The impact of power distance on the reaction to procedural (in)justice

Description

The construct of organizational justice emerged as important predictor or work related behavior within the field of psychological research. Since research was conducted mainly in the West (North America, Europe) till now, it is still unclear, if the dimensions found valid in the West have the same meaning in countries with different cultural values. Within my dissertation I dedicate myself to this question by focussing on one of four dimensions of organizational justice, procedural justice, which describes the fairness of the process leading to the final decision. Whether inter- and intracultural differences in power distance have an impact on individuals' reaction to procedural justice, specifically to voice vs. consistency, is examined within my dissertation. For this purpose power distance was measured both on the country level and on the individual level within a country. In Study 1 (N = 265), a cross-cultural scenario study, participants from low power distance culture (Austria, Australia) were compared with participants from a high power distance culture (China). The results revealed, as assumed, that individuals from low power distance cultures reacted significantly stronger to injustice, and showed increased intention to leave specifically in case of violated voice. No significant difference between high and low power distance individuals was found in the reaction to consistency; leading to the conclusion that power distance has an effect on the reaction to voice only. In Study 2 (N = 161) employees from one culture (Austria) were examined concerning their injustice sensitivity and compared by means of a power distance self-measure. A repeated measures ANOVA confirmed the results found in Study 1. As in Study 1, a significant effect of power distance on the reaction to violated voice was repeatedly found, whereas no such effect could be found on the reaction to consistency.

Period	02 Dec 2011
Event title	Meeting of the Work-, Industrial- & Economical Psychology Association Austria
Event type	Conference
Location	AustriaShow on map