Testing the direct and indirect relationship between organizational justice and work outcomes in a non‐Western context of the UAE

Abstract

Purpose This study has three objectives: to examine the impact of organizational justice on work outcomes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to test the mediating impact of job satisfaction and organizational commitment on the justice‐turnover intention relationship, and to test distributive justice as a mediator of the relationship between procedural justice and work outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 350 employees working in five large organizations operating in Dubai. A structured questionnaire containing standard scales of distributive and procedural justice, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intentions, and some demographic variables was used. After testing the scales' reliability and validity, the proposed linear relationships were tested using a series of separate hierarchical regression analyses. Proposed mediation hypotheses were tested using Baron and Kenny's recommendations.

Findings Consistent with Western studies, the study revealed that procedural justice was more strongly related to organizational commitment than distributive justice. Contrary to Western literature, the study showed that procedural justice was more strongly related to job satisfaction than distributive justice. Moreover, job satisfaction was found to play a partial role in mediating the influence of organizational justice on organizational commitment and turnover intention. Also, organizational commitment was found to fully mediate the relationship between procedural justice and turnover intention. However, it partially mediated the relationship between distributive justice and turnover intentions. Finally, distributive justice was found to mediate some of the relationships between procedural justice and work outcomes.

Practical implications The study has implications for enhancing work outcomes. In general, enhancing organizational justice can result in a higher level of employee outcomes. Also, managers should improve staff job satisfaction and organizational commitment in order to enhance the impact of both distributive and procedural justice on reducing turnover intention. In addition, UAE managers should provide sufficient distributive justice in order to improve the impact of procedural justice on the work outcomes of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention.

Originality/value The study is considered the first to examine the mediating role of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in the relationship between organizational justice and turnover intention in the Middle East. Also, the study is the first to test the role of distributive justice as a mediator for the procedural justice‐work outcomes relationship in a non‐Western context.