Linking justice, trust and innovative work behaviour to work engagement
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of contextual variables – organisational justice (procedural justice, interactional justice and psychological contract) and trust – on work engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports a quantitative study of 323 managers working in manufacturing and pharmaceutical organisations based in western India. Drawing from social exchange theory, this paper tests the mediating role of trust in the justice-engagement relationship. The paper also investigates the effect of work engagement on employees' innovative work behaviour.
Findings
Results suggest that procedural justice, interactional justice and psychological contract fulfilment are positively related to work engagement with trust as the mediating element. Engagement significantly influences employees' innovative work behaviour
Research limitations/implications
The data were collected cross-sectionally, which means that causal inferences must be made with caution. Moreover, the data were collected from a single source. Nevertheless, the findings have implications for contemporary leadership and organisational psychology research and practice in a novel geographic context.
Originality/value
This study is one of the rare attempts to examine the influence of three justice variables and trust on work engagement. The study also contributes in terms of its context. With an increasing number of multinationals starting operations in India, an understanding of employee motivation has become an important concern. This research examines engagement levels of Indian managerial employees.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the Associate Editor Professor Penny Dick and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. Special thanks to Professor Vishal Gupta for help with empirical analysis.
Citation
A. Agarwal, U. (2014), "Linking justice, trust and innovative work behaviour to work engagement", Personnel Review, Vol. 43 No. 1, pp. 41-73. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-02-2012-0019
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited