When explanations for layoffs are not enough: Employer's integrity as a moderator of the relationship between informational justice and retaliation

Authors: Skarlicki, Daniel P.¹; Barclay, Laurie J.²; Douglas Pugh, S.³

Source: Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Volume 81, Number 1, March 2008 , pp. 123-146(24)

Publisher: British Psychological Society

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Abstract:

Victims of downsizing often perceive their layoff as being unfair, which can lead to various forms of retaliation. Informational justice, defined as providing employees with adequate explanations in a timely manner, has been prescribed as a way to mitigate the retaliation tendencies associated with unfairness perceptions. Few studies, however, have examined contexts in which informational justice might be more vs. less effective in this regard. In the present research, we explored whether employees' perception of the employer's integrity moderates the relationship between informational justice and retaliation among layoff victims. Results from a field and laboratory study suggest that informational justice helps manage retaliation only when layoff victims perceived that their employer had high (vs. low) integrity prior to the layoff. In Study 2, we found that perceived sincerity mediated the impact of informational justice by integrity interaction on retaliation.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1348/096317907X206848

Affiliations: 1: University of British Columbia, Canada 2: Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada 3: University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA