Skip to main content
Log in

Justice and organizational citizenship behavior: What is the relationship?

Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between perceptions of overall fairness, organizational citizenship behavior, employee attitudes, and the quality of the supervisory/subordinate relationship based on the justice and organizational citizenship literature. Results show that employees do form perceptions of overall fairness and that these perceptions influence job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Relationships are found between altruism and perceptions of overall fairness, job satisfaction and categories of organizational citizenship behavior, and the quality of the supervisory-subordinate relationship and perception of overall fairness and organizational citizenship behavior. Practical implications and issues for future research are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In Berkowitz, L. (Ed.),Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 2), 267–299. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, S., & Ruderman, M. (1987). The role of procedural and distributive justice in organizational behavior.Social Justice Research, 1, 177–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrett-Howard, E., & Tyler, T. (1986). The role of procedural and distributive justice in organizational behavior.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 296–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bateman, T. S., & Organ, D. W. (1983). Job satisfaction and the good soldier: The relationship between affect and employee “citizenship”.Academy of Management Journal, 26, 587–595.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bies, R. J. (1986, August). Identifying principles of interactional justice: The case of corporate recruiting. In Bies, R. J. (Chair.),Moving Beyond Equity Theory: New Directions in Research on Justice in Organizations. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the Academy of Management, Chicago, IL.

  • Blau, P. (1964).Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York: Wiley, 1964.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brockner, J., & Greenberg, J. (1990). The impact of layoffs on survivors: An organizational justice perspective. In Carroll, J. S. (Ed.)Applied Social Psychology and Organizational Settings, 45–75. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dittrich, J. E., & Carroll, M. R. (1979). Organizational equity perceptions, employee job satisfaction, and departmental absence and turnover rates.Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 24, 29–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farh, J. L., Podsakolf, P. M., & Organ, D. W. (1990). Accounting for organizational citizenship behavior: Leader fairness and task scope versus satisfaction.Journal of Management, 16, 705–721.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975)Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folger, R., & Konovsky, M. A. (1989). Effects of procedural and distributive justice on reactions to pay raise decisions.Academy of Management Journal, 32, 115–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, M. E., & Fryxell, G. E. (1989). Voluntariness of association as a moderator of the importance of procedural and distributive justice.Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 3, 325–334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graen, G., & Cashman, J. F. (1975). A role making model of leadership in formal organizations: A development approach. In Hunt, J. G., & Larson, L. L. (Eds.)Leadership Frontiers, 143–165. Kent, OH: Kent State Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, J. W. (1986, August).Organizational citizenship informed by political theory. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Chicago, IL.

  • Greenberg, J. (1986). Determinants of perceived fairness of performance evaluations.Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 340–342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J. (1987). A taxonomy of organizational justice theories.Academy of Management Review, 12, 9–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J. (1988). Cultivating an image of justice: Looking fair on the job.Academy of Management Executive, 2, 155–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J. (1990). Organizational justice: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.Journal of Management, 16, 399–432.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J., & Tyler, T. R. (1987). Why procedural justice in organizations?Social Justice Research, 1, 127–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Konovsky, M. A., & Cropanzano, R. (1991). Perceived fairness of employee drug testing as a predictor of employee attitudes and job performance.Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 698–707.

    Google Scholar 

  • Konovsky, M. A., & Folger, R. (1991)The effects of procedural and distributive justice on organizational citizenship behavior. Unpublished manuscript, A. B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University.

  • Lind, E. A., & Tyler, T. R. (1988).The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moorman, R. H. (1991). Relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behaviors: Do fairness perceptions influence employee citizenship?Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 845–855.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mowday, R. T., Steers, R. M., & Porter, L. W. (1979). The measurement of organizational commitment.Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14, 224–247.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Reilly, C., & Chatman, J. (1986). Organizational commitment and psychological attachment: The effects of compliance, identification, and internalization on prosocial behavior.Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 492–499.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organ, D. W. (1988).Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Good Soldier Syndrome. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organ, D. W. (1990). The motivational basis of organizational citizenship behavior. In Staw, B. M., & Cummings, L. L. (Eds.),Research in Organizational Behavior (Vol. 12), 43–72. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P. M. & MacKenzie, S. B. (1989).A second generation measure of organizational citizenship behavior. Unpublished manuscript, Indiana University, Bloomington.

  • Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Moorman, R. H., & Fetter, R. (1990). Transformational leader behaviors and their effects on followers' trust in leader, satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors.Leadership Ouarterly, 1, 107–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, J. L., & Mueller, C. W. (1986).Handbook of Organizational Measurement. Marshfield, MA: Pitman Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scandura, G. A., & Graen, G. B. (1984). Moderating affects of initial leader/member exchange status on the effects of leadership intervention.Journal of Applied Psychology, 69, 428–436.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scholl, R. W., Cooper, E. A., & McKenna, J. F. (1987). Relationships in determining equity perceptions: Differential effects, behavioral and attitudinal outcomes.Personnel Psychology, 40, 300–316.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C. A., Organ, D. W., & Near, J. P. (1983). Organizational citizenship behavior: Its nature and antecedents.Journal of Applied Psychology, 68, 653–663.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steers, R. M., Mowday, R. T., & Porter, L. (1982).Employee Organization Linkages: The Psychology of Commitment, Absenteeism, and Turnover. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, T. R. (1988). What is procedural Justice?Law and Society Review, 22, 301–335.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, T. R., & Bies, R. J. (1989). Beyond formal procedures: The interpersonal context of procedural justice. In Carroll, J. S. (Ed.),Applied Social Psychology and Organizational Settings 77–98. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, T. R., & Caine, A. (1981). The role of distributive and procedural fairness in the endorsement of formal leaders.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 643–655.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, D. J., Dawis, R. W., England, G. W., & Lofquist, L. H. (1967).Manual for the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Minneapolis: Industrial Relations Center, University of Minnesota.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tansky, J.W. Justice and organizational citizenship behavior: What is the relationship?. Employ Respons Rights J 6, 195–207 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01419444

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01419444

Key Words

Navigation