Justice and employees’ attitudes during organizational change: The mediating role of overall justice.

Purpose
This study aimed to examine, through two contexts of organizational change, the mediating role of overall justice between three specific justice dimensions (procedural, interpersonal and informational justice) and employees ‘attitudes at work (job satisfaction, turnover intentions and organizational commitment).

Methodology
Two studies were presented. We surveyed employees experiencing a reorganization (N=537) or a merger (N=188).

Results
Bootstrap results indicated that overall justice mediated the effects of procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice on job satisfaction and turnover intentions (in both Studies), and on affective, normative and continuance commitment (in Study 2). Furthermore, SEM results indicated in both Studies that each justice dimension had a significant impact on overall justice, which, in turn, was a strong predictor of all employees’ attitudes. This research supports Ambrose and Schminke’s conceptualization suggesting that overall justice is a mediator in the relationships between specific justice dimensions and employees’ attitudes.

Limitations
The cross-sectional nature of our research design did not allow us to make causal inferences. Besides, data were self-reported which may conduct to same-source bias.

Implications
Employees’ attitudes are clearly predicted by OJ perceptions. To propose a fair treatment of employees during times of change is more than ever crucial for managers.

Originality
This research examined the mediating role of overall justice in relation to organizational change, which has been largely ignored in the literature.

Keywords: Organizational justice, overall justice, organizational change