In this article, the authors examine the relationship between an employer's implementation of a typical dispute resolution system (DRS) and organizational justice, perceived compliance with the law, and organizational commitment. They draw on unique data from a single, geographically expansive, U.S. firm with more than 100,000 employees in more than 1,000 locations. Holding all time-constant, location-level variables in place, they find that the introduction of a DRS is associated with elevated perceptions of interactional justice but diminished perceptions of procedural justice. They also find no discernible effect on organizational commitment, but a significant boost to perceived legal compliance by the company. The authors draw on these findings to offer a “differential-effects” model for conceptualizing the relationship among organizational justice, perceived legal compliance, and the implementation of dispute resolution mechanisms.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AmbroseMaureen L.SchminkeMarshall. 2003. Organization structure as a moderator of the relationship between procedural justice, interactional justice, perceived organizational support, and supervisory trust. Journal of Applied Psychology88: 295–305.
2.
AquinoKarlLewisMargaret U.BradfieldMurray. 1999. Justice constructs, negative affectivity, and employee deviance: A proposed model and empirical test. Journal of Organizational Behavior20: 1073–91.
3.
AquinoKarlTrippT. M.BiesR. J., 2006. Getting even or moving on: Power, procedural justice, and types of offense as predictors of revenge, forgiveness, reconciliation, and avoidance in organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology91: 653–68.
4.
AramJohn D.SalipantePaul F.Jr.1981. An evaluation of organizational due process in the resolution of employee/employer conflict. Academy of Management Review6: 197–204.
5.
BalserDeborah B.2000. Perceptions of on-the-job discrimination and employees with disabilities. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal12: 179–97.
6.
BaltagiBadi H.2005. Econometric Analysis of Panel Data. Chichester, NY: John Wiley.
7.
BattRosemaryColvinAlexander J. S.KeefeJeffrey. 2002. Employee voice, human resource practices, and quit rates: Evidence from the telecommunications industry. Industrial & Labor Relations Review55: 573–94.
8.
BeckerT. E.BillingsR. S.EvelethD. M.GilbertN. L., 1996. Foci and bases of employee commitment: Implications for job performance. Academy of Management Journal39: 464–82.
9.
BenderskyCorrine. 2003. Organizational dispute resolution systems: A complementarities model. Academy of Management Review28: 643–56.
10.
BertrandMarianneDufloEstherMullainathanSendhil. 2004. How much should we trust difference-in-differences estimates?Quarterly Journal of Economics119: 249–75.
11.
BidwellMatthew. 2009. Do peripheral workers do peripheral work? Comparing the use of highly-skilled contractors and regular employees. Industrial & Labor Relations Review62: 200–25.
12.
BiesRobert J.2001. Interactional (in)justice: The sacred and the profane. In GreenbergJ.CropanzanoR. (Eds.), Advances in Organizational Justice. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
13.
BiesRobert J.MoagJoseph F., 1986. Interactional justice: Communication criteria of fairness. In LewickiR. J.SheppardB. H.BazermanM. H. (Eds.), Research on Negotiations in Organizations, Vol. 1, pp. 43–55. Greenwich, CT:JAI Press.
14.
BiesRobert J.TylerTom R., 1993. The “litigation mentality” in organizations: A test of alternative psychological explanations. Organization Science4: 352–66.
15.
BlanceroDonna MariaDelCampoRobert G.MarronGeorge F., 2010. Just tell me! Making alternative dispute resolution systems fair. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society49: 524–43.
16.
BoroffKaren E.1991. Measuring the perceptions of the effectiveness of a workplace complaint system. In SockellDonnaLewinDavidLipskyDavid B. (Eds.), Advances in Industrial Relations, Vol. 5, pp. 207–33. Greenwich, CT:JAI Press.
17.
BoroffKaren E.LewinDavid. 1997. Loyalty, voice, and intent to exit a union firm: A conceptual and empirical analysis. Industrial and Labor Relations Review51: 50–63.
18.
BuddJohn W.2004. Employment with a Human Face: Balancing Efficiency, Equity, and Voice. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press/ILR Press.
19.
BuddJohn W.ColvinAlexander J. S., 2008. Improved metrics for workplace dispute resolution procedures: Efficiency, equity, and voice. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society47: 460–79.
20.
ByrneZinta. 2005. Fairness reduces the negative effects of organizational politics on turnover intentions, citizenship behavior and job performance. Journal of Business and Psychology20: 175–200.
21.
CleggH. A.1975. Pluralism in industrial relations. British Journal of Industrial Relations13: 309–16.
22.
Cohen-CharashYochiSpectorPaul E., 2001. The role of justice in organizations: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes86: 278–321.
23.
ColquittJason A.2001. On the dimensionality of organizational justice: A construct validation of a measure. Journal of Applied Psychology86: 386–400.
24.
ColquittJason A.ConlonDonald E.WessonMichael J.PorterChristopher O. L. H.NgK. Yee. 2001. Justice at the millennium: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of organizational justice research. Journal of Applied Psychology86: 425–45.
25.
ColquittJason A.NoeRaymond A.JacksonChristine L., 2002. Justice in teams: Antecedents and consequences of procedural justice climate. Personnel Psychology55: 83–109.
26.
ColvinAlexander J. S.2003. Institutional pressures, human resource strategies, and the rise of nonunion dispute resolution procedures. Industrial and Labor Relations Review56: 375–92.
27.
ColvinAlexander J. S.2004. Adoption and use of dispute resolution procedures in the nonunion workplace. Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations13: 71–97.
28.
ColvinAlexander J. S.2011. An empirical study of employment arbitration: Case outcomes and processes. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies8: 1–23.
29.
ColvinAlexander J. S.KlaasBrianMahonyDouglas. 2006. Research on alternative dispute resolution procedures. In LewinDavid (Ed.), Contemporary Issues in Employment Relations, pp. 103–47. Champaign, IL:Labor and Employment Relations Association.
30.
CookJ.WallT. D., 1980. New work attitude measures of trust, organizational commitment and personal need for non-fulfillment. Journal of Occupational Psychology53: 39–52.
31.
CropanzanoRussellPreharCynthia A.ChenPeter Y., 2002. Using social exchange theory to distinguish procedural from interactional justice. Group & Organization Management27: 324–51.
32.
DetertJames R.TrevinoLinda K., 2010. Speaking up to the higher-ups: How supervisors and skip-level leaders influence employee voice. Organization Science21: 249–70.
33.
EdwardsPaul K.ScullionHugh. 1982. The Social Organization of Industrial Conflict: Control and Resistance in the Workplace. Oxford: Blackwell.
34.
EigenZev J.2008. The devil in the details: The interrelationship among citizenship, rule of law and form-adhesive contracts. Connecticut Law Review41: 1–50.
35.
EigenZev J.MenilloNicholasSherwynDavid S., 2012. Shifting the paradigm of the debate: A proposal to eliminate at-will employment and implement a “mandatory arbitration act.”Indiana Law Journal87: 271–88.
36.
EstreicherSamuelEigenZev J., 2010. The forum for adjudication of employment disputes. In WachterM. L.EstlundC. L. (Eds.), Research Handbook on the Economics of Labor and Employment Law. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
37.
EwingDavid W.1989. Justice on the Job: Resolving Grievances in the Nonunion Workplace. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
38.
FeldmanYuvalTylerTom R., 2012. Mandated justice: The potential promise and possible pitfalls of mandating procedural justice in the workplace. Regulation & Governance6: 46–65.
39.
FolgerRobert. 1977. Distributive and procedural justice: Combined impact of “voice” and improvement on experienced inequity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology35: 108–19.
40.
FolgerRobert. 1993. Reactions to mistreatment at work. In MurnighanJ. Keith (Ed.), Social Psychology in Organizations: Advances in Theory and Research, pp. 161–83. Upper Saddle River, NJ:Prentice Hall.
41.
FolgerRobertBiesRobert J., 1989. Managerial responsibilities and procedural justice. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal2: 79–90.
42.
FolgerRobertKonovskyMary A., 1989. Effects of procedural and distributive justice on reactions to pay raise decisions. Academy of Management Journal32: 115–30.
43.
FryxellGerald E.GordonMichael E., 1989. Workplace justice and job satisfaction as predictors of satisfaction with union and management. Academy of Management Journal32: 851–66.
44.
GilbertJacqueline A.Li-PingTang Thomas. 1998. An examination of organizational trust antecedents. Public Personnel Management27: 321.
45.
GopinathC.BeckerThomas E., 2000. Communication, procedural justice, and employee attitudes: Relationships under conditions of divestiture. Journal of Management26: 63–83.
46.
GreenbergJerald. 1990. Employee theft as a reaction to underpayment equity: The hidden costs of paycuts. Journal of Applied Psychology75: 561–68.
47.
GreenbergJerald. 1993. Stealing in the name of justice: Informational and interpersonal moderators of theft reactions to underpayment inequity. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes54: 81–103.
48.
GreenbergJerald S.CropanzanoRussell S., 2001. Advances in Organizational Justice. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
49.
GreenbergLianeBarlingJulian. 1996. Employee theft. In CooperC. L.RousseauD. M. (Eds.), Trends in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 3, pp. 49–64. Hoboken, NJ:John Wiley & Sons.
50.
GregersenHal B.BlackJ. Stewart. 1992. Antecedents to commitment to a parent company and a foreign operation. Academy of Management Journal35: 65–71.
51.
HirschmanAlbert O.1970. Exit, Voice and Loyalty. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
52.
HubbellAnne P.Chory-AssadRebecca M., 2005. Motivating factors: Perceptions of justice and their relationship with managerial and organizational trust. Communication Studies56: 47–70.
53.
HunterLarry W.PilFrits K., 1995. How do you survey firms? In VoosPaula B. (Ed.), Proceedings of the 47th Annual Meeting of the Industrial Relations Research Association, pp. 152–62. Madison, WI:IRRA.
54.
IchniowskiCasey. 1986. The effects of grievance activity on productivity. Industrial & Labor Relations Review40: 75–89.
55.
KlaasBrian S.Olson-BuchananJulie B.WardAnna-Katherine. 2012. The determinants of alternative forms of workplace voice. Journal of Management38: 314–45.
56.
KonovskyMary A.FolgerRobert. 1991. The effects of procedures, social accounts, and benefits level on victims' layoff reactions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology21: 630–50.
57.
LewinDavid. 1987. Dispute resolution in the nonunion firm: A Theoretical and empirical analysis. Journal of Conflict Resolution31: 465–502.
LindE. AllanTylerTom R., 1988. The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice. New York: Plenum.
60.
LipskyDavid B.SeeberRonald L., 2006. Managing organizational conflicts. In OetzelJohn G.Ting-ToomeyStella (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Conflict Communication: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice, pp. 359–90. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage Publications.
61.
LipskyDavid B.SeeberRonald L.FincherRichard D., 2003. Emerging Systems for Managing Workplace Conflict: Lessons from American Corporations for Managers and Dispute Resolution Professionals. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
62.
LitwinAdam Seth. 2011. Technological change at work: The impact of employee involvement on the effectiveness of health information technology. Industrial & Labor Relations Review64: 863–88.
63.
MahonyDouglasKlaasBrian. 2008. Comparative dispute resolution in the workplace. Journal of Labor Research29: 251–71.
64.
MastersonSuzanne S.LewisKyleGoldmanBarry M.TaylorM. Susan. 2000. Integrating justice and social exchange: The differing effects of fair procedures and treatment on work relationships. Academy of Management Journal43: 738–48.
65.
McCabeDouglas M.LewinDavid. 1992. Employee voice: A human resource management perspective. California Management Review34: 112–23.
66.
McFarlinDean B.SweeneyPaul D., 1992. Distributive and procedural justice as predictors of satisfaction with personal and organizational outcomes. Academy of Management Journal35: 626–37.
67.
McWilliamsAbigailSiegelDonald. 1997. Event studies in management research: Theoretical and empirical issues. Academy of Management Journal40: 626–57.
68.
MoormanRobert H.1991. Relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behaviors: Do fairness perceptions influence employee citizenship?Journal of Applied Psychology76: 845–55.
69.
MoormanRobert H.NiehoffBrian P.OrganDennis W., 1993. Treating employees fairly and organizational citizenship behavior: Sorting the effects of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and procedural justice. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal6: 209–25.
70.
MowdayRichard T.SteersRichard M.PorterLyman W., 1979. The measurement of organizational commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior14: 224–47.
71.
NaumannStefanie E.BennettNathan. 2000. A case for procedural justice climate: Development and test of a multilevel model. Academy of Management Journal43: 881–89.
72.
NiehoffBrian P.MoormanRobert H., 1993. Justice as a mediator of the relationship between methods of monitoring and organizational citizenship behavior. Academy of Management Journal36: 527–56.
73.
RuppelCynthia P.HarringtonSusan J., 2000. The relationship of communication, ethical work climate and trust to commitment and innovation. Journal of Business Ethics25: 313–28.
74.
SchwabDonald P.2005. Research Methods for Organizational Studies. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
75.
SchwartzDavid S.2009. Mandatory arbitration and fairness. Notre Dame Law Review84: 1247–1341.
76.
SheppardBlair H.LewickiRoy J.MintonJohn W., 1992. Organizational Justice. New York: Lexington Books.
77.
SherwynDavid S.EstreicherSamuelHeiseMichael. 2005. Assessing the case for employment arbitration: A new path for empirical research. Stanford Law Review57: 1557–91.
78.
SingerJudith D.WillettJohn B., 2003. Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis: Modeling Change and Event Occurrence. New York: Oxford University Press.
79.
SkrondalAndersRabe-HeskethSohia. 2004. Generalized Latent Variable Modeling: Multilevel, Longitudinal, and Structural Equation Models. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman and Hall/CRC.
80.
SpencerDaniel G.1986. Employee voice and employee retention. Academy of Management Journal29: 488–502.
81.
StoneKatherine V. W.1996. Mandatory arbitration of individual employment rights: The yellow dog contract of the 1990s. University of Denver Law Review73: 1017.
82.
SweeneyPaul D.McFarlinDean B., 1993. Workers' evaluations of the “ends” and the “means”: An examination of four models of distributive and procedural justice. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes55: 23–40.
83.
ThibautJohn L.WalkerLaurens. 1975. Procedural Justice: A Psychological Analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
84.
TylerTom R.1988. What is procedural justice? Criteria used by citizens to assess the fairness of legal procedures. Law & Society Review22: 103–35.
85.
TylerTom R.2006. Why People Obey the Law. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
86.
TylerTom R.BiesRobert J., 1988. Beyond Formal Procedures: The International Context of Procedural Justice. Evanston, IL: Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.
87.
TylerTom R.BiesRobert J., 1990. Beyond formal procedures: The interpersonal context of procedural justice. In CarrollJohn S. (Ed.), Applied Psychology and Organizational Settings, pp. 77–98. Hillsdale, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
88.
TylerTom R.BladerSteven L., 2000. Cooperation in Groups: Procedural Justice, Social Identity, and Behavioral Engagement. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.
89.
WallaceJ. CraigEdwardsBryan D.MondoreScott P.FinchDavid M., 2008. Employee discrimination claims and employee-initiated lawsuits: Does procedural justice climate moderate the claims → disputes relationship?Journal of Managerial Issues20: 313–26.
90.
WhitenerEllen M.2001. Do “high commitment” human resource practices affect employee commitment?Journal of Management27: 515–35.
91.
ZackArnold M.1999. Agreements to arbitrate and the waiver of rights under employment law. In EatonAdrienne E.KeefeJeffrey H. (Eds.), Employment Dispute Resolution and Worker Rights in the Changing Workplace, pp. 67–94. Champaign, IL:Industrial Relations Research Association.
