Overall justice and supervisor conscientiousness: Implications for ethical leadership and employee self‐esteem

• Author: Sydney Stacy,Darryl B. Rice,Devante Johnson,Rayshawn Walton,Nicole C. J. Young
• Published date: 01 October 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12285
• Date: 01 October 2020

856  

|

  wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/beer Business Ethics: A Eur Rev. 2020;29:856–869.© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

1 | INTRODUCTION

The relationship between organizational justice and organiza-

tion-based self-esteem has been a specific point of interest for

management researchers (e.g., De Cremer, van Knippenberg,

van Knippenberg, Mullenders, & Stinglhamber, 2005; Ferris,

Spence, Brown, & Heller, 2012; McAllister & Bigley, 2002;

Wiesenfeld, Brockner, & Thibault, 2000). Given the core be-

lief that organization-based self-esteem is generally derived

from workplace experiences (Gardner & Pierce, 2016; Pierce

& Gardner, 2004; Pierce, Gardner, Cummings, & Dunham,

1989), scholars have concluded that fair working conditions

positively impact employee organization-based self-esteem

(Bowling, Eschelman, Wang, Kirkendall, & Alarcon, 2010; Pierce

& Gardner, 2004). Notably, when scholars have examined

the relationship between organizational justice and organi-

zation-based self-esteem (De Cremer et al., 2005; McAllister

& Bigley, 2002; Scott, Shaw, & Duffy, 2008), they have typi-

cally relied on various justice theories (Blader & Tyler, 2015;

De Cremer, 2003; Lind & Tyler, 1988; Koper, van Knippenberg,

Bouhuijs, Vermunt, & Wilke, 1993; Smith & Tyler, 1997; Smith,

Tyler, Huo, Ortiz, & Lind, 1998; Tyler, 1989; Tyler & Lind, 1992).

Although this particular body of research has been insightful

and informative, it has its limitations.

One limitation is that examinations of the relationship between

organizational justice and organization-based self-esteem have yet

to explore how organizational justice (i.e., organizational-level con-

struct) impacts employee organization-based self-esteem (i.e., sub-

ordinate-level construct). Nonetheless, recent research suggests that

treatment from supervisors is a more proximal predictor of employees’

organization-based self-esteem than favorable working conditions

(e.g., a fair workplace) (Fahr & Chen, 2014; Ferris et al., 2012; Gardner

& Pierce, 2016; Norman, Gardner, & Pierce, 2015; Liu, Hui, Lee, &

Chen, 2013; Rafferty & Restubog, 2011; Vogel & Mitchell, 2017; Yang,

Zhang, Kwan, & Chen, 2018). As supervisors are considered to be or-

ganizational authority figures, how they treat subordinates has signifi-

cant and symbolic meaning (Norman et al., 2015; Yang & Diefendorff,

2009). In that vein, scholars have noted that how supervisors interact

with their subordinates is influenced by their own perceptions of the

workplace (Ambrose, Schminke, & Mayer, 2013). Correspondingly,

employees’ self-esteem greatly depends on the treatment they receive

from supervisors (Blader & Tyler, 2015; Brockner, 1988).

Indeed, rese arch demonst rates a strong re lationship bet ween

superviso rs’ and subordinates’ percepti ons of organizational justice

Received: 1 May 2019 

|

  Revised: 16 March 202 0 

|

  Accepted: 27 March 20 20

DOI: 10 .1111/bee r.12285

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Overall justice and supervisor conscientiousness: Implications

for ethical leadership and employee self-esteem

Darryl B. Rice1 | Nicole C. J. Young2 | Devante Johnson1 | Rayshawn Walton3 |

Sydney Stacy1

1Miami Univers ity, Oxford, OH, US A

2Franklin and M arshall College, L ancaster,

 PA, USA

3Tiffin Uni versity, Tiffin , OH, USA

Correspondence

Darryl B. R ice, Miami Universi ty, 400 E. High

Street, Ox ford, OH 45056, USA .

Email: ricedb@miamioh.edu

Abstract

Research on organiz ational justice demo nstrates its consis tent effect on em ployee

organization-base d self-esteem. However, little rese arch considers how organiza-

tional justice aff ects employee or ganization-based se lf-esteem and when the rela-

tionship is attenuate d. In an effort to ex tend the research r egarding this par ticular

relationship, we draw on so cial cognitive theory to suggest th at supervisors’ percep-

tions of overall organiz ational justice tric kle down to impact emp loyees’ organiza-

tion-based self-esteem . Specifically, we propos e that superviso ry ethical lea dership

mediates this relation ship. We also examine the mod erating influence of sup ervisor

conscientiousness o n this proposed trick le-down effect . We analyze these relat ion-

ships in a multisource f ield study and find support for t he mediating effect of super-

visory ethical leadership and the proposed moderated mediation model. Theoretical

and practical implications are discussed.