The Relationship of Organisational Trust with Organisational Justice, Organisational Commitment, and Organisational Citizenship Behaviours in Educational Organisations: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the mean effect sizes of the relationship of organisational trust with organisational justice, organisational commitment, and organisational citizenship behaviours in educational organisations. In accordance with this purpose, a meta-analysis was conducted that included studies published between 1997 and 2020 with regard to the specified relationships. In total, 34 studies (N total = 17,271) were included in the meta-analysis concerning the relationship between teachers’ organisational trust and organisational justice perceptions, 35 studies (N total = 15,874) for the relationship between organisational trust and organisational commitment, and 27 studies (N total = 14,991) for the relationship between organisational trust and organisational citizenship behaviours. The meta-analysis also included studies that examined these variables in terms of their sub-dimensions. The included studies consisted of researches conducted in the United States (USA), China, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Iran, Israel, Canada, Kuwait, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, Taiwan, and Turkey. The examination of funnel plots, Duval and Tweedie’s Trim and Fill technique, Orwin’s Fail-Safe N analysis, and Egger’s regression test confirmed an absence of publication bias. Fisher’s ɀ coefficient was used for effect size analyses performed using a random-effects model. The mean effect size of the relationship between organisational trust and organisational justice was determined to be at a high level, whereas the relationship of organisational trust with organisational commitment and organisational citizenship were at a moderate level. The results of the meta-analysis also showed that these relationships did not differ in terms of the sub-groups of grade-level (primary to lower secondary or upper secondary), study-type (article or graduate thesis), or study-year (2010 or before, 2011 to 2015, and 2016 or after), but the relationship of organisational trust with organisational commitment and organisational citizenship significantly differed in terms of country groups (America, Europe, Asia, and Eurasia).