The impact of contingent self-esteem threat on displays of interactional justice

Abstract

The consequences of employee perceptions of interactional injustice have received much attention in the research literature; however, few studies have attempted to address the antecedents of unfair interpersonal treatment. The current study utilized an experimental design to investigate one potential cause of managerial displays of interactionally unfair behaviour toward subordinates: self-esteem threat. Although the main hypotheses were not supported, some interesting findings emerged. Self-esteem threat impacted managers' likelihood of providing explanations for unfavourable outcomes and this was particularly true for certain personality types (e.g., those with low self-esteem and/or high negative affectivity).