Research Article
A Study on the Differential Effects of Distributive Justice and Procedural Justice on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment
Published: January 1998 · Vol. 27, No. 1 · pp. 93-111
Full Text
Abstract
This study investigated how procedural justice and distributive justice differentially affect employees' job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Previous Western studies have reported that distributive justice—being a matter of individual perception regarding how adequately one is compensated relative to one's effort—directly influences job satisfaction, which is similarly an individual-level concept of how satisfied one is with one's job. In contrast, procedural justice—being a matter of the relationship between the individual and the organization concerning how the organization treats individual employees procedurally—more directly influences organizational commitment, which represents the degree of positive association between the individual and the organization. Unlike these Western research findings, this study hypothesized, based on an analysis of the cultural values and social norms held by Korean workers—specifically, their perception of living in a collectivist society—that procedural justice would have a greater influence than distributive justice on both job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Testing these hypotheses with 1,456 employees of Samsung Electronics in Korea revealed that, contrary to Western findings, both distributive justice and procedural justice had equally positive effects on the improvement of job satisfaction, while only procedural justice directly influenced organizational commitment. This study discussed the implications of these research findings from a cross-cultural perspective and what practical recommendations they might offer for existing management practices.
