Perceptions of benefit and justice and desired outcomes

Abstract

It is widely accepted that allowing affected parties to participate in the resource allocation process is one way to create an atmosphere of outcome equity and process fairness, thereby maximizing desired attitudes (such as satisfaction) and behavioral intentions (such as commitment to perform). However, in certain business settings, participative decision-making may not be feasible and/or resources may be limited such that not everyone gets what they believe they deserve or need. For this reason, it is important to identify factors that can mitigate negative attitudes and behavioral intentions associated with perceptions of inequitable allocations or non-participative processes.

The current research provides evidence that if an employee assesses the net perceived benefit (NPB) of a decision outcome as positive they will, even in cases of a non-participative process or when the allocation of resources is not seen as fair, be satisfied with the outcome and express commitment to performing the required task. Further, this study found support for the suggestion that the presence of superior monitoring can favorably affect an employee's commitment to perform, particularly in cases when satisfaction is negatively impacted by non-participation and low NPB. This study demonstrates that personal attitudes, behavioral intentions, and organizational objectives can be more closely aligned through the appropriate use of monitoring and by making understandable how an allocation decision will provide benefits to affect individuals.

Citation

Beeler, J.D., Franz, D.R. and Wier, B. (2001), "Perceptions of benefit and justice and desired outcomes", Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research (Advances in Accounting Behavioural Research, Vol. 4), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 361-377. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-7979(01)04080-7