The Fair Share – Multilevel Distributive Justice as Cross-Level Moderator for the Impact of Restructuring Perceptions

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ABSTRACT Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, we analyze multilevel restructuring impact perceptions and their association with emotional exhaustion. We explore whether distributive justice at the individual (perceived distributive justice), team, and organizational levels (distributive justice climate) moderates the association of restructuring impact and emotional exhaustion. In total, 1523 employees, nested in 166 teams and 26 organizations, participated in our study. To test our hypotheses, we used Bayesian multilevel modelling. We found positive associations between restructuring impact and emotional exhaustion on all three organizational levels. Distributive justice at the team level cross-level moderated the relationship between restructuring impact and emotional exhaustion at the individual level. Our study contributes a multilevel understanding of restructuring impact, possible consequences for emotional exhaustion, and the moderating role of distributive justice. Furthermore, it substantiates COR theory’s caravan passageway notion, which as yet lacks empirical support. MAD statement This article empirically tests the Conservation of Resources Theory’s central concept of caravan passageways, proving cross-level resource bundles can buffer restructuring impact. Using Bayesian multilevel modelling we show, that restructuring impact and emotional exhaustion are related to each other on various organizational levels and that multilevel distributive justice constitutes resource caravans, which provide support for individuals. We add to change literature by contributing to the understanding of complex cross-level restructuring conditions, and the meaningfulness of higher-order contextual factors for individual outcomes. This is particularly relevant in terms of designing working conditions in order to avoid negative restructuring consequences for individuals.