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Multi-level Longitudinal Dynamics Between Procedural Justice and Interpersonal Helping in Organizational Teams

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Abstract

Purpose

Procedural justice (PJ) is a meaningful predictor of prosocial behavior. This study expands prior studies by theorizing and empirically validating the potential multi-level effects of PJ on the helping behavior of group members. Specifically, we examined the effects of individual PJ perceptions and group-level PJ climate on helping behavior. We further propose theoretically plausible mediators of the PJ-helping relationship and the potential moderating functions of the PJ climate strength.

Methodology

We employed multi-wave data collected from 1,064 employees in 107 work teams over a three-year period to test the multi-level effects of PJ on helping behavior. Results of the multi-level analysis showed that PJ climate enhances helping behavior by two intervening processes, namely, the group-level coworker trust climate and individual-level organizational commitment. Moreover, the level and strength of PJ climate served as cross-level moderators that amplify the individual-level effect of PJ perceptions on helping behavior.

Implications

By employing a three-wave time-lagged design, this study demonstrated the interplay between PJ perceptions and PJ climate, which induced changes in the helping behavior of group members by multi-level mediating and moderating processes that unfold over a substantial period of time.

Originality/Value

This study theorized and empirically validated multi-level processes involving PJ as a predictor of individual helping behavior by specifying the intermediate mechanisms and boundary conditions that account for these unexplored interpersonal phenomena. The use of multi-wave data revealed the temporal development of this multi-level dynamics in organizational teams.

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Notes

  1. The possible reasons for the high attrition rate are the voluntary participation of respondents in the three-wave survey and the high turnover (30 %) of entry-level employees in Korean firms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea

    Yuhyung Shin

  2. Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

    Jing Du

  3. College of Business Administration, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 151-916, South Korea

    Jin Nam Choi

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  1. Yuhyung Shin
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  2. Jing Du
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  3. Jin Nam Choi
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Correspondence to Jin Nam Choi.

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Shin, Y., Du, J. & Choi, J.N. Multi-level Longitudinal Dynamics Between Procedural Justice and Interpersonal Helping in Organizational Teams. J Bus Psychol 30, 513–528 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-014-9379-0

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