A global evaluation of organizational fairness and its relationship to psychological contracts

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine whether the concepts of organizational politics, procedural justice, and psychological contract breach can serve as indicators of a global evaluation of the (un)fairness of the organization, and that this general fairness evaluation predicts attitudes and behaviors. Design/methodology/approach – The paper compares the model to one in which the concepts are considered in terms of both their unique effects and the interrelationships among them. In addition, the study examines how psychological contract types are related to each model. A survey of 311 bank employees in Israel was conducted. Findings – The findings show that neither model is strongly superior to the other. This suggests that the three exchange variables can be conceptualized, not only in terms of their unique effects and interrelationships, but also as aspects of one global concept of fairness. Originality/value – This study suggests that the concepts of organizational politics, procedural justice, and psychological contract breach can serve as indicators of a global evaluation of the (un)fairness of the organization, and that this general fairness evaluation predicts attitudes and behaviors.