Discriminant and Criterion-Related Validity of a Relative Deprivation Scale in a Merger and Acquisition Context

Abstract

This study examined the discriminant and criterion-related validity of the Relative Deprivation Scale. The data were collected from 151 Korean employees who had recently experienced a merger and acquisition. The results of confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the two dimensions of relative deprivation (egoistic and fraternal relative deprivation) are clearly distinguishable from other conceptually related variables, such as negative affectivity, resistance to change, overall job dissatisfaction, and distributive justice. In addition, egoistic relative deprivation made a unique incremental contribution to explaining employee turnover intention beyond the contribution of conceptually related variables, while fraternal relative deprivation did not.