PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify select antecedents for affective commitment (AC) and whether organizational trust (OT) mediates the relationship between dimensions of organizational justice (OJ) and AC.Design/methodology/approachUsing a survey-based design, data were collected from employees across industry verticals who were working in various organizations and participated in an executive management program at an Indian management institute. Analysis was carried out using a partial least square-based package of ADANCO 2.2.1.FindingsIn line with cross-cultural research, the results indicated that distributive and informational justice contribute toward employees' AC. In addition, the findings confirmed that OT mediates the justice-AC relationship for distributive, interpersonal and informational justice. The role of job satisfaction (JS) as an important antecedent was also identified.Practical implicationsThe evidence-based findings, as represented in importance–performance map analysis (IPMA), will help the organizational leaders understand the factors responsible for employees' AC. Leaders will appreciate the important role played by justice, fairness and OT in enhancing commitment. The importance of JS was also highlighted.Originality/valueThis is a pioneering study to provide empirical evidence of the moderating effect of trust on OJ and the AC relationship. It is also one of the first to consider all of the four dimensions of OJ as possible antecedents for AC in a non-Western context.