Different interactional injustice, different organizational remedy? Evidence from China
Yanhan Zhu, (Southwest University) Yan Kou, (Southwest Jiaotong University), 2014, 42(9), 1521
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The authors conducted two studies to examine the contingent relationships among interactional injustice, workplace aggression, and organizational remedy, extending the existing literature by applying this research in a collectivistic cultural context. Separate samples were used in each case, so that the findings were not restricted to undergraduate students, which is so often the case in academic studies. I thought that the use of both a field study and an experimental study was a good strategy to ensure that the results gained are as representative as possible.

It was found that the type of workplace aggression used differed significantly according to the organizational remedy used. Specifically, the employee sample exhibited expressions of hostility and overt aggression when faced with both interpersonal and informational forms of injustice, but obstructionism was only engaged after an interpersonal injustice. In contrast, the student sample used all three types of workplace aggression, regardless of the type of injustice experienced. Further, informational injustice was only able to be assuaged by an instrumental remedy, whereas interpersonal injustice could be mitigated by both socioemotional and punitive remedies.

The different results gained across the two study populations and the contrast between these findings and those from studies of Western populations show the importance of addressing the generalizability of conclusions drawn, which is something that many authors call for. It is great to see these authors being proactive about doing so!

Sarah Krivan | Marketing Manager
Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal