不确定感在他人的程序公正与自我的合作行为之间的中介作用

Uncertainty as the Mediator between Others' Procedural Justice and Self-Directed Cooperation

以公平启发理论为基础,结合不确定管理理论,采用情境实验法(实验1)和行为实验法(实验2),探讨了不确定感这一工具性动机在他人的程序公正与自我的合作行为之间的中介作用。研究结果发现:(1)他人的程序公正会促进自我的合作行为的出现;(2)不确定感降低了自我的合作行为的出现;(3)不确定感中介了他人的程序公正对自我的合作行为的影响。

Procedural justice is the key antecedent of employee＇s cooperation （Comelis, Van Hiel, ＆ De Cremer, 2011; De Cremer ＆ Tyler, 2007; Tyler ＆ Blader, 2003）. However, researchers primarily take a first-person perspective on the study of this effect （Colquitt et al., 2013）, few studies take an observer perspective on organizational justice. In organizations, others＇ procedural justice can significantly influence how individuals evaluate their organizations and the organizational authorities who enact justice. These evaluations, in turn, shape their engagement with those entities, such as cooperation, identification, commitment, and other attitudes and behaviors. This perspective is particularly important because the members of an organization witness many more justice events than they experience personally （Blader, Wiesenfeld, Fortin, ＆ Wheeler-Smith, 2013; Lotz, Okimoto, Schlrsser, ＆ Fetchenhauer, 2011）. Existing studies have found that others＇ procedural justice can predict self-directed cooperation （Mitchell, Vogel, ＆ Folger, 2015; Wubben, De Cremer, ＆ Van Dijk, 2011） and the mediating role of non-instrumental factors （Blader ＆ Tyler, 2009; Tyler ＆ Blader, 2003）, but few studies examine which instrumental factor can mediate this effect. According to the fairness heuristic theory （Lind, 2001） and the uncertainty management theory （Van den Bus ＆ Lind, 2002）, the present study will explore whether this effect is mediated through instrumental factors （e.g., uncertainty）. Two experiments were conducted. In experiment 1 （situation paradigm）, participants consisted of 168 college students, and others＇ procedural justice was manipulated by directing the participants to imagine one piece of story associated with procedural justice that we prepared before. Specifically, the situation story talked about the procedure of a sum of reward allocation within a college students＇ research team （justice vs. injustice）. The Independent-samples T test was used to test the validity of the manipulations, and it showed that the manipulations were successful. In addition, the influence of others＇ procedural justice on self-directed cooperation was investigated. Using a hierarchical regression analysis （Baron ＆ Kenny, 1986）, this experiment investigated the causal relationship between others＇ procedural justice and self-directed cooperation, and the mediating effects of uncertainty between others＇ procedural justice and self-directed cooperation were explored. In order to enhance the validity of the findings in experiment 1, experiment 2 was conducted in the laboratory to explore the more realistic response towards others＇ procedural justice. The participants consisted of 72 college students, and others＇ procedural justice was manipulated by presenting information about how a previous ostensible participant was treated by the lab assistant. Specifically, the information conveyed how the lab assistant allocated the payoff to the previous ostensible participant （justice vs. injustice）. The method of manipulation check and data analysis is equal to that in experiment 1. The results were also similar to the results of experiment 1. The results showed that： （1） Others＇ procedural justice had significant predictive effects on uncertainty and self-directed cooperation. That is to say, in the situation of others＇ procedural justice, individuals＇ intentions to cooperate with group were most intensive, which was proved in our study; （2） The effect of others＇ procedural justice on self-directed cooperation was mediated by uncertainty. That is to say, uncertainty links others＇ procedural justice to drive self-directed cooperation. The theoretical implications of the findings were discussed. Given that others＇ procedural justice is an important event, managers should adhere to procedural justice rules with all the employees to foster their cooperation. This study can also provide implication for further researches to explore the interventions addressing injustice .