How applicants respond to the recruitment process: unravelling temporal patterns of fairness perceptions

This paper investigates changes in perceptions of housework fairness as men and women transition from cohabitation to marriage and experience the birth of a child. Using four waves of data from the Negotiating the Life Course project in Australia, we assess how marriage and parenthood alter perceptions of housework fairness. Consistent with previous research we find that the majority of men and women report that the division of labour at home is fair, despite women spending twice as much time on housework as men. Our results show no changes in perceptions of fairness in relation to marital transitions and only weak evidence of changes in relation to parenthood transitions. We conclude that perceptions of housework fairness are not based on an equal sharing of tasks, but are better understood in terms of equity and distributive justice.

The justice literature, to date, shows that changes in fairness perceptions over time are consequential for job attitudes. However, few studies have been directed at explicating how fairness perceptions change over time or individual differences in patterns of change. The present research attempts to fill this gap by exploring patterns of temporal changes in fairness perceptions toward the selection process during a hiring process and potential determinants for such change. In a 3‐wave longitudinal study of the entire hiring process (pre‐, in‐, and post‐process) using a latent growth mixture modeling approach, different patterns of change in perceived fairness were modeled. In addition, the role of Big Five personality factors to predict classes of temporal patterns was examined. Results suggest that, on average, fairness perceptions declined in a non‐linear way over time, with high initial levels of fairness perception corresponding to a lower rate of decline, and vice versa. Four unique classes of applicants exhibiting different initial scores and growth of fairness perceptions were identified, which were predicted by the personality factors of extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for fairness theory and future research.

Based on Self-Determination theory and social interaction models of social justice, in this article we examined whether perceptions of fairness catalysed the positive effects autonomy support on motivational and well-being outcomes. The study was conducted in the context of an all-boys school with 302 students, adopting a prospective design. Using surface analysis to estimate the dependent variables to be tested in non-liner regressions, the current research empirically extends social interaction models of distributive justice by testing, for the first time, whether perceptions of fairness can moderate the effects of autonomy supportive practices on satisfaction of psychological needs. The results demonstrated that perceptions of fairness engendered positive effects of favourable forms of autonomy support on satisfaction of the psychological need for competence. No analogous positive effects on other outcomes were found. Therefore, the perceptions of fairness constitute an important component of autonomy-supportive class climates that catalyse positive effects of favourable forms of autonomy support on satisfaction of the psychological need for competence. This evidence suggests that students are more likely to experience high levels of competence during physical education classes when they perceive that their favourable treatment is fair, though the effect does not generalise to autonomous motivation or subjective well-being.

In a laboratory study, 318 student participants (148 male, 169 female, and one who did not report sex; M age 25.0, SD = 6.0) in introductory organizational behavior classes responded to scenarios in which performance appraisal resulted in either employee promotion or termination. Each scenario had varying levels of three procedural justice criteria for performance appraisal. For both promotion and termination outcomes, analysis showed that, as the number of criteria increased, perceptions of procedural fairness increased. A comparison between the two outcomes showed that perceptions of fairness were significantly stronger for the promotion outcome than for termination.

The present paper tackles a problem in the candidate reactions literature: the replicability of results that emerge when using in vivo and in vitro designs. The current study was designed to provide a conceptual replication of a dynamic model of change in fairness perceptions during the hiring process, using a different research design, different measures, and a different sample than the original paper. A sample of 209 participants in a simulated selection process reported their level of perceived fairness three times: before the testing, after the testing, and after the results were communicated. These results support the results of the original that the construction of fairness perceptions declines in a nonlinear way over time, with high initial levels of fairness perception corresponding to a lower rate of decline, and vice versa. Further analysis revealed no change in the individuals’ conceptualization of perceived fairness nor any shift in the respondents’ use of the measurement scale (i.e., no beta and gamma change were detected).

Purpose: To examine whether and how temporal changes in fairness perceptions are associated with employee attitudes beyond the influence of the current fairness perceptions.Design/Methodology/Approach: A two-wave longitudinal longitudinal design was used. Data were collected from current employees across a wide variety of business organizations in Hong Kong. A total of 151 survey questionnaires were collected and used for all analyses.Findings: The changes in fairness perceptions significantly explained the variance in job satisfaction beyond the current fairness perceptions. In addition, the positive changes in fairness perceptions were related to job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment more strongly than did the negative changes.Implications: The results indicate that to fully understand the impact of justice perceptions, we need to consider not only the current justice perception but also the changes in fairness perceptions. Our findings are also important to developing and refining change theory by suggesting that we need to take into account the nature of the changes when examining the effects of the changes in fairness perceptions.Originality/Value: This work is one of the few studies that have examined the effects of justice changes incorporating the direction of changes (i.e., the relative impact of positive vs. negative changes in fairness) on employee outcomes and how changes in fairness perceptions are associated with employee attitudes outside the United States.

Gamification is increasingly being used by organizations in hiring decisions. However, the use of gamification in assessment has advanced quicker than corresponding research. One area in need of research is how applicants' perceptions of fairness are formed when gamified assessments are used in employee selection. Therefore, two studies were conducted to explore the impact of using gamified assessments to applicants' justice perceptions and the role of providing explanations to applicants. Adopting an experimental design to explore organizational justice model in the context of gamified assessments, results indicated that individuals' perceptions of job relatedness are higher when a situational judgment tests (SJT) is used rather than a gamified version, leading to more positive perceptions of procedural fairness and organizational attractiveness (Study 1). The mediating effects of the procedural rules of ease of faking and opportunity to perform were not supported. Subsequently, a 2 × 2 design was used (Study 2) to explore the role of providing explanations. It seems that the provision of explanations on the assessment's faking difficulty generates more positive reactions towards gamified SJTs than text‐based SJTs, in relation to ease of faking and procedural justice, and a spillover effect, invoking favorable reactions to the recruiting organization as well (Study 2).

Using an event‐triggered multi‐stage framework, this random‐effects meta‐analysis examined the changes in applicants' perceptions of fairness between consecutive stages and throughout the entire personnel selection process. We integrated findings of studies with at least two measurement points, resulting in 45 effect sizes (overall N = 3,038). Trajectories of perceptions of fairness decreased nonlinearly across the process, with a steeper decrease for people who held high levels of initial fairness expectations. Unjust treatment produced a decrease in perceptions of fairness from pretest to posttest and an increase from posttest to postdecision. Furthermore, the length of the time interval moderated the changes in fairness perceptions between the posttest and postdecision stage. Practical implications and an agenda for future research are discussed.

Purpose This research aims to examine how an exhibitor manages its relationship with visitors in trade fairs to achieve desired outcomes. Drawing on the relational (group-value) model of justice, this research argues that visitors’ procedural and distributive fairness perceptions impact their happiness, relationship commitment, and behavioral intentions with exhibitors. Methodology Data comprising 350 business visitors from eight trade fairs related to the electronics, telecommunications, automobiles, apparel, and renewable energy industries were analyzed. Findings The findings show that while procedural fairness perceptions significantly impact visitors’ happiness, distributive fairness perceptions do not have a significant relationship. Happiness leads to a positive relationship between visitors’ commitment and behavioral outcomes. Originality/Value/Contribution This research is one of the earliest attempts to evaluate the role of fairness perceptions and happiness in the context of trade fairs. The results also indicate that small-scale visitors show less concern for procedural fairness than large-scale visitors, but they show a higher tendency for relationship commitment and behavioral intentions than large-scale visitors.

Technology entrepreneurship is an important driver of economic growth, although entrepreneurs must maintain cooperative ties with the owners of any technology they hope to bring to market. Existing studies show that fairness perceptions have a great influence on this cooperation, but no research investigates its precise mechanisms or dynamic patterns. This study explores the development of 17 ventures that cooperated with a university‐owner of technology and thereby identifies different cooperation patterns in which fairness perceptions influence the degree of cooperation. These perceptions also change over time, partly as a function of accumulated experience and learning. A system dynamics model integrates insights from existing literature with the empirical findings to reveal which cooperation mechanisms relate to venture development over time; the combinations of individual experience, fairness perceptions, and market circumstances lead to four different patterns. This model can explain changes in entrepreneurial cooperation as a result of changes in fairness perceptions, which depend on learning effects and entrepreneurial experience. Each identified cooperation pattern has implications for research and offers insights for practitioners who need to manage relationships in practice.

This study developed and tested a trickle-down model of organizational justice that hypothesized that employees' perceptions of fairness should affect their attitudes toward the organization, subsequently influencing their behaviors toward customers. In turn, customers should interpret these behaviors as signals of fair treatment, causing them to react positively to both the employee and the organization. The model was tested on a sample of 187 instructors and their students. The results revealed that instructors who perceived high distributive and procedural justice reported higher organizational commitment. In turn, their students reported higher levels of instructor effort, prosocial behaviors, and fairness, as well as more positive reactions to the instructor. Overall, the results imply that fair treatment of employees has important organizational consequences because of customers' attitudes and future intentions toward key service employees.

The transition to parenthood is a pivotal life course event that impacts well-being, relationship quality and the distribution of housework and paid work. In Germany, during the transition to first-time parenthood, women often reduce their involvement in paid work and take on a larger share of housework, leading to a more gendered division of labor. This shift could influence perceptions of fairness in the division of labor inducing both men and women to perceive the division as being more fair to themselves or more fair to their partner. Using data from the German Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam) and fixed effects models, we examine how women’s and men’s perception of fairness of the division of labor varies around first childbirth conceptualizing different phases spanning from 5 years before until 5 years after the first childbirth. Relative to baseline, mothers (-to-be) reported a fairer division of labor (less under-benefitting) from around conception to right after childbirth. Yet, already from 6 months after childbirth mothers’ perception of fairness becomes less fair to them again and the perception of under-benefitting continues as the child ages. For fathers-to-be, perceptions of fairness did not vary substantially around childbirth. We further found that neither the change in the division of housework, nor in the division of paid work, explained changes in fairness perceptions during the transition to parenthood.

Although it is a common practice for organizations to communicate with job seekers following application submission, little is known about how applicants react to this correspondence. Drawing from recruitment and organizational justice theories, we explore the possibility that specific correspondence content influences job seekers’ fairness perceptions. Data collected from 119 actual job applicants indicated that providing relevant information about the recruitment process (information adequacy) positively related to informational and interpersonal justice perceptions. However, delivering this information in an interpersonally sensitive manner (information sensitivity) had a stronger impact on interpersonal justice perceptions. Finally, post hoc analyses suggested that incorporating specific content delivered in initial job applicant correspondence could allow recruiting organizations to develop practical, cost‐effective strategies for enhancing job seekers’ fairness perceptions following their application submission. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Research on organizational justice has focused almost exclusively on fairness at one point in time. This perspective severely limits our understanding because fairness perceptions can continually evolve as individuals encounter new information. We present a dynamic model of organizational justice in which we integrate current justice theories with research on sense-making and social cognition to describe the processes through which perceptions of fairness change. The model describes a cyclical process whereby individuals' cognitive processing and judgments about the fairness of an event are guided by their perceptions about the entity involved. In turn, event judgments alter the knowledge structure that underlies entity perceptions, which has implications for perception change. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Modeling cross-lagged effects in psychotherapy mechanisms of change studies is complex and requires careful attention to model selection and interpretation. However, there is a lack of field-specific guidelines. We aimed to (a) describe the estimation and interpretation of cross lagged effects using multilevel models (MLM) and random-intercept cross lagged panel model (RI-CLPM); (b) compare these models' performance and risk of bias using simulations and an applied research example to formulate recommendations for practice. Part 1 is a tutorial focused on introducing/describing dynamic effects in the form of autoregression and bidirectionality. In Part 2, we compare the estimation of cross-lagged effects in RI-CLPM, which takes dynamic effects into account, with three commonly used MLMs that cannot accommodate dynamics. In Part 3, we describe a Monte Carlo simulation study testing model performance of RI-CLPM and MLM under realistic conditions for psychotherapy mechanisms of change studies. Our findings suggested that all three MLMs resulted in severely biased estimates of cross-lagged effects when dynamic effects were present in the data, with some experimental conditions generating statistically significant estimates in the wrong direction. MLMs performed comparably well only in conditions which are conceptually unrealistic for psychotherapy mechanisms of change research (i.e., no inertia in variables and no bidirectional effects). Based on conceptual fit and our simulation results, we strongly recommend using fully dynamic structural equation modeling models, such as the RI-CLPM, rather than static, unidirectional regression models (e.g., MLM) to study cross-lagged effects in mechanisms of change research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).