Nonfamily employees’ perceptions of treatment in family businesses: Implications for organizational attraction, job pursuit intentions, work attitudes, and turnover intentions

Abstract

This paper draws from organizational justice theory to consider the mechanisms through which nonfamily members’ perceptions of treatment (i.e., interpersonal treatment equivalent to that received by family-member employees, preferential treatment in favor of family-member employees) may shape their behavioral intentions within family businesses. Results from Study 1 (N = 173) demonstrated that organizational attractiveness mediates the relationship between perceptions of interpersonally equal treatment and job pursuit intentions. Additionally, results from Study 2 (N = 222) indicated that affective commitment may help explain the effects of both perceptions of interpersonally equal and preferential family-member treatment on turnover intentions. Job satisfaction was also found to mediate the influence of perceptions of interpersonally equal treatment on turnover intentions. Taken together, results from these studies may help to expand our understanding of outcomes associated with perceptions of interpersonally equal and preferential family-member treatment in family-business contexts.