Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T05:45:27.610Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Distributive justice, job stress, and turnover intention: Cross-level effects of empowerment climate in work groups

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2013

Byoung Kwon Choi
Affiliation:
Division of Business Administration, College of Business, Sangmyung University, Seoul, South Korea
Hyoung Koo Moon
Affiliation:
Korea University Business School, Korea University, Anam-Dong, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul, South Korea
Eun Young Nae
Affiliation:
Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Wook Ko*
Affiliation:
LG Electronics Inc., Culture Team, Cheongho-ri, Jinwi-myeon, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
*
Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

This paper, with its multilevel design including 90 work groups in South Korea, proposes and examines how distributive justice relates to job stress, and thus leading to turnover intention at the individual level, and how this relationship is affected by empowerment climate at the group level. The results of hierarchical linear modeling show that employees’ perception of distributive justice was negatively related to job stress. We also find that job stress partially mediated the influence of distributive justice on turnover intention. In addition, at the work group level, the empowerment climate decreased employees’ job stress, and the negative relationship between distributive justice and job stress at the individual level was moderated by the empowerment climate. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 267299). New York, NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Aiken, L. S., West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Aquino, K., Griffeth, R. W., Allen, D. G., Hom, P. W. (1997). Integrating justice constructs into the turnover process: A test of a referent cognitions model. Academy of Management Journal, 40(5), 12081227.Google Scholar
Aryee, S., Budhwar, P. S., Chen, Z. X. (2002). Trust as a mediator of the relationship between organizational justice and work outcomes: Test of a social exchange model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23(3), 267286.Google Scholar
Baron, R. M., Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual strategic and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 15(6), 11731182.Google Scholar
Bliese, P. D. (2000). Within-group agreement, non-independence, and reliability: Implications for data aggregation and analysis. In K. J. Klein & S. W. J. Kozlowski (Eds.), Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations (pp. 349381). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Brockner, J., Wiesenfeld, B. M. (1996). An integrative framework for explaining reactions to decisions: Interactive effects of outcomes and procedures. Psychological Bulletin, 120(2), 189208.Google Scholar
Bryk, A., Raudenbush, S. W. (1992). Hierarchical linear models for social and behavioral research: Applications and data analysis methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Castro, S. L. (2002). Data analytic methods for the analysis of multilevel questions: A comparison of intraclass correlation coefficients, rwg(j), hierarchical linear modeling, within- and between-analysis, and random group resampling. Leadership Quarterly, 13(1), 6993.Google Scholar
Chan, D. (1998). Functional relations among constructs in the same content domain at different levels of analysis: A typology of composition models. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(2), 234246.Google Scholar
Chen, G., Kirkman, B. L., Kanfer, R., Allen, D. (2007a). Multilevel study of leadership, empowerment, and performance in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 231346.Google Scholar
Chen, Z., Lam, W., Zhong, J. A. (2007b). Leader-member exchange and member performance: A new look at individual-level negative feedback-seeking behavior and team-level empowerment climate. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(1), 202212.Google Scholar
Cohen–Charash, Y., Spector, P. E. (2001). The role of justice in organizations: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 86(2), 278321.Google Scholar
Cole, M. S., Bernerth, J. B., Walter, F., Holt, D. T. (2010). Organizational justice and individuals’ withdrawal: Unlocking the influence of emotional exhaustion. Journal of Management Studies, 47(3), 367390.Google Scholar
Colquitt, J., Conlon, E., Wesson, M., Porter, C., Ng, K. (2001). Justice at the millennium: A meta–analytic review of 25 years of organizational justice research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 425445.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conger, J. A., Kanungo, R. N. (1988). The empowerment process: Integrating theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 13(3), 471482.Google Scholar
Cooper, C. L., Cooper, R. D., Eaker, L. (1988). Living with stress. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
Cropanzano, R., Byrne, Z. S., Bobocel, D. R., Rupp, D. E. (2001). Moral virtues, fairness heuristics, social entities, and other denizens of organizational justice. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58(2), 164209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Boer, E. M., Bakker, A. B., Syroit, J. E., Schaufeli, W. B. (2002). Unfairness at work as a predictor of absenteeism. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23(2), 181197.Google Scholar
Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York, NY: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499512.Google Scholar
Elovainio, M., van den Bos, K., Linna, A., Kivimaki, M., Ala-Mursula, L., Pentti, J., Vahtera, J. (2005). Combined effects of uncertainty and organizational justice on employee health: Testing the uncertainty management model of fairness judgments among Finnish public sector employees. Social Science & Medicine, 61(12), 25012512.Google Scholar
Erdogan, B., Bauer, T. N. (2009). Perceived overqualification and its outcomes: The moderating role of empowerment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(2), 557565.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117140.Google Scholar
Griffeth, R. W., Hom, P. W., Gaertner, S. (2000). A meta-analysis of antecedents and correlates of employee turnover: Update, moderator tests, and research implications for the next millennium. Journal of Management, 26(3), 463488.Google Scholar
Halbesleben, J. R. B., Buckley, M. R. (2004). Burnout in organizational life. Journal of Management, 30(6), 859879.Google Scholar
Hausknecht, J. P., Sturman, M. C., Roberson, Q. M. (2011). Justice as a dynamic construct: Effects of individual trajectories on distal work outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(4), 872880.Google Scholar
Hechanova, M. R. M., Amampay, R. B. A., Franco, E. P. (2006). Psychological empowerment, job satisfaction and performance among Filipino service workers. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 9(1), 7278.Google Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50(3), 337370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hofmann, D. A., Griffin, M. A., Gavin, M. B. (2000). The application of hierarchical linear modeling to management research. In K. J. Klein & S. W. J. Kozlowski (Eds.), Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations: Foundations, extensions, and new directions (pp. 467511). Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Holdsworth, L., Cartwright, S. (2003). Empowerment, stress and satisfaction: An exploratory study of a call centre. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24(3), 131140.Google Scholar
Hung, J.-Y., Fisher, R., Gapp, R., Carter, G. (2012). Work-related stress impacts on the commitment of urban transit drivers. Journal of Management & Organization, 18(2), 220230.Google Scholar
James, L. R., Demaree, R. J., Wolf, G. (1993). r wg: An assessment of within-group interrater agreement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(2), 306309.Google Scholar
Janssen, O. (2004). How fairness perceptions make innovative behavior more or less stressful. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(2), 201216.Google Scholar
Judge, T. A., Colquitt, J. A. (2004). Organizational justice and stress: The mediating role of work-family conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(3), 395404.Google Scholar
Karriker, J. H., Williams, M. L. (2009). Organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior: A mediated multifoci model. Journal of Management, 35(1), 112135.Google Scholar
Lance, C. E., Vandenberg, R. J. (2002). Confirmatory factor analysis. In F. Drasgow & N. Schmitt (Eds.), Measuring and analyzing behavior in organizations (pp. 221254). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Lavelle, J. J., Rupp, D. E., Brockner, J. (2007). Taking a multifoci approach to the study of justice, social exchange, and citizenship behavior: The target similarity model? Journal of Management, 33(6), 841867.Google Scholar
Lee, R. T., Ashforth, B. E. (1996). A meta-analytic examination of the correlates of the three dimensions of job burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(2), 123133.Google Scholar
LePine, J. A., LePine, M. A., Jackson, C. L. (2004). Challenge and hindrance stress: Relationship with exhaustion, motivation to learn, and learning performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 883891.Google Scholar
Li, A., Cropanzano, R. (2009). Fairness at the group level: Justice climate and intraunit justice climate. Journal of Management, 35(3), 564599.Google Scholar
Liao, H., Rupp, D. E. (2005). The impact of justice climate and justice orientation on work outcomes: A cross-level multifoci framework. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(2), 242256.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liden, R. C., Tewksbury, T. W. (1995). Empowerment and work teams. In G. R. Ferris, S. D. Rosen & D. T. Barnum (Eds.), Handbook of human resources management (pp. 386403). Oxford, England: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Liden, R. C., Wayne, S. J., Sparrowe, R. T. (2000). An examination of the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relations between the job, interpersonal relationships, and work outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(3), 407416.Google Scholar
Lind, E. A., van den Bos, K. (2002). When fairness works: Toward a general theory of uncertainty management. In B. M. Staw & R. M. Kramer (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (pp. 181222). Boston, MA: JAI Press.Google Scholar
Martin, J. (1981). Relative deprivation: A theory of distributive justice for an era of shrinking resources. In L. L. Cummings & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (pp. 53108). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.Google Scholar
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397422.Google Scholar
Masterson, S. S., Lewis-McClear, K., Goldman, B. M., Taylor, S. M. (2000). Integrating justice and social exchange: The differing effects of fair procedures and treatment on work relationships. Academy of Management Journal, 43(4), 738748.Google Scholar
Mayer, D., Nishii, L., Schneider, B., Goldstein, H. (2007). The precursors and products of justice climates: Group leader antecedents and employee attitudinal consequences. Personnel Psychology, 60(4), 929963.Google Scholar
Moliner, C., Martinez-Tur, V., Peiro, J. M., Ramos, J., Cropanzano, R. (2005). Relationships between organizational justice and burnout at the work-unit level. International Journal of Stress Management, 12(2), 99116.Google Scholar
Moye, M. J., Henkin, A. B. (2006). Exploring associations between employee empowerment and interpersonal trust in managers. Journal of Management Development, 25(2), 101117.Google Scholar
Naumann, S. E., Bennett, N. (2000). A case for procedural justice climate: Development and test of a multilevel model. Academy of Management Journal, 43(5), 881889.Google Scholar
Newton, C., Jimmieson, N. L. (2008). Role stressors, participative control, and subjective fit with organizational values: Main and moderating effects on employee outcomes. Journal of Management & Organization, 14(1), 2039.Google Scholar
Niehoff, B. P., Moorman, R. H. (1993). Justice as a mediator of the relationship between methods of monitoring and organizational citizenship behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 36(3), 527556.Google Scholar
Parker, D. F., DeCotiis, T. A. (1983). Organizational determinants of job stress. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 32(2), 160177.Google Scholar
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J., Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879903.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rousseau, D. M. (1989). Psychological and implied contracts in organizations. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 2(2), 121139.Google Scholar
Schaufeli, W. B. (2006). The balance of give and take: Toward a social exchange model of burnout. Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale, 19(1), 87131.Google Scholar
Seibert, S. E., Silver, S. R., Randolph, W. A. (2004). Taking empowerment to the next level: A multiple-level model of empowerment performance, and satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 47(3), 332349.Google Scholar
Seibert, S. E., Wang, G., Courtright, S. H. (2011). Antecedents and consequences of psychological and team empowerment in organizations: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(5), 9811003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Si, S., Wei, F. (2012). Transformational and transactional leaderships, empowerment climate, and innovative performance: A multilevel analysis in the Chinese context. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 21(2), 299320.Google Scholar
Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 14421465.Google Scholar
Spreitzer, G. (2007). Taking stock: A review of more than twenty years of research on empowerment at work. In J. Barling & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Handbook of organizational behavior (pp. 5472). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Spreitzer, G., Kizilos, M. A., Nason, S. W. (1997). A dimensional analysis of the relationship between psychological empowerment and effectiveness, satisfaction, and strain. Journal of Management, 23(5), 679704.Google Scholar
Stahl, G., Chua, C., Caligiuri, P., Cerdin, J., Taniguchi, M. (2009). Predictors of turnover intentions in learning-driven and demand-driven international assignments: The role of repatriation concerns, satisfaction with company support, and perceived career advancement opportunities. Human Resource Management, 48(1), 89109.Google Scholar
Tepper, B. J. (2000). Consequences of abusive supervision. Academy of Management Journal, 43(2), 176190.Google Scholar
Tepper, B. J. (2001). Health consequences of organizational injustice: Tests of main and interactive effects. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 86(2), 197215.Google Scholar
van den Bos, K., Lind, E. A. (2002). Uncertainty management by means of fairness judgments. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 160). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
van Dierendonck, D., Schaufeli, W. B., Bunnk, B. P. (2001). Burnout and inequity among human service professionals: A longitudinal study. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 6(1), 4352.Google Scholar
Walster, E., Berscheid, E., Walster, G. W. (1973). New directions in equity research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 25(2), 151176.Google Scholar
Zhang, Z., Bartol, K. M. (2010). Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement. Academy of Management Journal, 53(1), 107128.Google Scholar
Zhou, L., Wang, M., Chen, G. (2012). Supervisors’ upward exchange relationships and subordinate outcomes: Testing the multilevel mediation role of empowerment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(3), 668680.Google Scholar