Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

The Moderating Effects of Equity Sensitivity on The Relationship Between Organizational Justice and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

  • Published:
Journal of Business and Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study explores equity sensitivity as an explanation for the differences in individuals’ organizational citizenship behaviors in response to their perceptions of organizational justice. The concept of equity sensitivity recognizes three categories of individuals: benevolents, entitleds, and sensitives. As predicted, benevolents perform more OCBs than entitleds regardless of the level of perceived justice. However, sensitives did not react as hypothesized and instead reacted similarly to benevolents. Entitleds were the most sensitive to perceived justice, responding consistently with Adam’s (1963, 1965) equity theory.

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.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • J. S. Adams (1963) ArticleTitleToward an understanding of inequity Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 67 422–436

    Google Scholar 

  • J. S. Adams (1965) Inequity in social exchange L. Berkowitz (Eds) Advances in experimental social psychology Vol. 2 Academic Press New York 267–299

    Google Scholar 

  • K. Aquino (1995) ArticleTitleRelationships among pay inequity, perceptions of procedural justice, and organizational citizenship Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal 8 21–33

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Barling M. Phillips (1993) ArticleTitleInteractional, formal, and distributive justice in the workplace: An exploratory study Journal of Psychology 127 649–656

    Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • P. M. Bentler (1990) ArticleTitleComparative fit indexes in structural models Psychological Bulletin 107 238–246 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238 Occurrence Handle2320703

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • M. N. Bing S. M. Burroughs (2001) ArticleTitleThe predictive and interactive effects of equity sensitivity in teamwork-oriented organizations Journal of Organizational Behavior 22 271–290 Occurrence Handle10.1002/job.68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • W. C. Borman S. J. Motowidlo (1993) Expanding the criterion domain to include elements of contextual performance N. Schmitt W. C. Borman (Eds) Personality selection Jossey-Bass San Francisco 71–98

    Google Scholar 

  • A. P. Brief S. J. Motowidlo (1986) ArticleTitleProsocial organizational behaviors Academy of Management Review 11 710–725

    Google Scholar 

  • Y. Cohen-Charash P. E. Spector (2001) ArticleTitleThe role of justice in organizations: A meta-analysis Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 86 278–321 Occurrence Handle10.1006/obhd.2001.2958

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. A. Colquitt (2001) ArticleTitleOn the dimensionality of organizational justice: A construct validation of a measure Journal of Applied Psychology 86 386–400 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.386 Occurrence Handle11419799

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • D. M. Cowherd D. I. Levine (1992) ArticleTitleProduct quality and pay equity between lower-level employees and top management: An investigation of distributive justice theory Administrative Science Quarterly 37 302–320

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Cropanzano J. Greenberg (1997) Progress in organizational justice: Tunneling through the maze C. L. Cooper I. T. Robertson (Eds) International review of industrial and organizational psychology John Wiley & Sons New York 317–372

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Eisenberger R. Huntington S. Hutchison D. Sowa (1986) ArticleTitlePerceived organizational support Journal of Applied Psychology 71 500–507 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0021-9010.71.3.500

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Fok S Hartman A. Patti J. Razek (1999) ArticleTitleThe relationships between equity sensitivity, growth need strength, organizational citizenship behavior, and perceived outcomes in the quality environment: A study of accounting professionals Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 15 99–120

    Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • J. M. George A. P. Brief (1992) ArticleTitleFeeling good-doing good: A conceptual analysis of the mood at work-organizational spontaneity relationship Psychological-Bulletin 112 310–329 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0033-2909.112.2.310 Occurrence Handle1454897

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, J. W., (1989). Organizational citizenship behavior: Construct redefinition, operationalization, and validation. Unpublished manuscript, Loyola University of Chicago

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

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Hulin (1991) Adaptation, persistence, and commitment in organizations M.D. Dunnette M. L. Hough (Eds) Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology: Vol. 2 Consulting Psychologists Press Inc Palo Alto, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • R. C. Huseman J. D. Hatfield E. W. Miles (1987) ArticleTitleA new perspective on equity theory: The equity sensitivity construct Academy of Management Review 12 222–234

    Google Scholar 

  • R. C. Huseman J. D. Hatfield E. W. Miles (1985) ArticleTitleTest for individual perceptions of job equity: Some preliminary findings Perceptual and Motor Skills 61 1055–1064

    Google Scholar 

  • K. G. Joreskog D. Sorbom (1993) LISREL 8: Structural equation modeling with the SIMPLIS command language Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc Hillsdale, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Kickul S. W. Lester (2001) ArticleTitleBroken promises: Equity sensitivity as a moderator between psychological contract breach and employee attitudes and behavior Journal of Business and Psychology 16 191–217 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1011105132252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • W. C. King SuffixJr. E. W. Miles (1994) ArticleTitleThe measurement of equity sensitivity Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 67 133–142

    Google Scholar 

  • W. C. King E. W. Miles D. D. Day (1993) ArticleTitleA test and refinement of the equity sensitivity construct Journal of Organizational Behavior 14 301–317

    Google Scholar 

  • M. A. Konovsky R. Folger (1991) ArticleTitleThe effects of procedures, social accounts, and benefits level on victims’ layoff reactions’ Journal of Applied Psychology 21 630–650

    Google Scholar 

  • M. A. Konovsky D. W. Organ (1996) ArticleTitleDispositional and contextual determinants of organizational citizenship behavior Journal of Organizational Behavior 17 253–266 Occurrence Handle10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(199605)17:3<253::AID-JOB747>3.3.CO;2-H

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. A. Konovsky S. D. Pugh (1994) ArticleTitleCitizenship behavior and social exchange Academy of Management Journal 37 656–669 Occurrence Handle10134637

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • M. A. Korsgaard D. M. Schweiger H. J. Sapienza (1995) ArticleTitleBuilding commitment, attachment, and trust in strategic decision-making teams: The role of procedural justice Academy of Management Journal 38 60–84

    Google Scholar 

  • E. W. Miles J. D. Hatfield R. C. Huseman (1989) ArticleTitleThe equity sensitivity construct: Potential implications for worker performance Journal of Management 15 581–588

    Google Scholar 

  • R. H. Moorman (1991) ArticleTitleRelationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behaviors: Do fairness perceptions influence employee citizenship? Journal of Applied Psychology 76 845–855 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0021-9010.76.6.845

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. H. Moorman G. L. Blakely B. P. Niehoff (1998) ArticleTitleDoes organizational support mediate the relationship between procedural justice and organizational citizenship behavior? A group value model explanation Academy of Management Journal 41 351–357

    Google Scholar 

  • R. H. Moorman G. L. Blakely (1995) ArticleTitleIndividualism-collectivism as an individual difference predictor of organizational citizenship behavior Journal of Organizational Behavior 16 127–142

    Google Scholar 

  • Moorman, R. H., & Blakely, G. L. (1992). A preliminary report on a new measure of organizational citizenship behavior. In: Proceedings of the annual meeting of the southern management association, Valdosta, GA, pp. 185–187

  • G. A. Neuman J. R. Kickul (1998) ArticleTitleOrganizational citizenship behaviors: Achievement orientation and personality Journal of Business and Psychology 13 263–279 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1022963108025

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • B. S. O’Neill M. A. Mone (1998) ArticleTitleInvestigating equity sensitivity as a moderator of relations between self-efficacy and workplace attitudes Journal of Applied Psychology 83 805–816 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0021-9010.83.5.805

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. W. Organ (1988) Organizational citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome Lexington Books Lexington, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • D. W. Organ (1990) The motivational basis of organizational citizenship behavior B. M. Staw L. L. Cummings (Eds) Research in organizational behavior EditionNumber12 JAI Press Greenwich, CT 43–72

    Google Scholar 

  • D. W. Organ (1997) ArticleTitleOrganizational citizenship behavior: It’s construct clean-up time Human Performance 10 85–97

    Google Scholar 

  • D. W. Organ R. H. Moorman (1993) ArticleTitleFairness and organizational citizenship behavior: What are the connections? Social Justice Research 6 5–18 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF01048730

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. W. Organ K. Ryan (1995) ArticleTitleA meta-analytic review of attitudinal and dispositional predictors of organizational citizenship behavior Personnel Psychology 48 775–802

    Google Scholar 

  • C. P. Parker B. B. Baltes N. D. Christiansen (1997) ArticleTitleSupport for affirmative action, justice perceptions, and work attitudes: A study of gender and racial-ethnic group differences Journal of Applied Psychology 82 376–389 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0021-9010.82.3.376 Occurrence Handle9190145

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • L. A. Penner A. R. Midili J. Kegelmeyer (1997) ArticleTitleBeyond job attitudes: A personality and social psychology perspective on the causes of organizational citizenship behavior Human Performance 10 111–131

    Google Scholar 

  • P. M. Podsakoff S. B. MacKenzie J. B. Paine D. G. Bachrach (2000) ArticleTitleOrganizational citizenship behaviors: A critical review of the theoretical and empirical literature and suggestions for future research Journal of Management 26 513–563 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0149-2063(00)00047-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • K. S. Sauley A. G. Bedeian (2000) ArticleTitleEquity sensitivity: Construction of a measure and examination of its psychometric properties Journal of Management 26 885–910 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0149-2063(00)00062-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. P. Skarlicki R. Folger P. Tesluk (1999) ArticleTitlePersonality as a moderator in the relationship between fairness and retaliation Academy of Management Journal 42 100–108

    Google Scholar 

  • C. A. Smith D. W. Organ J. P. Near (1983) ArticleTitleOrganizational citizenship behavior: Its nature and antecedents Journal of Applied Psychology 68 653–663 Occurrence Handle10.1037//0021-9010.68.4.653

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • T. R. Tyler E. A. Lind (1992) A relational model of authority in groups M. Zanna (Eds) Advances in experimental social psychology Vol. 25 Academic Press New York 115–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dyne, L. & Cummings, L. L., (1990). Extra-role behaviors: In pursuit of construct and definitional clarity Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, San Francisco

  • R. P. Vecchio (1981) ArticleTitleAn individual differences interpretation of the conflicting predictions generated by equity theory and expectancy theory Journal of Applied Psychology 66 470–481 Occurrence Handle10.1037//0021-9010.66.4.470

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • L. J. Williams S. E. Anderson (1991) ArticleTitleJob satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in-role behaviors Journal of Management 17 601–617

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Blakely, G.L., Andrews, M.C. & Moorman, R.H. The Moderating Effects of Equity Sensitivity on The Relationship Between Organizational Justice and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors. J Bus Psychol 20, 259–273 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-005-8263-3

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-005-8263-3

Keywords

Navigation