Leadership and fairness: The state of the art

Teleconsultation management in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic: The impact of Perceived Justice on satisfaction and Word-Of-Mouth

Following the restrictions on movement imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the greater demands placed on physicians and many healthcare infrastructures, a large number of health teleconsultation platforms have emerged around the world. The aim of this paper is to obtain a better understanding of the acceptance of teleconsultation platforms by patients. To this end, a survey of 1273 patients was carried out using a teleconsultation platform during the pandemic period in France (from 9 July to 29 October 2020). The questionnaire mobilized existing scales to measure Satisfaction, Perceived Justice and, finally, the intention to disseminate by Word-Of-Mouth (WOM). Data were analysed using a Partial Least Squares approach. The study confirms the impact of Distributive, Informational and Procedural Justice on Satisfaction and the impact of Distributive and Informational Justice on WOM. The findings emphasize the influence of Satisfaction on WOM. The results detect a mediating effect of Satisfaction on WOM and moderating effects of gender, age and long-standing use. This research contributes to both theoretical and practical COVID-19 research and may be used by healthcare professionals to develop teleconsultation services, one of the means of supporting interaction and satisfying patients’ treatment requirements during the pandemic.

Does Fair Coach Behavior Predict the Quality of Athlete Leadership Among Belgian Volleyball and Basketball Players: The Vital Role of Team Identification and Task Cohesion

A vast stream of empirical work has revealed that coach and athlete leadership are important determinants of sport teams’ functioning and performance. Although coaches have a direct impact on individual and team outcomes, they should also strive to stimulate athletes to take up leadership roles in a qualitative manner. Yet, the relation between coach leadership behavior and the extent of high-quality athlete leadership within teams remains underexposed. Based on organizational justice theory and the social identity approach, the present research tested whether perceived justice of the coach positively predicts the quality of athlete leadership. Furthermore, we examined the role of group dynamic processes (i.e., team identification and task cohesion) within this relation. Belgian volleyball (N = 161) and basketball players (N = 78) were asked to rate the justice of their coach, their team identification, the task cohesion, and the athlete leadership quality in the team. Structural equation modeling indicated that coaches’ perceived justice positively predicted the quality of athletes’ leadership, and that this relation was established through three intermediate steps (i.e., from team identification to task cohesion, to athlete leadership quality). These results suggest that fair coach behavior does not only bridge the gap between leadership and followership, it also has the potential to improve the quality of athletes’ leadership within sport teams. More specifically, findings suggest that coaches’ perceived justice cultivates a shared social identity characterized by high levels of players’ identification with their team, which in turn increased their perceptions of the team’s task cohesion. Finally, this increased task cohesion encouraged the athlete leaders to demonstrate high-quality leadership.

The relationship between leader support, staff influence over decision making, work pressure and patient satisfaction: a cross-sectional analysis of NHS datasets in England

OBJECTIVE

To explore the relationships between leader support, staff influence over decisions, work pressure and patient satisfaction.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study of large National Health Service (NHS) datasets in England in 2010.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

158 NHS acute hospital trusts in England (n=63 156) from all staff groups.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Survey data measuring leader support, staff influence over decision making, staff work pressure and objective outcome data measuring patient satisfaction.

RESULTS

Multilevel serial mediation analysis showed a significantly positive association between leader support and staff influence over decisions (B=0.74, SE=0.07, p<0.01). Furthermore, staff influence over decisions showed a negative association with staff work pressure (B=-0.84, SE=0.41, p<0.05) which in turn was negatively linked to patient satisfaction (B=-17.50, SE=4.34, p<0.01). Serial mediation showed a positive indirect effect of leader support on patient satisfaction via staff influence over decisions and work pressure (B=10.96, SE=5.55, p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Our results provide evidence that leader support influences patient satisfaction through shaping staff experience, particularly staff influence over decisions and work pressure. Patients' care is dependent on the health, well-being, and effectiveness of the NHS workforce. That, in turn, is determined by the extent to which leaders are supportive in ensuring that work environments are managed in a way which protects the well-being of staff.

Antecedents and Consequences of Perceived Inclusion in Academia

A diversified workforce is a current trend in organizations today. The present paper illuminates the antecedents, consequences, and potential gender differences of a rather new concept salient to contemporary work life, namely, perceived inclusion. The hypothesized relationships were tested in a sample of academics and faculty staff at different higher education institutions in Norway (n = 12,170). Structural equation modeling analyses supported hypotheses that empowering leadership and social support from the leader (but not the fairness) are positively related to perceived inclusion. Further, perceived inclusion is positively related to organizational commitment, work engagement, and work-home facilitation and negatively related to work-home conflict. By utilizing multigroup analyses, we found support for the hypothesis that compared to women, men perceive their organization as more inclusive. However, in contrast to what was hypothesized, the proposed relationships in the model were stronger for men than women, suggesting that not only do men perceive their work environment as more inclusive, but their perception of inclusion is also more strongly related to beneficial outcomes for the organization. These results provide insight into the antecedents of and strategies for fostering an inclusive work environment, as a response to leveraging and integrating diversity in everyday work life.

Affect-driven impact of paradoxical leadership on employee organizational citizenship behaviour

Paradoxical leadership is an emerging leadership style which describes leadership behaviours that are ostensibly contradictory but in reality are interrelated and address workplace demands simultaneously and over time. The present study is based on affective events theory (AET), which states that occurrences or events at work result in prompt positive or negative affect in employees. The purpose of the study is to examine the mediating role of positive affect on the relationship between paradoxical leadership and employee organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). We also examine the moderating role of procedural fairness on the relationship between employee positive affect and OCB. Data collected in two phases in small- and medium-sized Chinese companies indicate that positive affect fully mediates the relationship between paradoxical leadership and employee OCB, and this relationship was found to be stronger when procedural fairness was higher rather than lower. We provide theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Modeling the Joint Effect of Leader and Follower Authenticity on Work and Non-Work Outcomes

Recent theoretical and empirical work has developed the concept of authenticity, both as it relates to leader authenticity and as it relates to authenticity in followers. The present study examines perceptions of employee authenticity and perceived leader authenticity and highlights the utility of jointly examining the congruence between the two to predict individual-level outcomes. The present study utilized Qualtrics Panels to recruit three waves of survey participants. A total of 420 participants responded to all three time points. Polynomial regression, response surface modeling, and a block variable approach with indirect effects were used to test our hypotheses. Results supported the effect of authenticity congruence on individual-level work-related outcomes. Leader-member exchange was found to be a mediating variable between leader-follower authenticity congruence and outcomes in the work and non-work domains.

The effects of transformational leadership on organisational citizenship behaviour: the role of organisational justice and affective commitment

Purpose

Even though the influence of transformational leadership on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) has been extensively studied in human resource management, evidence on the mechanisms through which transformational leadership affects OCB is only beginning to emerge. In view of the ambivalence about strategies of advancing OCB, this paper aims to establish whether and the extent to which the relationship between transformational leadership and OCB was mediated by organisational justice and affective commitment.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was based on a random survey of 300 employees from a medium-sized public university, and 122 employees from public and private sector organisations in Lesotho. Partial least squares structural equation modelling and process macro techniques were used to analyse data.

Findings

The results confirmed significant paths between transformational leadership and organisational justice; organisational justice and affective commitment; and affective commitment and OCB. The results further suggested that perceived justice and affective commitment were significant serial mediators between transformational leadership and OCB.

Practical implications

Elucidation of the nature of mediating factors between leadership and OCB would leverage organisations’ level of understanding of why transformational leadership is critical to promoting OCB, and hence encourage them to design programmes that would equip supervisors with skills necessary to enhance it.

Originality/value

This is one of the few theory-driven primary studies that examine the serial mediating roles of organisational justice and affective commitment in the transformational leadership – OCB relationship.

Inclusive leadership and work engagement: the mediating role of procedural justice

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the relationship between inclusive leadership (IL) and employee work engagement (WE), as well as the mediating effect of procedural justice (PJ) on this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

An online, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. A total of 201 information technology (IT) professionals in Turkey participated in the study. The authors used structural equation modeling to analyze the collected data. The authors then used a series of nested model comparisons to test the hypothesized mediating relationship.

Findings

The outcomes suggest that IL is positively related to PJ while PJ is positively associated with WE. In addition, PJ mediates the relationship between IL and WE.

Practical implications

The outcomes underline the importance of IL to effectively lead IT professionals. Organizational leaders can cultivate IL by demonstrating openness, availability and accessibility toward their employees and create work environments in which employees’ ideas are valued. Additionally, for employee PJ perceptions, organizations need to ensure that their procedures and policies are transparent and fair in terms of how decisions are made. Moreover, organizations can offer training to their IT managers on IL and PJ topics.

Originality/value

This study adds to the very scarce literature on IL. In addition, to the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study to test the IL and PJ relationship. Furthermore, this is the first study to explore the concept of IL in the Turkish context. Moreover, the findings of this research can be beneficial for future theory development on IL in cross-cultural contexts.

On the Value of Considering Specific Facets of Interactional Justice Perceptions

This research seeks to verify the value of considering specific perceptions of informational and interpersonal justice over and above employees' global perceptions of interactional justice. In Study 1 (Sample 1: n = 592; Sample 2: n = 384), we examined the underlying structure of workers' perceptions of interactional justice by contrasting first-order and bifactor representations of their ratings. To investigate the true added value of specific informational and interpersonal justice perceptions once global interactional justice perceptions are taken into account, we also considered the relations between these global and specific perceptions and various outcomes. Our findings revealed that workers' perceptions of interactional justice simultaneously reflected a global interactional justice factor and two specific facets (interpersonal and informational justice). In Study 2, we identified employees' latent justice profiles based on their global (interactional justice) and specific (interpersonal and informational justice) levels of interactional justice. Five different interactional justice profiles were identified: low interpersonal, high interpersonal/average informational, high informational, normative, and high interpersonal/low informational. Employees' perceptions of transformational leadership are a significant predictor of profile membership. Finally, the five profiles were significantly associated with anxiety and emotional exhaustion.

Leadership and work engagement: Exploring explanatory mechanisms

Construct proliferation in the leadership field raises questions concerning parsimony and whether we should focus on joint mechanisms of leadership styles, rather than the differences between them. In this theoretical research article, we propose that positive leadership styles translate into similar leader behaviors on the work floor that influence employee work engagement through a number of shared pathways. We take a deductive approach and review several established theories as well as relevant up-to-date empirical work from a bird’s-eye view to generate a general framework. We introduce a model with three processes (one direct process and two indirect processes) and five pathways (practical, motivational, affective, cognitive, and behavioral). With regard to the indirect processes, we propose that work characteristics (material pathway) and psychological need satisfaction (intrapersonal motivational pathway) mediate the relationship between positive leadership styles and engagement. Regarding the direct interpersonal process, we propose that leaders directly influence employee engagement through three pathways: emotional contagion (affective interpersonal pathway), social exchange (cognitive interpersonal pathway), and role modeling (behavioral interpersonal pathway). Our parsimonious research model furthers the integration of different theoretical viewpoints as well as underscores joint mechanisms with regard to the effect of positive leadership styles. Practically speaking, this article also provides insight into which processes leaders can work on to stimulate employee work engagement through progressive policies and work practices.

A Fair Share of Work: Is Fairness of Task Distribution a Mediator Between Transformational Leadership and Follower Emotional Exhaustion?

Drawing on social resource theory and the norm of equity, this research proposes fairness of task distribution as a mediating mechanism of the well-established relationship between transformational leadership and followers' well-being, conceptualizing the latter as low emotional exhaustion. Using data from 479 German employees in a three-wave longitudinal study, we found transformational leadership to be related to fair task distribution over time. The perceived fairness of task distribution mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and follower emotional exhaustion (structural equation modeling) when excluding stabilities. Our results also show a reverse causation effect for emotional exhaustion and transformational leadership over a longer time period (within 20 months), suggesting a circular process, as well as a mediation by fairness of task distribution when excluding stabilities. The findings emphasize the importance of fair task distribution by leaders for followers' well-being.

Demographic diversity, processes and outcomes: an integrated multilevel framework

Purpose

A narrow focus of past diversity research and inconsistent findings have contributed to a lack of understanding of how to manage diversity for positive outcomes. Focusing on age, gender and ethnic diversity, this paper aims to review literature on group objective demographic diversity and individual perceived demographic diversity to present an integrated multilevel framework for our improved understanding and to present testable propositions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a thorough review of 51 empirical studies of demographic diversity at individual and group levels to propose a multilevel framework.

Findings

Drawing on information elaboration theory, social categorization theory and social identity theory, an integrated multilevel framework is proposed at individual and group levels. The framework suggests that demographic diversity (age, gender and ethnicity) aids positive information elaboration processes, while also causing negative social categorization processes. These processes impact individual and group outcomes. The framework also identifies moderating factors not sufficiently addressed in the demographic diversity literature. Propositions and implications for future research in the field of demographic diversity are presented.

Originality/value

This review provides an integrated multilevel framework of objective and perceived demographic diversity and its positive and negative processes and effects at both individual and group levels, drawn from information elaboration, social categorization and social identity theories.

Infants expect leaders to right wrongs

Anthropological and psychological research on direct third-party punishment suggests that adults expect the leaders of social groups to intervene in within-group transgressions. Here, we explored the developmental roots of this expectation. In violation-of-expectation experiments, we asked whether 17-mo-old infants (n = 120) would expect a leader to intervene when observing a within-group fairness transgression but would hold no particular expectation for intervention when a nonleader observed the same transgression. Infants watched a group of 3 bear puppets who served as the protagonist, wrongdoer, and victim. The protagonist brought in 2 toys for the other bears to share, but the wrongdoer seized both toys, leaving none for the victim. The protagonist then either took 1 toy away from the wrongdoer and gave it to the victim (intervention event) or approached each bear in turn without redistributing a toy (nonintervention event). Across conditions, the protagonist was either a leader (leader condition) or a nonleader equal in rank to the other bears (nonleader condition); across experiments, leadership was marked by either behavioral or physical cues. In both experiments, infants in the leader condition looked significantly longer if shown the nonintervention as opposed to the intervention event, suggesting that they expected the leader to intervene and rectify the wrongdoer's transgression. In contrast, infants in the nonleader condition looked equally at the events, suggesting that they held no particular expectation for intervention from the nonleader. By the second year of life, infants thus already ascribe unique responsibilities to leaders, including that of righting wrongs.

Are Leadership Fairness, Psychological Distress, and Role Stressors Interrelated? A Two-Wave Prospective Study of Forward and Reverse Relationships

While previous research has mainly considered leadership as an antecedent to psychological distress and role stressors (i.e., role ambiguity and role conflict) among subordinates, a reverse relationship where these variables influence reports of leadership is also possible. To determine the directionality of the associations this two-wave prospective study assesses bidirectional relationships between fair leadership and role stressors and examines whether psychological distress mediates the reciprocal associations between fair leadership and the role stressors. Analyses were conducted in a sample of 6,790 Norwegian employees with a 2-year time-lag between measurement points. Fair leadership was associated with lower stability adjusted role ambiguity, but not role conflict, over time. Role conflict, but not role ambiguity, was related to subsequent reports of the immediate leader as less fair. Psychological distress did neither mediate the relationship between fair leadership and subsequent reports of role stressors, nor the association between role stressors and subsequent reports of fair leadership. The findings suggest that the fair leadership – role stressor association is not a one-directional process, but that exposure to role stressors also influence subordinates’ perceptions of leadership. An implication of the findings is that theoretical models of organizational leadership should include this reverse impact of role stressors. To reduce the effects of role stressors, organizations could set consistent, clear and attractive goals and provide employees with necessary information for conducting their work tasks in order to help workers understand and master their roles at the workplace.

Seems Fair to Me: Dyadic Leader Consensus Mediates Fairness and Group Performance

Drawing on both relational and shared leadership theory and utilizing social consensus, we examine the relationship between percieved leader fairness, leader consensus (LC), and group performance. We do so by conceptualizing LC as a new way of hypothesizing and examining shared leadership. LC derives from mutual dyadic perceptions of all members in a team. First, we examine perceptions of leader fairness as a possible antecedent of LC. Second, we investigate the mediational effect of dyadic perceptions of leadership (i.e., LC predicts group performance). In two multisource studies using a round-robin design, we demonstrate that when team members reach a clear consensus about their team leader, perceived leader fairness was positively associated with LC. Furthermore, teams who perceived their leaders as fair exhibited higher group performance.

Mechanisms linking authentic leadership to emotional exhaustion: The role of procedural justice and emotional demands in a moderated mediation approach

In order to gain more knowledge on how the positive leadership concept of authentic leadership impacts follower strain, this study tries to uncover procedural justice as an underlying mechanism. In contrast to previous work, we exclusively base our theoretical model on justice theories. Specifically, we hypothesize that authentic leadership negatively predicts emotional exhaustion through perceptions of procedural justice. We assume that this indirect effect is conditional on followers' amount of emotional demands, and that the procedural justice-emotional exhaustion relationship is stronger when emotional demands are high. This finally results in a stronger exhaustion-reducing effect of authentic leadership. The proposed moderated mediation model was tested in a sample of N=628 employees nested in 168 teams using lagged data from three waves. Results provide support for all hypotheses. Authentic leadership is critical to employees' well-being as it contributes to an elevated perception of positive work conditions (procedural justice), especially in contexts with high emotional demands. Limitations and practical implications on leadership development are discussed.

On Ethically Solvent Leaders: The Roles of Pride and Moral Identity in Predicting Leader Ethical Behavior

The popular media has repeatedly pointed to pride as one of the key factors motivating leaders to behave unethically. However, given the devastating consequences that leader unethical behavior may have, a more scientific account of the role of pride is warranted. The present study differentiates between authentic and hubristic pride and assesses its impact on leader ethical behavior, while taking into consideration the extent to which leaders find it important to their self-concept to be a moral person. In two experiments we found that with higher levels of moral identity, authentically proud leaders are more likely to engage in ethical behavior than hubristically proud leaders, and that this effect is mediated by leaders' motivation to act selflessly. A field survey among organizational leaders corroborated that moral identity may bring the positive effect of authentic pride and the negative effect of hubristic pride on leader ethical behavior to the forefront.

Personalized and Depersonalized Responses to Leaders’ Fair Treatment: Status Judgments and Leader–Member Exchange as Mediating Mechanisms

By extracting insights from leader–member exchange (LMX) theory and social identity theory, this study predicted that a leader’s interactional justice is associated with followers’ multifoci identification by personalized and depersonalized mediating mechanisms. Specifically, we hypothesized that a leader’s interactional justice affects (a) followers’ relational identification via the LMX as a personalized response and (b) followers’ work-group identification via status judgments (pride and respect) as a depersonalized response. The study’s constructs were measured on three separate occasions over an interval of 4 months, using data from a sample of 322 employees at a large public university. As predicted, we found that (a) LMX mediates the relationship between interactional justice and relational identification and (b) status judgments (pride and respect) mediate the relationships between interactional justice and work-group identification. Theoretical and practical implications for these findings are discussed.

Organizational Conspiracy Beliefs: Implications for Leadership Styles and Employee Outcomes

PURPOSE

Belief in conspiracy theories about societal events is widespread among citizens. The extent to which conspiracy beliefs about managers and supervisors matter in the micro-level setting of organizations has not yet been examined, however. We investigated if leadership styles predict conspiracy beliefs among employees in the context of organizations. Furthermore, we examined if such organizational conspiracy beliefs have implications for organizational commitment and turnover intentions.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

We conducted a survey among a random sample of the US working population (N = 193).

FINDINGS

Despotic, laissez-faire, and participative leadership styles predicted organizational conspiracy beliefs, and the relations of despotic and laissez-faire leadership with conspiracy beliefs were mediated by feelings of job insecurity. Furthermore, organizational conspiracy beliefs predicted, via decreased organizational commitment, increased turnover intentions.

IMPLICATIONS

Organizational conspiracy beliefs matter for how employees perceive their leaders, how they feel about their organization, and whether or not they plan to quit their jobs. A practical implication, therefore, is that it would be a mistake for managers to dismiss organizational conspiracy beliefs as innocent rumors that are harmless to the organization.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

Three novel conclusions emerge from this study. First, organizational conspiracy beliefs occur frequently among employees. Second, participative leadership predicts decreased organizational conspiracy beliefs; despotic and laissez-faire leadership predict increased organizational conspiracy beliefs due to the contribution of these destructive leadership styles to an insecure work environment. Third, organizational conspiracy beliefs harm organizations by influencing employee commitment and, indirectly, turnover intentions.

Authentic Leadership, Traditionality, and Interactional Justice in the Chinese Context

We examine the effects of authentic leadership on subordinates in the Chinese context. Drawing on attribution processes of self-disclosure, we propose that authentic leaders engaging in self-disclosure practices cultivate subordinates’ positive feelings that their leaders like and trust them. We further explain how and why authentic leadership particularly influences highly traditional Chinese subordinates. We propose that Chinese traditionality strengthens the positive effects of authentic leadership on subordinates’ perceptions that their leader practices interactional justice, which in turn positively relates to their in-role performance, creativity, and organizational citizenship behaviour. In Study 1, we surveyed 199 employees in 47 work units from nine high-technology organizations in China. The results support the hypothesized relationships. In Study 2, we surveyed 170 employees in 46 work units from various organizations in China. The results show that authentic leadership effects remain unchanged after controlling for the effects of transformational leadership. We discuss the implications for leadership effectiveness in the Chinese context.

Enhancing our understanding of vision in organizations

We put forth a theoretical model that considers alternative paths toward the formation of vision in collectives. We view vision as being shaped by a combination of hierarchical leader vision and shared leadership processes involving followers. As such, these paths balance leader- and follower-centric approaches to understand the formation of vision. A feature of our approach is that we emphasize some key processes and moderators; specifically, the role of the content of the vision of the leader, leader deontic fairness, and collective identification among members of the collective. We consider research implications including the measurement of shared vision, as well as practical implications pertaining to its relevance for such important outcomes as organizational learning.

Organizational justice–affective commitment relationship in a team sport setting: The moderating effect of group cohesion

Using organizational justice literature, the current study aimed to examine the relationship between three dimensions of organizational justice (distributive, procedural, interactional justice) and affective commitment, and to explore the moderating effect of group cohesion on the relationship between the three dimensions of justice and affective commitment in a collegiate team sport context. Data were collected from 253 college student-athletes of two Football Bowl Subdivision institutions in the Southeastern United States. Results of three hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that all three dimensions of justice were positively and significantly related to affective commitment. In regard to the moderating effect, group cohesion significantly moderated the distributive justice–affective commitment and the interactional–affective commitment relationships. Specifically, the two significant relationships were significantly stronger for student-athletes who reported high levels of group cohesion than their counterparts. Strategies by coaches to improve athletes’ perceptions of fairness and group cohesion and suggestions for future researches were discussed.

Transformational Leadership, Interactional Justice, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

We examined the mediating influence of interactional justice on relations between transformational leadership and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Because the relational context in which supervisors and subordinates interact could influence the mediated effect of transformational leadership on OCB, we developed a first stage moderation model and examined supervisor–subordinate dissimilarities in race and gender as potential moderating variables. Analyses performed using 230 supervisor–subordinate dyads showed that racial dissimilarity moderated the mediated effect of transformational leadership on OCB transmitted through interactional justice. As hypothesized, the mediated effect of transformational leadership on OCB was stronger for subordinates who were racially dissimilar to their supervisors. Gender dissimilarity did not moderate the mediation model.

A team fares well with a fair coach: Predictors of social loafing in interactive female sport teams

The present research aimed to develop and test a theoretical model that links players' perceived justice of the coach to a more optimal motivational climate, which in turn increases players' team identification and cohesion, and results in lower levels of social loafing in female sport teams. Belgian elite female basketball, volleyball, and football players (study 1; N = 259; M(age)  = 22.6) and Norwegian world-class female handball players (study 2; N = 110; M(age)  = 22.8) completed questionnaires assessing players' perceived justice (distributive and procedural), motivational climate, team identification, team cohesion (task and social), and social loafing (perceived and self-reported). In both studies, confirmatory and exploratory path analyses indicated that perceived justice was positively related to a mastery climate (P < 0.05) and negatively to a performance climate (P < 0.05). In turn, a mastery climate was linked to increased levels of team identification (P < 0.05) and task cohesion (P < 0.05). Consequently, players' perceived and self-reported social loafing decreased (P < 0.05). The findings of both independent studies demonstrated the impact of coaches' fairness, and consequently, the motivational climate created by the coach on the optimal functioning of female sport teams.

The Effects of Active Constructive and Passive Corrective Leadership on Workplace Incivility and the Mediating Role of Fairness Perceptions

Given the high costs of workplace deviance to employees and organizations, the question of when and how leaders can reduce or prevent uncivil interpersonal interactions at work is important. In this regard, we sought to understand the implications of one of the most widely cited models of leadership, the Full Range Leadership model, on workplace incivility through the lens of active constructive and passive corrective leadership. Analyzing multi-source data collected from 239 employee–coworker dyads working in diverse organizations, we find that active constructive leadership is related to decreased incidence of workplace incivility through its positive impact on fairness perceptions, whereas passive corrective leadership is both directly and indirectly (through diminished fairness perceptions) related to workplace incivility. This study provides theoretical and practical implications regarding the strategic focus of organizational interventions related to leadership in an effort to reduce workplace incivility and the mechanism by which it operates.

Mapping the contours of fairness

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the contours of fairness by showing how different facets of fairness impact three important employee outcomes (job satisfaction, turnover intention and employer advocacy) and examining the mediating role of quality of management and leadership (through perceptions of both senior management and the quality of exchange with immediate supervisors) in attenuating negative impacts of unfairness on these outcomes. The study extends the concept of fairness beyond the traditional focus on organizational justice and models the mediating role of leadership on the relationship between (un)fairness and the three employee-level outcomes in a sample of employees representative of the UK workforce.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were obtained from a nationally representative sample of 2,067 employees in the UK. Exploratory factor analysis and then confirmatory factor analysis is used to refine three unfairness factors and address their dimensionality of the unfairness scale and then multiple regression analysis is used to test a fairness-leadership-employee performance outcome model.

Findings

– Results of multiple regression analysis revealed that both trust in leadership and leader-member exchange partially mediate the relationship between organizational (un)fairness and job satisfaction, advocacy and turnover intention, respectively.

Practical implications

– The findings highlight the important role that leaders play in influencing the relationship between perception of unfairness and employee outcomes. This has implications for both theory and practice as it suggests that the pattern of inclusion that leaders create through the relationships that they develop with their followers has a significant impact on the relationship between unfairness and the work outcomes. They not only must manage traditional perceptions of justice, but also the assessments employees make about trust in management judgements and the perceived consequences of such judgements.

Originality/value

– In an environment where perceptions of unfairness are becoming both more endemic but also more complex, the study shows that both senior leaders and immediate supervisors have important agency in managing negative consequences. Through the measurement of satisfaction, turnover intention and employer advocacy it also provides potential links to link fairness into the engagement literature.

Why does interactional justice promote organizational loyalty, job performance, and prevent mental impairment? The role of social support and social stressors

Using social exchange theory as a conceptual framework, we investigated the relationship between interactional justice and the outcomes organizational loyalty (affective commitment, turnover intentions), perceived job performance (self-rated performance, personal accomplishment), and mental impairment (cognitive irritation, emotional exhaustion) in an online survey of 218 employees working in the field of computer technology. Specifically, we predicted that interactional justice would heighten the quality of social exchange relationships and therefore expected perceived social support (POS) and bullying to mediate the proposed relationships. We tested our hypotheses applying a latent structural equation model. Our findings revealed that POS mediated the relationship between interactional justice and organizational loyalty, whereas bullying mediated the relationship between interactional justice and mental impairment. Practical implications are discussed concerning how to foster interactional justice and POS and how to weaken bullying behavior.

Leadership and Creative Performance Behaviors in R&D Laboratories

The present study examines the direct relationship between leadership and creative performance behaviors as well as the mediating role of justice perceptions for this relationship in a R&D context. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire from 482 scientists working in 11 public-owned Indian R&D laboratories. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships between the study variables. The study found evidence for both direct and indirect relationships between leadership and creative performance behaviors. Justice perceptions partially mediate the relationship between leadership and creative performance behaviors. The study presents a process model of creativity linking leadership to creative performance behaviors through employee justice perceptions. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Prozedurale Fairness als Mediator zwischen transformationaler Führung und psychischer Beanspruchung am Arbeitsplatz

Die vorliegende Studie untersucht prozedurale Fairness als Mediator zwischen transformationaler Führung und psychischer Beanspruchung am Arbeitsplatz, konzeptualisiert als emotionale Erschöpfung und kognitive Irritation. In einer Querschnittstudie in Deutschland, Finnland und Schweden wurden Mehrebenendaten von 2092 Beschäftigten aus 271 Teams erhoben. Prozedurale Fairness konnte als ein Mediator des Zusammenhangs zwischen transformationaler Führung und psychischer Beanspruchung am Arbeitsplatz auf individueller Ebene bestätigt werden (Effekt und Mediation auf individueller Ebene). Zusätzlich konnte ein indirekter Effekt eines transformalen Führungsklimas über die individuelle Wahrnehmung prozeduraler Fairness und auch über ein Klima prozeduraler Fairness auf die psychische Beanspruchung am Arbeitsplatz bestätigt werden (indirekter Effekt auf Individual- und Teamebene). Dabei wurde für die individuelle Führungseinschätzung und bei indirektem Effekt auf Teamebene auch für individuelle Fairnesseinschätzungen kontrolliert. Die Ergebnisse unterstreichen die Bedeutung prozeduraler Fairness für die Gesundheit von Beschäftigten und zeigen, dass prozedurale Fairness nicht nur ein individuelles Phänomen ist.

Work Engagement

The primary objective of this research was to examine both transactional and transformational leadership styles as serving in the role of moderators in the relationship between organizational justice and work engagement. An online survey was administered to 348 respondents. Results supported the hypothesis that the positive relationship that both distributive and procedural justice held to work engagement would be more pronounced among employees experiencing low transactional leadership than among employees experiencing high transactional leadership. This set of results is consistent with the principles of leader fairness theory, which suggests that a low transactional leadership style elicits uncertainty about one’s social self in the context of the workplace, and this state of uncertainty incites an employee’s intensified desire to seek justice-related information.

The mediating role of organizational justice in the relationship between transformational leadership and nurses' quality of work life: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey

BACKGROUND

The importance of transformational leadership for nurses' well-being is increasingly acknowledged. However, there is a paucity of research examining the mechanisms that may explain the relationships between transformational leadership and nurses' quality of work life.

OBJECTIVES

First, to examine two possible psychological mechanisms that link transformational leadership behaviors to nurses' quality of work life. Second, to study the relationship between nurses' quality of work life and their work engagement.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study design.

SETTINGS

The study took place in 47 different hematology, oncology, and hematology/oncology units in France. Participants were nurses and auxiliary nurses.

PARTICIPANTS

343 nurses completed the questionnaire. Surveys were sent to all nurses working in the units. 95% were female, the average age was 36.30 years.

METHODS

Nurses were asked to rate their supervisor's transformational leadership style and their perceptions of distributive and interactional justice in the unit. They were also asked to evaluate their own level of quality of work life and their work engagement.

RESULTS

Distributive justice and interactional justice were found to fully mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and nurses' quality of work life. In addition, nurses' quality of work life positively related to their work engagement.

CONCLUSIONS

Transformational leaders may help ensure nurses' quality of work life which in turn increases their work engagement. These leadership practices are thus beneficial for both employees and organization.