Sultan Adal Mehmood, Abdur Rahman Malik, Devika Nadarajah and Muhammad Saood Akhtar
This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms through which organisational justice influences counterproductive work behaviour (CWB). This relationship was explained using a…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms through which organisational justice influences counterproductive work behaviour (CWB). This relationship was explained using a moderated mediation model where organisational embeddedness is a mediator between organisational justice and CWB, while psychological ownership (for the organisation) is a moderator of the relationship between organisational embeddedness and CWB. The conservation of resources (COR) theory was used as the underpinning theory to explain the interrelationships among the constructs.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected by administering a quantitative cross-sectional survey to employees of Punjab Police, a large public sector, law enforcement organisation in Pakistan. The study model was analysed using PLS-SEM to address the treatment of higher-order reflective-formative constructs.
Findings
The results showed that organisational justice is positively related to organisational embeddedness, while organisational embeddedness is negatively related to CWB. Organisational embeddedness was found to play a significant role in mediating the negative effects of organisational justice on CWB. Also, psychological ownership moderated the influence of organisational embeddedness on CWB in an interesting fashion. CWB was the highest when both embeddedness and ownership were low; however, CWB was not the lowest when both embeddedness and ownership were high.
Research limitations/implications
Reliance on self-report data, not accounting for the community embeddedness and discounting the differential effects of justice dimensions are some of the limitations of the present study. Despite these limitations, this study offers valuable insights into how the occurrence of CWB can be minimised. That is, apart from providing a work environment based on fair procedures and policies, it is critically important to manage the perceptions of embeddedness and psychological ownership of employees.
Originality/value
Although numerous researchers have studied the link between organisational justice and CWB, few have explored the roles of organisational embeddedness and psychological ownership in this relationship. This study thus posits a novel moderated mediation mechanism, based on the COR theory, through which organisational justice is translated into CWB. Moreover, this study adds value by investigating this model in the police force context, where justice and CWB have important consequences.
Details
Keywords
Sultan Adal Mehmood, Muhammad Abdur Rahman Malik, Muhammad Saood Akhtar, Naveed Ahmad Faraz and Mumtaz Ali Memon
This paper draws on the conservation of resources (COR) theory to understand how organizational embeddedness develops through psychological ownership and organizational justice…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper draws on the conservation of resources (COR) theory to understand how organizational embeddedness develops through psychological ownership and organizational justice. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of three dimensions of organizational justice on organizational embeddedness and psychological ownership and the effect of psychological ownership on organizational embeddedness. The mediating role of psychological ownership between organizational justice and organizational embeddedness was also examined.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 300 engineers in Pakistan's power sector using a three-wave quantitative survey. Partial least squares path modeling was used to analyze the data.
Findings
The results show that distributive and procedural justice results in the development of organizational embeddedness. Simultaneously, psychological ownership mediates the link between all three dimensions of organizational justice and organizational embeddedness.
Practical implications
By highlighting the importance of organizational justice and psychological ownership, this study offers managers with two distinct strategies for enhancing their employees' organizational embeddedness.
Originality/value
There is a lack of research investigating the distinct effects of three dimensions of organizational justice on the three dimensions of organizational embeddedness. Further, research to investigate the intervening mechanisms that connect organizational justice and embeddedness is scarce. Finally, the COR theory has been utilized to explain how embeddedness works. However, it had not been utilized previously to understand the process through which embeddedness is accumulated. This study fills these gaps by examining the distinct effects of three dimensions of organizational justice on three dimensions of organizational embeddedness and examining these relationships' mediation through psychological ownership.