Investigating the effects of procedural justice on workplace deviance : Do employees' perceptions of conflicting guidance call the tune?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test an explanation of how procedural justice (PJ) – a specific type of organizational justice that reflects how fairly organizational procedures are designed – may influence deviant workplace behavior targeting at the organization (DWB‐O). The model proposes that PJ affects DWB‐O through its influence on perceived normative conflict (PNC) with the organization. This influence, in turn, would prompt employees to reciprocate with DWB‐O. Design/methodology/approach – In the paper, data were collected from 270 (17.46 per cent) of the 1,547 teachers at a Spanish university by intranet. Findings – The paper finds that the structural equation modeling (SEM) results suggest that PJ is an antecedent to PNC, which fully mediates a confirmed direct – but weak – PJ relationship with DWBO. Research limitations/implications – The paper shows that the researched teachers' job conditions are inherent to the peculiarities of the public sector that may limit the ability to extrapolate the findings in the private sector. The findings offer a better understanding of the way PJ is able to affect deviant behaviors. The findings also provide a more easily understood mechanism of the influence of procedural justice on DWB‐O. Practical implications – Results in this paper suggest that actions designed to promote PJ may be useful in communicating how companies are trying to introduce normative harmony in the workplace. Future lines of research are also offered. Originality/value – The paper sees that the study of the mediating role that perceived normative conflict (PNC) may play in linking perceptions of PJ to DWBO is unprecedented in organizations.