Categorizing you and me: toward a typology of prejudice and justice in the organization

Abstract

PurposeDue to the dominant use of the singular view of the self-categorization process in the literature, this article seeks to develop a typology, from a dyadic categorization perspective, that describes different types of prejudice and justice in the organization based on one's self-categorization and others' categorization of one's self.Design/methodology/approachThe authors develop a typology by drawing upon social identity, self-categorization and self-consistency theories.FindingsThe authors propose the following findings. First, the more an individual self-categorizes as an in-group member regardless of how others categorize the individual, the more likely the individual experiences a particular form of justice. Second, the more an individual self-categorizes as an out-group member regardless of how others categorize the individual, the more likely the individual experiences a particular form of prejudice. Finally, based on the dyadic categorization approach, the authors propose four distinct types of prejudice and justice: communal prejudice, self-induced prejudice, fantasized justice and actualized justice.Originality/valueThe authors advance the literature by providing a dyadic categorization view that helps describe employees' experience of prejudice or justice in the organization. Additionally, this article offers some managerial recommendations that help managers actualize true justice in the organization.