Legitimacy, Particularism and Employee Commitment and Justice

Sarah Hudson (), Helena V González-Gómez () and Cyrlene Claasen ()
Additional contact information
Sarah Hudson: ESC Rennes School of Business
Helena V González-Gómez: NEOMA Business School, Rouen Campus
Cyrlene Claasen: ESC Rennes School of Business

Journal of Business Ethics, 2019, vol. 157, issue 3, No 1, 589-603

Abstract: Abstract Research on the effects of particularistic human resource practices (i.e., favoritism and nepotism) on organizational outcomes has concentrated on direct negative attitudinal and behavioral responses. By integrating legitimacy and social exchange theories, this paper proposes and tests the idea that legitimacy of particularistic practices might moderate their negative effects on employee attitudes at work. Through a survey of 415 employees across multiple organizational types, we show that the legitimacy of particularism mitigates its negative effects on affective commitment and perceived distributive and procedural justice in non-family-owned businesses only. We discuss implications for theory and practice.

Keywords: Employee commitment; Favoritism; Legitimacy; Nepotism; Organizational justice; Particularism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-017-3685-1

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