Interpersonal justice and creativity: testing the underlying cognitive mechanisms
ISSN: 2040-8269
Article publication date: 16 February 2022
Issue publication date: 31 October 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the underlying cognitive mechanisms between interpersonal justice and creativity.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical model was tested through survey method in two distinct settings, i.e. student teams and organizational setting.
Findings
This study found evidence that interpersonal justice has an indirect relationship with creative behavior through two distinct paths of psychological meaningfulness and psychological availability in Study 1 and through psychological availability in Study 2. The results clarify and support the proposition in the justice literature that interpersonal fairness is relevant to creativity because of its relationship to risks associated with creativity, and that this affect holds when controlling for procedural, distributive and informational justice (Study 2).
Research limitations/implications
The results suggest that interpersonally fair supervision has a significant influence on employees’ creativity. Fair supervisory treatment adds value to the organization and contributes to the well-being of employees by directly influencing perceptions of psychological engagement factors of meaningfulness and availability of resources.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the justice, creativity and psychological engagement literatures by exploring the mechanisms linking organizational justice and creativity in a non-Western context.
Keywords
Citation
Khan, A.K., Bell, C.M. and Quratulain, S. (2022), "Interpersonal justice and creativity: testing the underlying cognitive mechanisms", Management Research Review, Vol. 45 No. 12, pp. 1627-1643. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-03-2021-0206
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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