Impact of organizational justice dimensions on social exchange theory constructs: a literature

Abstract

Justice plays an essential role in all social relationships, as it underpins ongoing commitment and mutual cooperation, even in situations of uncertainty, and creates an environment in which people feel valued, respected, and motivated to continue making a positive contribution to their environment. Organizational justice is related to employees' subjective assessment of the equity in the treatment received and its influence on engagement and behavior in the work context. This study aimed at carrying out a literature review of the dimensions of organizational justice and its relationship with the most diverse constructs related to the theory of social exchange, such as trust, commitment, and cooperation, whether from employees, customers, or other agents. To this end, a systematic review was carried out using PRISMA-based strategies on the Scopus and Web of Science databases between 2015 and 2020. The results of the quantitative analysis indicate that this is a relevant topic in the academic literature published in a wide variety of journals in different categories. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis indicates that the effects of the perception of justice can be predicted in a unique way when it comes to people's behavior in social interactions since the effects of the dimensions of justice are not standardized for the different constructs in different environments and groups. This leads to the conclusion that the relationship between the different dimensions of organizational justice is quite specific, depending on the variable being analyzed and the group under study.