Self-Esteem and Justice Orientation as Moderators for Individual- and Group-Level Justice Effects

We examine self-esteem and justice orientation as individual difference factors that moderate the relationship between individual-level and group-level justice and potential employee reactions. Two studies were conducted using scenarios in which levels of individual-level and group-level justice were manipulated. Using a sample of 419 undergraduate students, Study 1 showed that, whereas self-esteem moderated the relationship between individual-level procedural justice and intention to leave, justice orientation moderated the relationship between group-level procedural justice and helping behaviors. Using a sample of 207 undergraduate students, Study 2 showed that justice orientation moderated the relationships between individual-level and group-level distributive justice, and helping and counterproductive behaviors. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.