How do interactional justice and attributed responsibility affect organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in a situation of perceived distributive Injustice?

Kurzfassung/Abstract

Effects of organizational justice on work behavior have been demonstrated in several studies. The influence of attributed responsibility on justice perceptions in the organizational context has not been analyzed so far. Therefore, two key questions are to be analyzed in the present study: 1. How do interactional justice and attributed responsibility affect trust in leadership and OCB in a situation of distributive injustice? 2. How can OCB be explained in a situation of distributive injustice? What is the role of perceived justice and trust in leadership? 198 subjects participated in a vignette study. Interactional justice (low vs. high) and responsibility (intention vs. inattention vs. oversight) were systematically varied (2x3 design. The results of MANOVA confirm the positive influence of interactional justice in a situation of distributive injustice on trust in supervisor and OCB. The influence of attributed responsibility turns out to be less pronounced. The results of a regression analysis validate that trust in supervisor is an important predictor for OCB (R2 = .22**), even in a situation of distributive injustice. Trust in supervisor can be explained through perceived interactional justice and responsibility (intention) (R2 = .37**). Theoretical conclusions and practical implications are discussed. Further research is necessary to validate the results of the present study by using different methods like testing in real-life situations.