Organizational justice and managerial commitment in corporate mergers

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether perceptions of distributive, procedural and interactional justice can explain the frequently reported low organizational commitment of managers in corporate mergers. Specifically, it aims to examine whether each of the justice dimensions is significantly and uniquely related to affective commitment, which of the justice dimensions has the strongest relationship with the criterion, and whether instrumental evaluations or trust might function as a mediator.Design/methodology/approachA total of 128 managers from 37 companies completed a questionnaire. They had been involved in domestic or European mergers or acquisitions, which varied in the application of fairness rules.FindingsAlthough each fairness dimension correlated positively with affective commitment, only interactional justice showed a unique relationship with it. Results indicate that both instrumental evaluations and trust can function as a mediator.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the cross‐sectional design, conclusions about the causal order of the variables cannot be drawn.Practical implicationsThe authors recommend that top managers should pay extra attention to timely, candid and specific internal communication with thorough and reasonable explanation of decisions, as well as the respectful treatment of managers. Moreover, the results indicate that managers reacted positively to fairness because it conveys positive relational signals, and because one can gain personal advantages through fair outcomes and processes.Originality/valueThe organizational justice approach has not yet been applied, to the authors' knowledge, in quantitative field studies of mergers. Furthermore, this paper offers a contribution to the literature on fairness heuristic theory.

Influence of Participative Management and Perceived Organizational Justice on University Work Culture

“…Masterson (2001) explained that distributional and political justice relate to commitment. In a research conducted by Klendauer and Deller (2009), it is shown that every dimension of justice relates to effective commitments positively; if people feel that there is no discrimination between distributing rewards, decisions methods and interaction among people in the organization, they make themselves committed to the organization. Shafeepour Motlaq's (1998) research shows that if no discrimination is observed by employees in an organization, they will be motivated to work in the best possible way.…”

The Study of Organizational Justice, Violation of Psychological Contract and its Effect on Job Satisfaction in Paints Industry of Pakistan

“…Contents of the questionnaire used in this research were taken from various researchers' work. Scale of organizational justice is taken from researcher Klendauer & Deller (2009) work. Scale of overall job satisfaction was adopted from Lu et al (2007).…”

Relationship between organisational justice and organisational citizenship behaviour: Examining the mediating role of job satisfaction

“…Indubitably, it is of paramount importance that organizations convince employees about management sincerity in ensuring equity in information sharing. Strategic manipulation intentions may generate counterproductive effects (Klendauer and Deller, 2009) that can spiral beyond managerial control. Moreover, providing adequate explanations for decisions and events that affect them improve job satisfaction.…”

“…Therefore, prompt and honest feedback is essential to maintain trust and confidence in managerial decisions. As perception of justice is formed quickly, inadequate information in decision-making may influence the perception of subsequent actions (Klendauer and Deller, 2009). Indubitably, it is of paramount importance that organizations convince employees about management sincerity in ensuring equity in information sharing.…”