Informational Justice and Reactions to Change: The Role of Cynicism and Identification

Abstract

This research investigates informational justice and cynicism in the context of a particularly jarring type of change: downsizing and layoffs. We test our hypotheses in a questionnaire of 1821 employees in a European organization undergoing a major restructuring which included layoffs. Using moderated-mediation analysis, the mediational effect of cynicism and the moderating effect of organizational identification on this relationship were tested. Cynicism fully mediated the relation between survivors’ perceptions of informational justice and their exit intentions. This mediated relationship was moderated by organizational identification. Informational justice mattered more for employees high (versus low) in organizational identification. The implications for theory and practice are discussed.