Reactions to inequity as a function of organization strategy: Effect of micro and macro variables

In an experimental study, we investigated the role of organizational context in explaining employees' reactions to a state of inequity. Specifically, we investigated employees' reactions to a state of inequity resulting from an organization's pursuit of its strategic goal to improve its competitive standing in its industry. We proposed and tested hypotheses on the moderating effects of duration of inequity, probability of strategic goal attainment, and interactional justice in explaining employees' reactions to the experience of inequity. Consistent with our hypotheses, the results revealed that these contextual variables helped explain the conditions under which individuals are likely to perceive a situation of inequity as more versus less fair. The results further indicated that organizational context can help explain seemingly conflicting reactions of individuals to inequity (i.e., perceiving the situation as fair, yet remaining uncommitted to the organization). Implications of the findings for theory and practice were also addressed.