Bridging the gap between justice and citizenship behavior in Asian culture

Abstract

Purpose Based on social exchange, equity, and other orientation theories this study examines the effect of organizational justice on two dimensions of employees’ citizenship behavior in the Asian context. Moreover, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether Islamic work ethic (IWE) can moderate the relationships between organizational justice and two dimensions of citizenship behavior. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using self-administered questionnaire. In total, 337 employees from Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia participated in the survey. Structural equation modeling specifically partial least square was used to analysis the hypothetical model developed in this study. Findings The finding of this study revealed that justice has direct effect on citizenship behavior directed toward individual and organization alike. These relationships found to be more effective for employees who are high in IWE and weak for employees who are low in IWE. Moreover, the findings of this study provide insight about the validity and reliability of the existing scales pertaining to the study constructs in Asian culture. Practical implications The current study enhance researchers understanding about the crucial role of dispositional variables as moderator in relation to justice and citizenship behavior, confirmed the predictive role of organizational justice in Asian context, and stresses the importance of justice at workplace which can encourage employees to go the extra mile and show good behavior toward their co-workers and/or organization. Originality/value This is a pioneer study that empirically investigates the moderating role of IWE between organizational justice and citizenship behavior, and emphasized the validity and reliability of the used scales in eastern context.