Knowledge-Sharing Behavior as a Mediator of the Relationship between Organizational Justice and Organizational Performance from a Balanced Scorecard Perspective in a non-Western Context of the UAE

Abstract

Western researchers often discuss the relationship between organizational justice and organizational performance. However, some scholars have claimed that the empirical evidence suggests that Western studies may not generalize to the rest of the world, because of, for example, cultural differences. This study was therefore designed to explore this relationship in the Middle Eastern context, and specifically in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The aim of the study is first, to examine the relationship between all the dimensions of each of organizational justice and organizational performance in the UAE; second, to test the relationship between organizational justice and knowledge-sharing behavior; third, to examine the relationship between knowledge sharing behavior and the four dimensions of organizational performance; and finally, to study the mediation impact of knowledge-sharing behavior on the relationship between organizational justice and organizational performance. The data were randomly collected from the only company working in prehospital care in Abu Dhabi and Northern Emirates using a questionnaire. Data were collected from 247 employees working in the field around the UAE. Relationships were studied and tested using Hierarchical Linear Regression analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), and the mediation effect was tested using Baron and Kenny’s recommendations. In line with previous Western studies, organizational justice dimensions were found to have a strong positive relationship with all dimensions of organizational performance and knowledge-sharing behavior. Knowledge-sharing behavior was found to fully mediate the relationship between distributive justice and the three dimensions of organizational performance, the learning and growth, internal process, and customer perspectives, and also the relationship between procedural justice and both the internal process and customer perspective. Knowledge-sharing behavior partially mediated interactional justice’s relationship with the learning and growth perspective and fully mediated its relationship with the internal process and customer perspectives. This research has several limitations, including time barriers (the research was cross-sectional). It did not consider any control variables, and could only study one company in the UAE. The study is, however, thought to be the first in the UAE, and the wider region, to examine the relationship between organizational justice and organizational performance using a balanced scorecard approach, and considering the mediation impact of knowledge-sharing behavior.