Janaki Gooty

Organizational Justice, Trustworthiness, and Trust: A Multifoci Examination

Drawing from the extant literature on organizational justice and trust, this study examines the effects of justice perceptions on trustworthiness perceptions and interpersonal trust in authority figures. Results indicate differential effects of procedural, interpersonal and informational justice on the three components of perceived trustworthiness: ability, benevolence, and integrity. Consistent with multifoci organizational justice and social exchange theory, the effects are dependent on the authority figure being referenced and the nature of the exchange relationship between authority and subordinate. Results also indicate that trust in the proximal referent led to increased ability to focus on work-related tasks, whereas trust in the distal referent did not influence such ability to focus. Ability to focus on work-related tasks predicted organizational citizenship behaviors directed at both the organization and individuals.

Dyads in Organizational Research: Conceptual Issues and Multilevel Analyses

Although extensive work exists on multilevel theory building, testing and inference drawing in organizational research, work focusing on interpersonal relationships and the dyad as a level of analysis is scarcer compared to research focusing on individuals, groups/teams, and organizations. This scarcity is attributable to conceptual and methodological challenges in modeling dyads as a level of analysis. To address these challenges, we first present a discussion of the conceptualization of different dyadic configurations in work settings. Then, drawing on this conceptual treatment, we develop and illustrate the application of Random Coefficient Modeling (RCM) via nesting for independent dyads and cross-classification for dependent dyads in work settings. Across both independent and dependent dyads, we illustrate the application of Within and Between Analysis (WABA), another multilevel technique for dyadic analyses. RCM and WABA stem from differing statistical assumptions and are capable of testing different kinds of multilevel questions. We close with prescriptive implications for future multilevel conceptualization and data analysis using RCM and WABA, particularly involving interpersonal work relationships and dyads.

The Leader–Member Exchange Relationship A Multisource, Cross-Level Investigation

Drawing on shared reality theory and social exchange processes in leader–member exchange (LMX), we posit that variability in LMX ratings at both the dyadic and group levels act as cross-level moderators of the routinely studied individual-level LMX–performance ratings association. Specifically, we introduce dyadic dispersion LMX as a key dyad-level variable that attenuates the positive individual LMX–performance association. Furthermore, we conceptualize that LMX differentiation, a group-level construct, is dysfunctional for individual outcomes as it violates norms of equality, and we suggest that the positive individual-level LMX–performance ratings association is plausible only in low differentiation workgroups and not high differentiation workgroups. Our analyses invoke new cross-classified and traditional nested models with multisource ratings of performance, and the findings largely support the study hypotheses. Implications for LMX at different levels of analyses as well as future theory and research are discussed.