A multilevel study of the relationship between organizational justice and affective commitment : The moderating role of organizational size and tenure
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of organizational size and individual tenure on the relationship between organizational justice and organizational affective commitment. Based on the literature on organizational justice and justice climate, this paper tests whether the role of justice climate, measured at the organizational level, is affected by these organizational and individual characteristics in determining individual organizational affective commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
Data on 20,936 employees from 1,496 companies that were included in the 2004 Workplace Employment Relationships Survey were used.
Findings
Hierarchical linear modeling analysis shows that the importance of the justice climate extends beyond its effect on individual perceptions. Moreover, whereas the organization size does not influence the justice climate – affective commitment relationship, organizational tenure moderates it.
Originality/value
This study shows the impact of justice climate on affective commitment beyond the effect of individual justice. It also examines organizational (organization size) and individual characteristics (tenure) as possible moderators, constructs rarely considered in studies on justice climate.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author thanks Micki Kacmar, David Patient, and Mohamed Ikram Nasr for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. Of course, any errors are the authors’ responsibility. The author also acknowledges the Department of Trade and Industry, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service and the Policy Studies Institute as the originators of the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey Data, and the Data Archive at the University of Essex as the distributor of the data. The National Centre for Social Research was commissioned to conduct the survey fieldwork on behalf of the sponsors. None of these organizations bears any responsibility for the author's analysis and interpretations of the data.
Citation
Ohana, M. (2014), "A multilevel study of the relationship between organizational justice and affective commitment : The moderating role of organizational size and tenure", Personnel Review, Vol. 43 No. 5, pp. 654-671. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-05-2013-0073
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited