The Effects of Lying on the Relationship Between Voice and Self- Perceived Status

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between two criteria of procedural fairness, representativeness and ethicality, and self- perceived status. With representativeness (i.e., given vs. not given voice), results from an online study revealed that there was a main effect of being given or denied voice on participants’ perceptions of their status within a group, specifically that those who were given voice had higher self-perceived status than those who were denied voice, and that this relationship was causal with being given or not given voice resulting in more positive or negative self-perceptions of status respectively. Although there was no main effect of ethicality (i.e., truthful vs. lying communication) on participants’ self-perceived status, there was an interaction effect such that lying attenuated the positive effects of voice on individuals’ self-perceptions of status. This research provides causal evidence of the relationship between voice and status and also opens up a variety of opportunities for future research aimed at better understanding the relationship between ethicality as an element of fairness, as well as the relationship between organizational fairness and business ethics more broadly.