The mediating role of organizational commitment between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) while considering the mediating effect of organizational commitment and the moderating role of power distance on this association. Design/methodology/approach Using a stratified sampling technique the data were collected from the employees working in bank branches located in five metropolitan cities (i.e. Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta and Karachi) of Pakistan. A total of 409 responses were received and 379 questionnaires were considered for analysis. To test the hypotheses structural equation modeling technique was applied using AMOS 21.0. Findings The results reported an insignificant relationship between organizational justice and OCB, but the relationship between organizational justice and organizational commitment was found to be significant. It has also emerged from the analysis that organizational commitment fully mediates the relationship between organizational justice and OCB. Moreover, power distance was found to moderate the relationship between organizational justice and organizational commitment. Research limitations/implications Findings of this study can be useful for banking organizations and policy makers responsible for employee productivity and overall employee well-being, particularly managers working on long-term organizational vision and expect employees to respond pro-socially toward fellow workers and organizational objectives. The study also provides the scope and space for potential scholars and researchers for carrying out further research. Practical implications Findings of this study can be useful for banking organizations and policy makers who have long-term vision and expect OCB from its employees to be sustainable in a dynamic market. The study also provides the scope and space for potential scholars and researchers for carrying out further research. Originality/value While extensive literature is available on organizational justice and its impact on OCB, very little work seems to have been done to examine the moderating impact of power distance between organizational justice and organizational commitment, particularly in the context of a developing country like Pakistan. Therefore, this work may be considered as original and of significant value in understanding the relationships between the various constructs in the scenario of Pakistan.

Organizational Justice and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Mediating Roles of Organizational Commitment and Leader Member Exchange

“…The results of this study are in line with research conducted by (Syaifuddin et al, 2015;Jehanzeb & Mohanty 2019) which states that there is an insignificant relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior.…”

“…In the context of social exchange, employees will respond by looking at the decision with trust and respect which will then make employees prefer to continue working in the company because if employees work at other companies, they do not necessarily get better treatment or benefits than the current company. The results of this study are supported by previous research which states that organizational justice has a positive and significant effect on organizational commitment (Mahmoudi et al, 2014;Jehanzeb & Mohanty, 2019).…”

“…The relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizen behavior can also be mediated by organizational commitment. The results of Jehanzeb and Mohanty (2019) research show that organizational commitment fully mediates the relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior. This means that when the commitment of employees is high, it can facilitate employees to show voluntary behavior and lead to positive perceptions of fair organizational processes.…”

“…This statement is supported by the results of previous research which states that organizational commitment positively and significantly mediates the effect of organizational justice on organizational citizenship behavior. (Mahmoudi et al, 2014;Jehanzeb & Mohanty, 2019). Therefore, it is proposed that: H6: Organizational justice has a positive and significant effect on organizational citizenship behavior through organizational commitment.…”

“…Empirically the relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior has been investigated by (Tziner & Sharoni, 2014;Saifi & Shahzad 2017;Onn et al, 2018) who found that there was a positive and significant influence between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior. However, the results of research conducted by Batool (2013) and Jehanzeb and Mohanty (2019) stated that organizational justice has no significant effect on organizational citizenship behavior. Thus there are still differences in research results, so further validation is needed regarding the relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior.…”