Justice, trust and employee reactions: an empirical examination of the HRM system

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of an integrated HRM system (content, process and climate) on employee reactions (motivation, commitment, work engagement, and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB)), through the mediating role of organizational justice (distributive, procedural and interactional) and organizational trust (integrity, competence and dependability), which has not been fully studied in the past. Design/methodology/approach - The study is based on a national sample of 133 organizations from the public and private sectors in Greece and on data obtained from 1,061 employees. The statistical method employed is structural equation modelling. Findings - The findings of the study suggest that the HRM process has a higher impact on employee reactions than HRM content. Additionally, the findings support the idea that procedural and distributive justice are related more to trust dependability and integrity, and that procedural justice is a better predictor of employee reactions than distributive justice. Research limitations/implications - The study does not allow for dynamic causal inferences because the data was collected using a questionnaire at a single point in time. Furthermore, the findings of the study may not generalize across borders, because the study was applied in the Greek context, which has different labour relations with respect to other countries. Practical implications - The study has clear implications for both managers and decision makers, because it suggests that employees are more committed and satisfied when the HRM system is more consistent and distinctive, more rewarding and provides opportunities for training. Originality/value - The theoretical significance of the study is important, because it suggests that both the content and the process of HR practices, as perceived by employees, strongly influence employees' reactions, such as motivation, commitment, work engagement and organizational citizenship behaviour OCB.