C. A., III, and Roberts, K. H. (1976). Credibility and communication in work units.J. Appl. Psychol. 61: 99–102.
Pritchard, R. A. (1969). Equity theory: A review and critique.Organ. Behav. Hum. Perf. 4: 176–211.
Quinn, R. (1977).Effectiveness in Work Roles: Employee Responses to Work Environments, Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor, MI.
Schwartzwald, J., and Goldenberg, J. (1979). Compliance and assistance to an authority figure in perceived equitable or nonequitable situations.Hum. Rel. 32: 877–888.
Telly, C. S., French, W. L., and Scott, W. G. (1971). The relationship of inequity to turnover among hourly workers.Admin. Sci. Quart. 16: 164–172.
Thibaut, J. W., and Kelley, H. H. (1959).The Social Psychology of Groups John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Thibaut, J. W., and Walker, L. (1975).Procedural Justice: A Psychological Analysis Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.
Thibaut, J. W., and Walker, L. (1978). A theory of procedure.Calif. Law Rev. 66: 541–566.
Tyler, T. R., and Caine, A. (1981). The role of distributional and procedural fairness in the endorsement of formal leaders.J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 41: 642–655.
Walker, L., Lind, E. A., and Thibaut, J. W. (1979). The relation between procedural and distributive justice.Va. Law rev. 65: 1401–1420.
Walster, E., Berscheid, E., and Walster, G. W. (1973). New directions in equity research.J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 25: 151–176.
Weick, K. E. (1966). The concept of equity in the perception of pay.Admin. Sci. Quart. 2: 414–439.
Weick, K. E., and Nesset, B. (1968). Preferences among forms of equity.Organ. Behav. Hum. Perf. 3: 400–416.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alexander, S., Ruderman, M. The role of procedural and distributive justice in organizational behavior. Soc Just Res 1, 177–198 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01048015
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01048015