http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/579/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/39698/ 2013-03-25T00:00:00Z In the present article, we argue that the constant pressure that leaders face may limit the willpower required to behave according to ethical norms and standards and may therefore lead to unethical behavior. Drawing upon the ego depletion and moral self-regulation literatures, we examined whether self-regulatory depletion that is contingent upon the moral identity of leaders may promote unethical leadership behavior. A laboratory experiment and a multisource field study revealed that regulatory resource depletion promotes unethical leader behaviors among leaders who are low in moral identity. No such effect was found among leaders with a high moral identity. This study extends our knowledge on why organizational leaders do not always conform to organizational goals. Specifically, we argue that the hectic and fragmented workdays of leaders may increase the likelihood that they violate ethical norms. This highlights the necessity to carefully schedule tasks that may have ethical implications. Similarly, organizations should be aware that overloading their managers with work may increase the likelihood of their leaders transgressing ethical norms. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/39740/ 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z We investigate how social comparison processes in leader treatment quality impact group members' self-worth, affect, and behavior. Evidences from the field and the laboratory suggest that employees who are treated kinder and more considerate than their fellow group members experience more self-worth and positive affect. Moreover, the greater positive self-implications of preferentially treated group members motivate them more strongly to comply with norms and to engage in tasks that benefit the group. These findings suggest that leaders face an ethical trade-off between satisfying the moral standard of treating everybody equally well and satisfying individual group members' desire to be treated better than others. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/37772/ 2012-09-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/38073/ 2012-06-28T00:00:00Z We studied the role of social dynamics in moral decision-making and behavior by investigating how physical sensations of dirtiness versus cleanliness influence moral behavior in leader-subordinate relationships, and whether a leader's self-interest functions as a boundary condition to this effect. A pilot study (N = 78) revealed that when participants imagined rewarding (vs. punishing) unethical behavior of a subordinate, they felt more dirty. Our main experiment (N = 96) showed that directly manipulating dirtiness by allowing leaders to touch a dirty object (fake poop) led to more positive evaluations of, and higher bonuses for, unethical subordinates than touching a clean object (hygienic hand wipe). This effect, however, only emerged when the subordinate's unethical behavior did not serve the leader's own interest. Hence, subtle cues such as bodily sensations can shape moral decision-making and behavior in leader-subordinate relationships, but self-interest, as a core characteristic of interdependence, can override the influence of such cues on the leader's moral behavior. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/34906/ 2012-06-27T00:00:00Z Past research on leader self-sacrifice has focused entirely on the effects of this leader behavior on followers and its implications for organizations. The present research focused on antecedents of leader self-sacrifice. We argued that self-sacrifice is positively influenced by leaders' sense of belongingness to the group they supervise. Furthermore, leaders' subjectively sensed power can serve as a moderator of this effect. We expected this because a high sense of power is known to facilitate goal pursuit. Given that organizational goals often prescribe serving the interests of the organization, leaders' sense of belongingness should promote self-sacrifice particularly among leaders low in subjective power; leaders high in subjective power should display self-sacrifice regardless of their sense of belongingness. Two field studies supported these predictions. A final experiment supported a critical assumption underlying our argument in showing that the sense of power × sense of belongingness interaction is restricted to situations that prescribe cooperative goals. When situations prescribe competitive goals, this interaction was absent. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/37960/ 2012-05-14T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/37714/ 2012-03-01T00:00:00Z We examined how procedural fairness interacts with empowering leadership to promote employee OCB. We focused on two core empowering leadership types-encouraging self-development and encouraging independent action. An experiment revealed that leaders encouraging self-development made employees desire status information more (i.e., information regarding one's value to the organization). Conversely, leaders encouraging independent action decreased employees' desire for this type of information. Subsequently, a multisource field study (with a US and German sample) showed that encouraging self-development strengthened the relationship between procedural fairness and employee OCB, and this relationship was mediated by employees' self-perceived status. Conversely, encouraging independent action weakened the procedural fairness-OCB relationship, as mediated by self-perceived status. This research integrates empowering leadership styles into relational fairness theories, highlighting that multiple leader behaviors should be examined in concert and that empowering leadership can have unintended consequences. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/37696/ 2012-02-01T00:00:00Z Although very little research in bargaining has addressed how perpetrators should deal with the aftermath of unfair allocations, it has been proposed that an apology may help the reconciliation process. Prior research, however, only focused on whether apologies can reveal positive effects on the reconciliation process but did not focus yet on whether perpetrators are actually willing to apologize. In this paper we investigate perpetrator's willingness to apologize for a trust violation in a bargaining setting. We hypothesized that perpetrators willingness to apologize would be a function of the extent to which the victim of the trust violation is willing to forgive. This effect, however, was expected to emerge only among those perpetrators who are low in dispositional trust. The results from a laboratory study with actual transgressions and actual apologetic behavior supported our predictions and thus emphasize an instrumental view on apologizing in bargaining situations. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/30776/ 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Integrating self-uncertainty management and thwarted needs perspectives on leader mistreatment and workplace deviance, we examine when and why leader mistreatment is associated with workplace deviance. We propose that competence uncertainty strengthens the relationship between leader mistreatment and workplace deviance and that hostility mediates this interactive effect. Four field studies and one experiment support the hypotheses. The first two studies provide evidence for the predicted interaction between leader mistreatment and competence uncertainty, and the next three studies demonstrate that hostility mediates this interactive effect. We discuss an extended social exchange explanation of workplace deviance and highlight the psychological interplay between motives, cognition, and affect in reciprocating leader mistreatment. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/31995/ 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z An important component of ethical leadership entails leaders' enactment of procedural fairness. The present two studies examined the role of followers' relational motives as antecedents of leaders' adherence to procedural fairness rules and explored the mediating role of attraction. In an experimental study, we demonstrated that followers' belongingness needs influenced leaders' inclination to grant them voice. This finding was corroborated in a multisource field study of organizational supervisors. Furthermore, these two studies demonstrated that the effect of followers' belongingness needs on the enactment of fair procedures was mediated through a process of interpersonal and group attraction. We discuss the relevance of these findings for theories of procedural rule adherence as a dependent variable and for the literature on ethical leadership. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/31996/ 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z “Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window,” observed Peter Drucker. And yet, we have a strong desire to control the uncontrollable. David De Cremer talks control. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/23825/ 2011-08-01T00:00:00Z One of the major challenges that actors in economic exchange relations face today concerns dealing with defection and overcoming the erosion of trust and cooperation that may result from a transgression. As transgressions in these relations usually entail a monetary loss for the victim, a common restorative approach involves providing a financial compensation to the victim. This research examines whether compensations that were provided voluntarily (rather than forced) would promote more trust among victims. In contrast to standard economic theory, we predict that individual differences exist that determine the degree to which victims are susceptible towards information about how the financial compensation is delivered in their decision to trust and cooperate again. Experimental data from a trust game confirmed our hypotheses by showing that whereas receiving a voluntary compensation from the transgressor communicates more repentance to victims than when this compensation was imposed, particularly people with a low tendency to forgive discount this repentance in their decision to trust again. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/23445/ 2011-06-01T00:00:00Z We examined which type of social account (denying responsibility versus apologizing) following an unfair offer makes recipients more likely to accept the offer in ultimatum bargaining. We identified stress responses to uncertainty as an individual difference factor that should moderate the relative effectiveness of these social accounts. A denial should make acceptance of an unfair offer more likely among recipients who respond to uncertainty with low stress. An apology should make such acceptance more likely among recipients who respond with high stress. Further, we argued that this cross-over interaction should be observed particularly among recipients interacting with a high power allocator. Two ultimatum bargaining experiments supported these ideas. Employing the perspective of victims of unfairness, the present research identifies a relevant individual difference moderator of the effectiveness of social accounts in bargaining situations and identifies power as a situational variable that promotes the expression of this factor. Highlights: ► We examine when denying responsibility and apologizing make unfair ultimatum offers accepted. ► We tested our ideas in two ultimatum bargaining experiments. ► Denying promoted acceptance when recipients responded to uncertainty with low stress. Apologizing promoted acceptance when recipients responded with high stress. ► This interaction was limited to recipients interacting with a high power allocator. ► The perspective of victims of unfairness helps us understand how social accounts work http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/26149/ 2011-06-01T00:00:00Z The present article examines to what extent leader-follower similarity moderates the effect of procedural justice on followers' cooperation. Using subjective operationalizations of similarity in a vignette study, a field study and an experimental lab study, we demonstrated that the enactment of fair procedures elicits the highest levels of cooperation when followers perceive the leader as similar. This was true when similarity was framed in broad, deep-level terms (Study 1 and 2) or in terms of a single, specific characteristic, i.e., the need to belong (Study 3). In the discussion we elaborate on possible explanatory mechanisms and on the broader context of an integrative approach to leadership research. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/26351/ 2011-06-01T00:00:00Z Indirect reciprocity is cooperation through reputation: third parties cooperate with those known to cooperate and defect against those known to defect. Defection, then, can have the unjust motive of greed or the just motive of retaliation. To establish cooperation, observers should distinguish both motives for defection and respond more cooperatively to the latter. We propose that the expression of emotions may facilitate this inferential process. Indeed, in two laboratory studies participants inferred that defection out of anger or disappointment was a just response to a defector and they responded more cooperatively than when no emotion was communicated. Moreover, participants inferred that defectors who evoked disappointment instead of anger had a relatively positive reputation. We conclude that emotions help establish cooperation through indirect reciprocity. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/25938/ 2011-04-12T00:00:00Z An abundance of ethical escalations in business and organizations has spurred the debate about the necessity and viability of ethical leadership. In response to this, researchers have developed a strong interest in understanding and testing the notion of ethical leadership. Ethical leaders have been characterized as being concerned with moral and just behavior of employees, and they enact ethical conduct through personal actions and interpersonal relationships. Yet, despite this growing research interest, conceptual and empirical foundations are still relatively scarce. This special issue aims to contribute to the growth and development of the emerging field of ethical leadership by, first of all, attempting to further develop its conceptual foundation. We therefore encourage papers that focus on what ethical leadership is and what it is not. ... http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/30937/ 2011-03-18T00:00:00Z Since people with low status are more likely to experience social evaluative threat and are therefore more inclined to monitor for these threats and inhibit approach behaviour, we expected that low-status subjects would be more engaged in evaluating their own performance, compared with high-status subjects. We created a highly salient social hierarchy based on the performance of a simple time estimation task. Subjects could achieve high, middle or low status while performing this task simultaneously with other two players who were either higher or lower in status. Subjects received feedback on their own performance, as well as on the performance of the other two players simultaneously. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded from all three participants. The results showed that medial frontal negativity (an event-related potential reflecting performance evaluation) was significantly enhanced for low-status subjects. Implications for status-related differences in goal-directed behaviour are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22527/ 2011-03-01T00:00:00Z Trust is vital yet vulnerable in economic exchange relations. In these relations, a widely used strategy in response to distributive harm consists of having the transgressor pay a financial compensation to the victim. This research examines whether financial compensations can increase trust towards a transgressor, and whether the size of the compensation is relevant to this process. We hypothesized and found that whether larger compensations will elicit more trust, depends on how clear the perpetrator’s intention to transgress was. Experiment 1 revealed that trust perceptions increased more by a slight overcompensation of the inflicted harm as compared to an exact or a partial compensation, but not if the transgressor’s bad intentions became clear through the use of deception in the violation. In Experiments 2 and 3, we replicated these findings and further showed that it is not the use of deception per se, but rather the attribution of bad intent that moderates the effect of compensation size. Experiment 4, using a trust game paradigm revealed that this effect not only occurs for small overcompensations, but also for larger overcompensations. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22659/ 2011-03-01T00:00:00Z Three studies examined the relationship between moral identity and procedural justice enactment and explored the moderating role of regulatory focus in this relationship. In Study 1, an experimental scenario study, leaders with a strong moral identity were more likely to enact decisions accurately in an employee performance evaluation procedure. This effect emerged in the prevention focus condition, but was absent in the promotion focus condition. In Study 2, an organizational field survey, organizational supervisors' moral identity related to self-reported voice granting, and this effect was pronounced among those with strong (as opposed to weak) dispositional prevention focus. In Study 3, another field study, organizational supervisors' moral identity related to co-worker ratings of voice granting and this effect was again pronounced among supervisors with strong (as opposed to weak) prevention focus. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of a moral self-regulation account of justice enactment. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22758/ 2011-03-01T00:00:00Z Management and businesses in general are constantly facing important ethical challenges. In the current special issue, we identify the widespread emergence of unethical decision-making and behaviour in management as an important topic for a future research agenda. Specifically, we promote the use of a behavioural business ethics approach to better understand when management, leaders and businesses are inclined to act unethically and why this is the case. A behavioural business ethics approach which relies on important insights from psychology should be a necessary addition and complementary to the traditional normative approaches used in business ethics. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22406/ 2011-02-03T00:00:00Z By showing disapproval of unethical follower behavior (UFB), leaders help creating an ethical climate in their organization in which it is clear what is morally acceptable or not. In this research, we examine factors influencing whether leaders consistently show such disapproval. Specifically, we argue that holding leaders accountable for their actions should motivate them to disapprove of UFB. However, this effect of accountability should be inhibited when leaders personally benefit from UFB. This prediction was supported in a lab experiment. Furthermore, a follow-up study showed that followers in fact accurately predict when leaders will most likely disapprove of UFB. These findings imply that followers can thus get away with unethical behavior in some situations and they are capable of accurately predicting such situations. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/31729/ 2011-01-26T00:00:00Z The present paper explores the effect of the salience of collective consequences of opportunistic behavior in commons and anticommons dilemmas. Making this type of externalities salient was expected to increase the awareness of the conflict between collective and personal interests, especially in the anticommons dilemma. The results of a vignette study (Study 1, N=100) and a laboratory experiment (Study 2, N=55) confirmed our hypotheses, revealing more opportunistic behavior in the anticommons than in the commons dilemma when externalities were not made salient, while no significant dilemma effect was obtained when the externalities were made salient. Moreover, the results of Study 2 demonstrated that the dilemma effect on cooperation was mediated by externalities awareness. The positive effects of increments in externalities awareness on cooperation are discussed http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22270/ 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Apologies are commonly used to deal with transgressions in relationships. Results to date, however, indicate that the positive effects of apologies vary widely, and the match between people’s judgments of apologies and the true value of apologies has not been studied. Building on the affective and behavioral forecasting literature, we predicted that people would overestimate how much they value apologies in reality. Across three experimental studies, our results showed that after having been betrayed by another party (or after imagining this to be the case), people (a) rated the value of an apology much more highly when they imagined receiving an apology than when they actually received an apology and (b) displayed greater trusting behavior when they imagined receiving an apology than when they actually received an apology. These results suggest that people are prone to forecasting errors regarding the effectiveness of an apology and that they tend to overvalue the impact of receiving one. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22830/ 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z An important challenge for actors in economic exchange relations concerns dealing with the aftermath of unethical behavior and the violation of trust that such transgressions entail. As transgressions in these relations often result in financial harm for one party, a common restorative approach consists of the transgressor paying a financial compensation to the victim; either voluntarily, or following coercion by a third party (cf. litigation). In the present article, we studied the impact of financial compensations on victims' trust towards the transgressor and examined whether the size of the compensation is relevant to this process. In contrast to outcome-based models in game theory, we predicted that whether larger compensations foster more trust, depends on whether the compensation is provided voluntarily or not. Experimental data from a trust game supported our hypothesis by showing that larger compensations only lead to more trust when the transgressor provided the compensation voluntarily, whereas compensation size had no effect when the transgressor was forced by a third party. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22403/ 2010-12-22T00:00:00Z Most of us can appreciate that it feels worse to fail when people around you are successful than when others are also failing. Indeed, comparison with other individuals is of central importance within social groups. Despite the importance of relative success or failure for human decision making and even well-being, the underlying neurobiological substrate of this social comparison process is not well understood. In the present study, ERPs were recorded while two participants received feedback on both their own, and the other participant's performance on each trial. The results showed that medial frontal negativity, an ERP component associated with deviations from the desired outcome, is particularly enhanced when an individual's own outcomes are worse than those of others. These results indicate that the way the brain evaluates the success of our actions is crucially dependent on the success or failure of others. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22203/ 2010-12-01T00:00:00Z Some 15 executives responsible for hiring bankers said that bonuses weren't all that important for their own motivation — but that bonuses were very important to those they employ. David De Cremer thinks this is more than a discrepancy; it reveals a self-created myth that is destructive — and addressable. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22272/ 2010-12-01T00:00:00Z Prior research has largely failed to focus on how transgressors can promote trust when having made unfair offers in bargaining. I investigated in the context of receiving an unfair offer in a dictator game when financial compensations and when apologies are most effective in motivating trust behavior by the violated party. I hypothesized that when losses were allocated, the violated party would be motivated to show more trust behavior towards the transgressor when a financial compensation (resulting again in equal final outcomes) relative to an apology was delivered, whereas when gains were allocated, apologies would be more effective in promoting trust behavior than a financial compensation. Results from a laboratory study indeed supported this prediction as such demonstrating the importance of how allocation decisions are framed (i.e., loss or gain) in testing the effectiveness of trust repair strategies (financial compensations vs. apologies). http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21200/ 2010-11-01T00:00:00Z We developed a model predicting that leaders are most effective in stimulating follower cooperation when they consistently treat all group members in a fair manner and are prototypical (i.e., representative of the group's values and norms). In support of this idea, we consistently found that group members cooperated most when prototypical leaders treated themselves as well as their coworkers fairly across a laboratory experiment and 3 cross-sectional field studies. These findings highlight the important role of others' fairness experiences and perceptions in influencing one's own reactions and also the role of leaders as representing the group's values and norms. We discuss implications for fairness theory and the leader prototypicality literature. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/25842/ 2010-09-01T00:00:00Z Ethical failures are all around. Despite their pervasiveness, we know little how to manage and even survive the aftermath of such failures. In this paper, we develop the argument that as business ethics researchers we need to zoom in more closely on why ethical failures emerge, and how these insights can help us to be effective ethical leaders that can increase moral awareness and manage distrust. To succeed in this scientific enterprise, we advocate the use of a behavioral business ethics approach that relies on insights from psychology. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/26788/ 2010-09-01T00:00:00Z In times of crisis, it seems natural that people will work together for the common good. David De Cremer cautions us that, on the contrary, both economic and social researches prove otherwise. He proposes steps for organisations to take to prevent corrupt behaviours. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21724/ 2010-07-01T00:00:00Z In social dilemmas, verbal communication of one's intentions is an important factor in increasing cooperation. In addition to verbal communication of one's intentions, also the communication of emotions of anger and happiness can influence cooperative behavior. In the present paper, we argue that facial expressions of emotion moderate verbal communication in social dilemmas. More specifically, three experiments showed that if the other person displayed happiness he or she was perceived as honest, trustworthy, and reliable, and cooperation was increased when verbal communication was cooperative rather than self-interested. However, if the other person displayed anger, verbal communication did not influence people's decision behavior. Results also showed interactive effects on people's perceptions of trustworthiness, which partially mediated decision behavior. These findings suggest that emotion displays have an important function in organizational settings because they are able to influence social interactions and cooperative behavior. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21720/ 2010-06-24T00:00:00Z David De Cremer charts the financial world's attempts to rebuild trust and provides three steps to jump-start the process. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/19603/ 2010-06-01T00:00:00Z The present research examined across two experimental studies the impact of how fairly one's partner was treated on the experience of one's own negative emotions and intentions to display antisocial behaviours. Experiment 1 revealed that one's own feelings of anger and frustration were significantly higher when one's partner was treated fairly (i.e. receiving voice in the decision-making procedure) relative to when one's partner was treated unfairly (i.e. receiving no voice), but only so when the interaction between oneself and the other was characterized by competitive interdependence (i.e. a zero-sum gain in which a good performance by the other is negative for oneself and vice versa). The opposite pattern of results emerged in the cooperative interdependence condition (i.e. a good performance by the other is positive for oneself and vice versa). Experiment 2 (in which also the fairness of one's own treatment was manipulated) further showed that in the competitive interdependence condition own anger and frustration were higher when one's partner received voice and oneself did not relative to when the partner did not receive voice and oneself did. A similar effect was also obtained for intentions to display antisocial behaviour, which was mediated by negative emotions. These findings thus reveal that the other's procedurally fair treatment affects own responses differently as a function of the given goal interdependence and own treatment. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/20840/ 2010-05-01T00:00:00Z Prior research has shown that procedural fairness interacts with outcome fairness to influence employees’ work attitudes (e.g., organizational commitment) and behaviors (e.g., job performance, organizational citizenship behavior), such that employees’ tendencies to respond more positively to higher procedural fairness are stronger when outcome fairness is relatively low. In the present studies, we posited that people’s uncertainty about their standing as organizational members would have a moderating influence on this interactive relationship between procedural fairness and outcome fairness, in that the interactive relationship was expected to be more pronounced when uncertainty was high. Using different operationalizations of uncertainty of standing (i.e., length of tenure as a proxy, along with self-reports and coworkers’ reports), we found support for this hypothesis in 4 field studies spanning 3 different countries. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/20868/ 2010-05-01T00:00:00Z Building on fairness heuristic theory, fairness theory, and trust development models, we argue that unfairly enacted procedures decrease followers' trust in the authority particularly when authorities have high power over their followers. Moreover, we expected trust to mediate procedural fairness effects on followers' attitudes (authorities' legitimacy and charisma attributed to authorities) and organizational citizenship behavior. Procedural fairness effects on these variables, as mediated by trust, should therefore also be stronger when authority power is high. The results of a single- and multisource field study and a laboratory experiment supported these predictions. These studies support the role of authority power as a theoretically and practically relevant moderator of procedural fairness effects and show that its effectiveness is explained through trust in authorities. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22424/ 2010-05-01T00:00:00Z Building on fairness heuristic theory, fairness theory, and trust development models, we argue that unfairly enacted procedures decrease followers' trust in the authority particularly when authorities have high power over their followers. Moreover, we expected trust to mediate procedural fairness effects on followers' attitudes (authorities' legitimacy and charisma attributed to authorities) and organizational citizenship behavior. Procedural fairness effects on these variables, as mediated by trust, should therefore also be stronger when authority power is high. The results of a single- and multisource field study and a laboratory experiment supported these predictions. These studies support the role of authority power as a theoretically and practically relevant moderator of procedural fairness effects and show that its effectiveness is explained through trust in authorities. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/20869/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z This research explored why strongly identifying followers endorse prototypical leaders by addressing the role of procedural fairness in this process. We introduced the distinction between procedural fairness rules relating to leader benevolence (i.e., whether the leader supports the group’s interests) and follower control (i.e., whether followers can influence the leader’s decisions). We predicted that strongly identifying group members endorse prototypical leaders because they perceive such leaders as acting in line with benevolence related fairness rules rather than because such leaders are perceived as giving followers control. An organizational field study and a laboratory experiment revealed support for these ideas. Our results thus provide insights into why prototypical leaders are endorsed among strongly identifying followers. They also have implications for the procedural fairness literature in showing that frequently studied procedural fairness rules (e.g., voice) do not explain endorsement of leaders believed to support the group’s interests. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21257/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z In two studies we investigated the impact of degree of collective failure in a public good dilemma (near miss vs. large miss) on group members' negative reactions (negative affect, attributions of responsibility for the failure, and intention to leave the group). The results show that upward counterfactual thinking has more impact on members' negative responses when experiencing a near miss rather than a large miss. In Experiment 1, the results show that in the case of a near miss (and not a large miss), negative affect and attributions of responsibility were higher when other-focused counterfactuals rather than self-focused counterfactuals were elicited. Negative affect was found to mediate the effect on attributions of responsibility. Experiment 2 replicates these findings on a wider range of negative responses and reveals that the effect of counterfactual thought on willingness to leave the group in the case of a near miss is mediated by attributions of responsibility. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21716/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z Unfair offers in bargaining may have disruptive effects because they may reduce interpersonal trust. In such situations future trust may be strongly affected by social accounts (i.e., apologies vs. denials). In the current paper we investigate when people are most likely to demand social accounts for the unfair offer (Experiment 1), and when social accounts will have the highest impact (Experiment 2). We hypothesized that the need for and impact of social accounts will be highest when the intentions of the other party are uncertain. The results provided support for this reasoning. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21719/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z Behavioral ethics is an emerging field that takes an empirical, social scientific approach to the study of business ethics. In this special issue, we include six articles that fall within the domain of behavioral ethics and that focus on three themes—moral awareness, ethical decision making, and reactions to unethical behavior. Each of the articles sheds additional light on the specific issues addressed. However, we hope this special issue will have an impact beyond that of the new insights offered in these articles, by stimulating evenmore research in this burgeoning field. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22205/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z This article investigates how group members respond to one another when collective overuse occurs. The authors argue that interpersonal reactions after overuse in a common-resource dilemma are largely determined by the environmental characteristics of the social dilemma. More specifically, under environmental certainty they expect people to show more anger to group members than under uncertainty (Study 1). Additionally, they expect stronger retributive reactions to high harvesters than to moderate harvesters, and they expect this difference to be larger under certainty than under uncertainty (Study 2 and 3). Moreover, they predict that these effects are mediated by blaming. The results of three experiments corroborate these predictions http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/23827/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z An important challenge for actors in economic exchange relations concerns dealing with the aftermath of unethical behavior and the violation of trust that such transgressions entail. As transgressions in these relations often result in financial harm for one party, a common restorative approach consists of the transgressor paying a financial compensation to the victim; either voluntarily, or following coercion by a third party (cf. litigation). In the present article, we studied the impact of financial compensations on victims’ trust towards the transgressor and examined whether the size of the compensation is relevant to this process. In contrast to outcome- based models in game theory, we predicted that whether larger compensations foster more trust, depends on whether the compensation is provided voluntarily or not. Experimental data from a trust game supported our hypothesis by showing that larger compensations only lead to more trust when the transgressor provided the compensation voluntarily, whereas compensation size had no effect when the transgressor was forced by a third party. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/40047/ 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z In times of corporate scandals, companies have a strong motive to create ethical awareness among their employees and increase the effectiveness of fairness policies. Many companies agree with the idea that when establishing an ethical climate, the right type of leadership is needed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/26412/ 2009-12-01T00:00:00Z This paper introduces the idea of justice as a social regulation tool to explain why justice information has such a significant impact in our social lives. Our approach holds that justice shapes people's social self, motivations and behaviour and therefore has to be considered fundamentally social in nature. Given our unique position as social animals, it is concluded that justice as an important social concern classifies as an important regulation tool in our social lives. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/17694/ 2009-10-23T00:00:00Z The numerous scandals in business, such as those at AIG, Tyco, WorldCom, Enron and Ahold, have made all of us concerned about the emergence of unethical and irresponsible behavior in organizations. Such widespread corruption in business and politics has, as result, prompted a growth of interest in the field of business ethics. At the same time, however, within the academic world it is also recognized that to tackle those unethical actions in an efficient way, the field of business ethics needs to integrate insights from behavioral science. In this inaugural address I focus more closely on the benefits that a behavioral approach can bring to the field of business ethics. In presenting these benefits, I draw a distinction between prescriptive and descriptive approaches and outline how the field of psychology can help in integrating these two perspectives so that we can move towards a more comprehensive understanding of behavioral business ethics. This integration is illustrated by my own research addressing how sanctioning and regulation systems affect behavior, the benefits of procedural fairness and the workings of trust repair strategies. Finally, I formulate some implications for academia, the government and economics. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/20952/ 2009-10-01T00:00:00Z The present research examined whether the emotions of others (i.e., disappointment versus happiness with respect to a received outcome) influence own self-esteem when being overpaid. Results from two experiments demonstrated that participants reported higher performance self-esteem when the other expressed happiness rather than disappointment. This effect was only found in the condition where one was overpaid relative to the condition where one did not yet know one’s own outcome. In the second experimental study we further found that this interaction between the emotion of the other and the distribution situation only emerged among participants low (relative to high) in personal need for structure. Implications with respect to the relationship between overpayment and self-esteem and the interpersonal effects of emotions in this process are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/18662/ 2009-07-01T00:00:00Z In the present set of studies, the authors examine the idea that self-sacrificial leadership motivates follower prosocial behavior, particularly among followers with a prevention focus. Drawing on the self-sacrificial leadership literature and regulatory focus theory, the authors provide results from 4 studies (1 laboratory and 3 field studies) that support the research hypothesis. Specifically, the relationship between self-sacrificial leadership and prosocial behavior (i.e., cooperation, organizational citizenship behavior) is stronger among followers who are high in prevention focus. Implications for the importance of taking a follower-centered approach to leadership are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/21204/ 2009-05-01T00:00:00Z The present research examines whether or not endowment asymmetry leads those with many endowments to contribute more than those with few endowments towards the public good (i.e., a first-order dilemma), but also towards the implementation of a sanctioning system (i.e., a second-order dilemma). In Experiment 1, we found that those with many endowments contributed more than those with few endowments in a public good dilemma without a sanctioning system present, whereas those with many endowments did not contribute more than those with few endowments toward the implementation of a sanctioning system. The latter effect, however, was eliminated when participants were accountable (i.e., when expectations that they would have to justify their decisions to others in the group were high). Experiment 2 showed that when participants were accountable, the contributions of those with many endowments (and not those with few endowments) toward the sanctioning system increased, but only when they perceived the group to be more self-evaluative in terms of morality (i.e., high-evaluation expectancy). Experiment 3 showed that this effect of evaluation expectancy only emerged when participants were accountable to the whole group rather than to only one group member. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/20953/ 2009-04-01T00:00:00Z The present research examined how procedural fairness predicts negative emotions and withdrawal behavior as a function of authority's display of passion. A first study revealed that reinforcing the concept of passion made the concept of justice and fairness more accessible to participants, as such suggesting that authority passion should make people focus more on procedural fairness information. Corroborating this line of reasoning, a scenario experiment and a laboratory experiment thereafter yielded consistent evidence that the effects of procedural fairness (i.e., voice vs. no voice) were stronger on negative emotions and willingness to withdraw when the authority was passionate relative to not being passionate. In addition, the results of both studies also revealed that negative emotions mediated the effect of procedural fairness on withdrawal, but only so when the authority was passionate (i.e., mediated moderation). It is concluded that more research is needed focusing on the interactions between different authority styles/characteristics and procedural fairness effects. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22404/ 2009-03-20T00:00:00Z It has been argued that power activates a general tendency to approach whereas powerlessness activates a tendency to inhibit. The assumption is that elevated power involves reward-rich environments, freedom and, as a consequence, triggers an approach-related motivational orientation and attention to rewards. In contrast, reduced power is associated with increased threat, punishment and social constraint and thereby activates inhibition-related motivation. Moreover, approach motivation has been found to be associated with increased relative left-sided frontal brain activity, while withdrawal motivation has been associated with increased right sided activations. We measured EEG activity while subjects engaged in a task priming either high or low social power. Results show that high social power is indeed associated with greater left-frontal brain activity compared to low social power, providing the first neural evidence for the theory that high power is associated with approach-related motivation. We propose a framework accounting for differences in both approach motivation and goal-directed behaviour associated with different levels of power. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/18315/ 2009-03-11T00:00:00Z An organizational field study (N = 257) investigated employees' acceptance of a new merit pay system as involving an assessment of whether merit pay can make their earnings more fair, compared to their earnings in the current, seniority-based pay system. We expected that improvement of unfair earnings, and consequently acceptance of merit pay, is considered likely when existing procedures that produce these earnings are unfair, because merit pay improves such procedures. We also expected improvement of unfair earnings, and increased merit pay acceptance, to be likely when employees anticipate fair performance evaluation in a new system, as indicated by fair interpersonal treatment by their supervisor. Results showed that procedural and interpersonal fairness in the existing pay system indeed moderated the relationship between fairness of current outcomes and merit pay acceptance as predicted. Implications for the introduction of merit pay in organizations and for our understanding of the different roles of procedural and interpersonal fairness in outcome evaluations are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/18056/ 2009-03-01T00:00:00Z In order to induce people to follow rules, sanctions are often introduced. In this paper we argue for the importance of studying the positive influence of sanctioning systems on people's moral convictions regarding the rule advocated by the sanction and of studying factors that moderate this influence. In three experiments we tested the influence of sanction severity and showed that severe sanctions evoke stronger moral judgments with regard to rule-breaking behavior and stronger social disapproval towards rule-breakers than mild sanctions. This was particularly the case when trust in authorities is high rather than low. Implications of these findings are discussed. Also, a framework is proposed to understand the possible circumstances that determine whether sanctions either increase or decrease moral norms. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14468/ 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z Two laboratory studies investigated how groups may deal with the strong emotions that social dilemmas often elicit. A first study showed that a new group member evaluated guilt communicated by a fellow group member as more instrumental than neutral emotion feedback when the amount of required resources to obtain the public good (i.e., provision point) was perceived as difficult to obtain. A second study revealed that participants use communicated guilt to draw inferences about both past and future contributions from all fellow group members. Participants also contributed more themselves and adhered to equality more often when guilt versus no emotion was communicated, but only when the provision point was high. Expected contributions from fellow group members mediated this effect. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14469/ 2008-12-01T00:00:00Z When does procedural unfairness result in retaliation, and why do recipients of unfair treatment sometimes pursue and other times inhibit retaliation? Five studies addressed these questions. The authors proposed and found that regulatory focus moderates retaliation against an unfairness-enacting authority: Promotion-focus participants were more likely to retaliate than prevention-focus participants. Promotion focus was associated with, and also heightened the accessibility of, the individual self. In turn, individual-self accessibility influenced retaliation. In fact, prevention-focus participants were as retaliatory as promotion-focus participants under conditions of high individual-self accessibility. Implications for the procedural fairness and regulatory focus literatures are discussed, and suggestions for future research are offered. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14470/ 2008-12-01T00:00:00Z Building upon the idea that procedural justice effects are more pronounced when uncertainty is high, we proposed that recall of an uncertainty-eliciting emotion (fear) will render people more responsive to variations in procedural justice than will recall of a certainty-eliciting emotion (disgust). Results from Study 1, (n = 79 undergraduate students) confirmed that a fair procedure (voice condition) enhanced self-esteem relative to an unfair procedure (no voice condition) to a greater extent when people recalled fear than when they recalled disgust. Results from Study 2 (n = 147 undergraduate students) also showed that a fair, relative to an unfair, procedure enhanced self-esteem more strongly when recalling the emotion of fear rather than disgust, but only when these emotions were recalled from a self-immersed than a self-distanced perspective. These findings confirm that discrete emotions that orient people to interpret situations in uncertain versus certain ways are important antecedents of procedural justice effects. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14471/ 2008-11-01T00:00:00Z Do different forms of uncertainty account for different procedural fairness effects? We hypothesized that general uncertainty accounts for fairness judgments, whereas belongingness uncertainty accounts for group identification. Experiment 1 manipulated general versus belongingness uncertainty. Participants in the general uncertainty condition regarded the procedures as fairer when they were granted than denied voice, whereas participants in the belongingness uncertainty condition showed stronger group identification when they were granted than denied voice. Experiment 2 split the belongingness uncertainty condition into family and stranger uncertainty. Only participants in the family-belongingness uncertainty condition identified with their group when they were granted than denied voice. The findings have implications for the construct of uncertainty, models of procedural fairness, and group membership. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14475/ 2008-10-01T00:00:00Z Building upon the self-based model of cooperation (De Cremer & Tyler, [2005]), the present study investigates the relationship between the five-factor model (FFM) and cooperation. Study 1 (N = 56), an experiment conducted in the laboratory, and Study 2 (N = 116), a field study conducted in an organisational context, yielded a moderator effect between neuroticism and procedural fairness in explaining cooperation. Study 3 (N = 177) showed that this moderator effect was mediated by the self-uncertainty and relational variables proposed by the self-based model of cooperation. It is concluded that the FFM is useful in explaining cooperation and contributes to a better understanding of (procedural) fairness effects. Moreover, the necessity to build integrative, multi-level models that combine core and surface aspects of personality to explain the effects of fairness on cooperation is elaborated upon. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14476/ 2008-09-05T00:00:00Z In four studies, the authors investigated the individual-oriented versus social-oriented nature of procedural justice effects by comparing fairness-based responses to decision-making procedures among proself versus prosocial oriented individuals. In Studies 1 through 3, we measured participants’ social value orientation and manipulated whether or not they were granted or denied voice in a decision-making process. Results consistently revealed that the effects of voice versus no-voice on fairness-based perceptions, emotions, and behavioral intentions were significantly more pronounced for individuals with proself orientations than for individuals with prosocial orientations. These findings were extended in Study 4, a field study in which perceived procedural justice was a stronger predictor of satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors among proselfs than among prosocials. These findings suggest that procedural justice effects can be accounted for by self-oriented motives or needs, rather than prosocial motives that are often conceptualized as being associated with justice. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14479/ 2008-08-01T00:00:00Z The present research examines whether the emotional display (i.e. anger vs. guilt) of another group member affects people's decision-making in a public good dilemma. In two experiments we investigated whether the expressed emotion is particularly informative when communicated by a group member who is highly instrumental in reaching the provision point. A first experiment demonstrated that participants were more likely to exit the group when anger as opposed to guilt was communicated, but especially when the group member displaying the emotion was able to contribute many endowments to the public good. Expected justice (based on past inferences) in the group mediated this effect, suggesting that communicated anger signals more than guilt that the group will not set out to achieve fairness. In agreement with this, a second experiment showed that when it was not possible to exit the group, participants preferred to install a democratic leader more when a wealthy group member communicated anger as opposed to guilt. Additionally, this study provided experimental evidence that a communicated emotion is only used for subsequent decision-making when more explicit information (i.e. a promise to contribute) is absent. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14480/ 2008-07-01T00:00:00Z Previous research on the allocation of scarce resources shows that when people are assigned labels of leader or follower in their group, leaders allocate more of the scarce resources to themselves than followers do. In three laboratory studies, we examine the idea that how people are selected for the leader role (i.e. election or appointment) determines whether leaders take more or equal shares (relative to followers) from a common resource. In a first experiment, we show that participants were more accepting of norm violating behavior by an appointed versus elected leader. In a second experiment, we show that when participants were assigned to a leader or follower role, allocations of appointed leaders differed significantly from those of elected leaders and followers, whereas there was no difference between the two latter conditions. Moreover, elected leaders were shown to feel more social responsibility than both appointed leaders and followers. In a final experiment, we show that when participants were primed with the concept of social responsibility (relative to a neutral condition) no difference in allocations between appointed and elected leaders emerged. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14482/ 2008-07-01T00:00:00Z In two studies, we investigate the effects of group size (un)certainty and social value orientations in common resource dilemmas. By focusing on this largely unexplored type of environmental uncertainty, we show that, in contrast to the often replicated finding that resource size uncertainty leads to over-harvesting in common resource dilemmas, group size uncertainty is not necessarily detrimental to the collective interest. Furthermore, we argue and show that whereas under group size certainty people base their individual harvests on the equal division rule, under group size uncertainty they base their harvests on their own social value orientations: whereas under group size certainty both proselfs and pro-socials harvest about an equal share of the common resource, under uncertainty prosocials show self-restraint in order to further their group's outcomes. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14483/ 2008-06-01T00:00:00Z Recognizing that leader fairness is an important concern to employees, leadership research is increasingly engaging with insights from the study of organizational justice. This special issue provides a state of the art selection of research in the emerging field of leadership and fairness. This introductory article provides a brief outline of this emerging field of research and introduces the studies brought together in the special issue. We also identify key themes for future research in leadership and fairness - first and foremost the need for fuller integration of theories of leadership and theories of organizational justice. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14485/ 2008-06-01T00:00:00Z Prior studies of the effect of group identification on cooperation in social dilemmas have advanced 2 competing accounts: the goal-transformation hypothesis, which holds that identification makes personal and collective goals interchangeable; and the goal-amplification hypothesis, which states that identification induces positive expectations about others' cooperative behavior. However, prior studies have neglected to assess the process measures necessary to pit the one account against the other. The present study showed that the effect of identification was moderated by participants' social value orientation. Identification influenced proselfs' cooperation more than prosocials' cooperation. Mediational analyses further showed that the effect of our identification manipulation was mediated by participants' sense of collective self, and not by their expectations. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14493/ 2008-06-01T00:00:00Z Building on theoretical accounts like fairness heuristic theory, we argued that strongly identifying group members view leaders who are prototypical of the group as procedurally fair. Because procedural fairness affects group members' self-perceived status, leader prototypicality should also enhance strongly identifying followers' self-perceived status. Study 1 was an organizational field study. Employees high in organization identification viewed prototypical leaders as procedurally fair and thought higher of their own status in the organization. Moreover, perceptions of the leaders' procedural fairness mediated the effect of leader prototypicality (among high identifiers) on employees' self-perceived status. These results were replicated in Study 2, a scenario experiment, in which leader prototypicality and group identification were manipulated orthogonally. These studies further highlight the role of procedural fairness in the social identity analysis of leadership and more generally, the importance of studying issues of fairness and leadership in their connectedness. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14494/ 2008-03-01T00:00:00Z The present studies were designed to delineate when procedural fairness would be more versus less likely to be inversely related to people’s self-evaluations in response to unfavorable outcomes. Prior theory and research have shown that: (1) the more that people assign psychological significance to unfavorable outcomes, the more likely are their self-evaluations to be adversely affected by such outcomes, and (2) people who are more prevention focused in their self-regulatory orientation assign greater psychological significance to unfavorable outcomes. Consequently, we predicted that in the face of unfavorable outcomes, the inverse relationship between procedural fairness and self-evaluations would be more likely to emerge among those who are more prevention focused. Using different conceptions or operationalizations of all of the independent and dependent variables, we found support for this prediction in three studies, spanning different cultures, contexts, and methodologies. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14500/ 2008-03-01T00:00:00Z Four studies showed that procedural fairness (fair vs. unfair treatment by an authority figure) has reputational implications for personal and relational self-esteem. Participants relied on procedural fairness to infer their reputation, especially when they were identifiable (Study 1). Furthermore, concern for reputation moderated the influence of procedural fairness on self-esteem: Variations in procedural fairness were more strongly associated with the personal self-esteem of individuals high rather than low in concern for reputation (Studies 2-3). Finally, violations in procedural fairness (i.e., unfair treatment) led to a more substantial reduction in the relational self-esteem of positive-reputation than negative-reputation participants: The former felt more relationally devalued than the latter, when they were denied voice (Study 4). http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14497/ 2008-02-01T00:00:00Z The authors investigated the effects of voice—the opportunity to provide input in decision-making processes—on perceptions of procedural fairness. In particular, the authors studied the moderating role of social dominance orientation (SDO) in shaping this relation. SDO is an important individual differences variable that causes people to favor unequal relationships within and between social groups. Results revealed that voice was more strongly related to fairness judgments when participants had a high rather than low SDO. Moreover, positive affect mediated this moderation effect. The authors interpreted these results to indicate that high-SDO participants were especially sensitive to voice manipulations because such manipulations enhance perceptions of control over group resources and outcomes. The authors conclude by discussing alternative explanations based on other fairness theories. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14498/ 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z The present study (N = 200) investigated participants' attributions for explaining the behavior of noncooperative and cooperative targets in a commons and anticommons dilemma. The attribution dimensions of concern for others, fear, (low levels of) greed, and efficiency were highly related and were interpreted to reflect prosocial orientation. Cooperative targets were judged as more prosocial, but these differences were more pronounced in the commons than in the anticommons dilemma. Crossover interaction effects were obtained for ignorance and fear, revealing higher attribution scores for the noncooperative target in the commons dilemma and the cooperative target in the anticommons dilemma. It is argued that commons and anticommons dilemmas constitute different frames of reference for judging cooperative behavior. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15660/ 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z Using a sample of 212 employees, we conducted a study to examine whether employees use their co-workers' fairness perceptions to generate their own justice judgments and to develop their subsequent affective commitment. The conceptual framework used to investigate these linkages is social exchange theory combined with a multiple foci approach. Results of the structural equation modeling analyses revealed that co-workers' procedural justice judgments strengthened employee's own procedural justice judgments, which in turn influenced their affective commitment to the organisation. Similarly, co-workers' interactional justice judgments increased employee's own interactional justice judgments, which in turn impacted on their affective commitment to both the supervisor and the organisation. As a whole, findings suggest that coworkers' justice judgments strengthened employee's affective attachments toward the justice sources by reinforcing employee's own justice perceptions. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15665/ 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14502/ 2007-12-01T00:00:00Z This article investigates how justification pressures influence harvesting decisions in common resource dilemmas. The authors argue that when a division rule prescribes a specific harvest level, such as under environmental certainty, people adhere more strongly to this division rule when they have to justify their decisions to fellow group members. When a division rule does not prescribe a specific harvest level, such as under environmental uncertainty, people restrict their harvests when they have to justify their decisions to fellow group members. The results of two experimental studies corroborate this line of reasoning. The findings are discussed in terms of tacit coordination. The authors specify conditions under which justification pressures may or may not facilitate efficient coordination. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14503/ 2007-12-01T00:00:00Z In the present paper, we stress the importance of the concept respect in a wide variety of social settings and provide a working definition of this concept by emphasizing how respect relates to the act of communicating full recognition to other people on the dimensions of belongingness and morality. Subsequently, in two separate parts, we discuss why respect is so desired and valued. The first part looks at respect as a means to fulfil important human social concerns (“respect as a means to an end”). The second part looks at the potential moral underpinnings of respect and thus interprets “respect as an end in itself.” Finally, it is suggested that both reasons to value respect explain respect effects as a function of the working selfconcept that is salient (i.e., pragmatic versus idealistic self). http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14504/ 2007-12-01T00:00:00Z The present article tests whether two theoretically relevant individual differences moderate the impact of perceived fairness on organizational attachment among young professionals in a large Dutch multinational firm. Drawing on the relational and control perspectives on organizational justice, we predict that any relationship between perceived fairness and organizational attachment will differ between individuals with varying beliefs in personal control and will be stronger for individuals with high interdependent self-construal (ISC). The findings revealed that almost all positive main effects of perceived fairness on organizational attachment were indeed moderated by either type of personality. As a result, we found support for both the relational as well as the control perspective, depending on the type of attachment considered. "Hard" reciprocation through extrarole behaviour seems to be inspired by the empowering impact of control through fairness. "Soft" reciprocation by affection and staying intentions (cognitions) on the other hand, results from the relational bond that is strengthened by fair treatment. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14506/ 2007-08-01T00:00:00Z In 2 studies, we attempted to make a first step toward integrating the literature on transformational leadership and organizational justice. We examined the extent to which justice affects perceptions of transformational leadership. We predicted that especially interactional justice should have strong effects. Study 1 was a vignette study (N = 100) in which distributive, procedural, and interactional justice were manipulated orthogonally. As expected, only interactional justice affected transformational leadership perceptions. Study 2 replicated these results in an organizational field study (N = 257). Distributive and procedural justice affected perceptions of transformational leadership, but when interactional justice was entered in the regression equation, their effects disappeared. Implications for integrating the literature on transformational leadership and organizational justice are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14509/ 2007-06-01T00:00:00Z Research in leadership effectiveness has paid less attention to the role of leader fairness than probably it should have. More recently, this has started to change. To capture this development, we review the empirical literature in leadership and fairness to define the field of leadership and fairness, to assess the state of the art, and to identify a research agenda for future efforts in the field. The review shows that leader distributive, procedural, and especially interactional fairness are positively associated with criteria of leadership effectiveness. More scarce and scattered evidence also suggests that fairness considerations help explain the effectiveness of other aspects of leadership, and that leader fairness and other aspects of leadership, or the leadership context, may interact in predicting leadership effectiveness. We conclude that future research should especially focus on interaction effects of leader fairness and other aspects of leadership, and on the processes mediating these effects. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14512/ 2007-06-01T00:00:00Z The present research examined the effect of distributive justice and autocratic leadership style on followers' negative emotions. It was predicted that distributive justice would influence followers' negative emotions if the leader did not adopt an autocratic leadership style (i.e., not being pushy in the process leading to the decision). Results from a scenario experiment and an organizational survey indeed showed that distributive justice and autocratic leadership style interacted to influence followers' negative emotions such that the relationship between distributive justice and negative emotions was significant when the leadership style was low in autocratic behavior. Implications in terms of integrating the leadership and justice literature are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14513/ 2007-06-01T00:00:00Z The present research examined the effects of endowment size, provision point level and the opportunity to voice one's opinion on contributions in asymmetric public good dilemmas. Results from a first experiment showed that group members endowed with more resources contributed more when the required threshold for obtaining a public good was high rather than low. Rich participants who reported that their personal contribution was more critical for success contributed more. However, most groups failed to surpass the high provision point threshold level. Results from a second experiment reveal that rich participants given voice, contributed more than rich participants not given a voice. Voice contributed to greater feelings of inclusiveness, higher contributions and increased the likelihood that the group surpassed the high provision point level. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14514/ 2007-05-01T00:00:00Z The present research examined the effect of procedural fairness and trust in an authority on people's willingness to cooperate with the authority across a wide range of social situations. Prior research has shown that the presence of information about whether an authority can be trusted moderates the effect of procedural fairness. If no trust information is available, procedural fairness influences people's reactions. This is not the case when information about the trustworthiness of the authority is present. In the present article, it is argued that information about whether the authority can or cannot be trusted may also moderate the effect of procedural fairness in predicting levels of cooperation. Assuming that the use of fair procedures by authorities that cannot be trusted is less influential than is the enactment of procedures by trustworthy authorities, it is predicted that trust in authority moderates the influence of procedural fairness on cooperation in such a way that procedural fairness has a positive effect on cooperation primarily when trust in authority is high. Results from 4 studies (2 experimental studies and 2 field studies) provide supportive evidence for this interaction. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14516/ 2007-03-01T00:00:00Z The equality rule is an important coordination rule in symmetric public good dilemmas. Although prior research emphasized that people use the equality rule out of efficiency concerns (as it helps to obtain the public good in the most efficient manner among group members), it may also reflect a true preference for fairness. More precisely, research examining emotional and retributive reactions as a result of a violation of the equality rule by a fellow group member showed that equality indeed is related to people’s personal values and what they consider to be fair. The present paper suggests that a violation of the equality rule results in emotional reactions, and these emotional experiences encourage further retributive actions. The different reactions following an equality violation are described as a function of three features: (1) the motives to use equality, (2) attributions for explaining the violation, and (3) the honesty of the given explanation. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14567/ 2007-03-01T00:00:00Z In this special issue, the relationship between feelings and justice and its consequences are highlighted. Five articles discuss the role that affect, feelings, and emotions play in justice processes across a variety of social settings. In the present introductory article, the position of past and present justice research in relationship to these topics is briefly reviewed. In addition, reasons are outlined to show why a focus on these issues may be pivotal for a better understanding of social justice and how this may pave the way for a new, more process-oriented era in social justice research, focusing more on “hot” cognitive aspects as they pertain to social justice concerns. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/9041/ 2007-02-05T00:00:00Z Prior studies of the effect of group identification on cooperation in social dilemmas have advanced two competing accounts of this effect, the goal-transformation hypothesis, which holds that identification implies a sense of collective self, which makes personal and collective goals interchangeable, and the goal-amplification hypothesis, which states that identification induces positive expectations about others’ cooperative behavior. These prior studies have, however, neglected to assess the process measures necessary to pit the one account against the other. Following prior research, the present study showed that the effect of identification was moderated by participants’ social value orientation (i.e., individual differences in evaluating the importance of outcomes for self and other) in such a way that identification influenced proselfs’ cooperation more than prosocials’ cooperation. This suggests that the consequence of group identification is that collective goals become personal goals. Extending earlier recent research, mediational analyses showed that the effect of our identification manipulation was mediated by participants’ sense of collective self and not by their expectations. Taken together, these results provide strong support in favor of the goal-transformation hypothesis. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14568/ 2007-02-01T00:00:00Z The present research examined the moderating effect of the level of threshold on people's preferences for different leader types in step-level public good dilemmas. It was assumed that the primary focus of people in step-level public good dilemmas is to make sure that the group surpasses the threshold. Consequently, when the level of threshold is difficult to reach people are expected to provide more support for and cooperate with a leader that monitors and controls the contributions made toward the public good. However, if the threshold is easy to surpass people will focus more on whether the obtained public good or bonus will be distributed according to agreements, suggesting that people will provide more support to and cooperate with a leader that monitors and controls the distribution of the bonus. These predictions were confirmed across two experiments using a step-level public good paradigm with a dichotomous (Study 1) and a continuous (Study 2) contribution choice. Moreover, the results also revealed that perceptions of trust accounted, in part, for the effect of level of threshold on people's leadership preferences. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14569/ 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z Evolutionary scientists argue that human cooperation is the product of a long history of competition among rival groups. There are various reasons to believe that this logic applies particularly to men. In three experiments, using a step-level public-goods task, we found that men contributed more to their group if their group was competing with other groups than if there was no intergroup competition. Female cooperation was relatively unaffected by intergroup competition. These findings suggest that men respond more strongly than women to intergroup threats. We speculate about the evolutionary origins of this gender difference and note some implications. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/8501/ 2006-12-17T00:00:00Z Research in leadership effectiveness has paid less to the role of leader fairness than probably it should have. More recently, this has started to change. To capture this development, we review the empirical literature in leadership and fairness to define the field of leadership and fairness, to assess the state of the art, and to identify a research agenda for future efforts in the field. The review shows that leader distributive, procedural, and especially interactional fairness are positively associated with criteria of leadership effectiveness. More scarce and scattered evidence also suggests that fairness considerations help explain the effectiveness of other aspects of leadership, and that leader fairness and other aspects of leadership, or the leadership context, may interact in predicting leadership effectiveness. We conclude that future research should especially focus on interaction effects of leader fairness and other aspects of leadership, and on the processes mediating these effects. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14570/ 2006-12-01T00:00:00Z In this article, the authors examine the impact of fair treatment by a group leader on people's relationships with and feelings toward other individual group members. Previous studies neglected procedural fairness effects on interpersonal relationships between group members. The authors hypothesized that fairness affects interpersonal relationships and feelings toward another group member only when the leader is regarded as representative and supported by the other group members. In three studies, the authors manipulated procedural fairness (no voice vs. voice) and other group member's support for the leader (full vs. mixed support for the leader). Two vignette studies supported the hypothesis. In addition, an experimental laboratory study showed that this interaction effect between procedural fairness and leader support was most pronounced among those with high belongingness needs. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14572/ 2006-10-01T00:00:00Z Previous research on the allocation of scarce resources suggests that people who are assigned to higher positions (e.g., leaders) are more likely to make self-benefiting allocations than people who are assigned to lower positions (e.g., followers). In this article, the authors investigated the proposition that these findings would be moderated by people's social value orientations. In two experimental studies, the authors assigned participants either to the role of leader or follower and assessed the participants' social value orientations. In agreement with predictions, the findings show that position effects are moderated by social value orientation. Social value orientations only affected the allocation behavior of the leaders: Proself leaders allocated more resources to themselves than did prosocial leaders. Additional analyses indicate that these effects are mediated by feelings of entitlement. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14573/ 2006-10-01T00:00:00Z Previous social dilemma research has shown that sanctioning defection may enhance cooperation. The authors argue that this finding may have resulted from restricting participants to two behaviors (cooperation and defection). In this article, the authors introduce the concept of a "social trilemma" (a social dilemma in which an alternative option to defect is present) and tested the effect of a sanction. The authors show that a sanction only increased cooperation and collective interests in the traditional social dilemma. In a social trilemma, the sanction failed because it caused some people to choose the alternative option to defect. Moreover, the results indicate that this was especially the case when people did not expect fellow group members to cooperate. In this case, the sanction even worked counterproductive because it decreased collective interests. It is concluded that allowing individuals to consider alternative options to defect can reveal the potential detrimental effects of sanctioning systems for the collective. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11825/ 2006-09-01T00:00:00Z In the present research, we examine whether leader's self-sacrifice positively influences followers' self-esteem and whether followers' identification with the collective plays a role in this process. It was predicted that leader self-sacrifice would influence followers' self-esteem, but particularly so when followers exhibited strong (vs. weak) collective identification. Results from an organizational survey showed that leader self-sacrifice and collective identification interacted in predicting follower self-esteem, such that followers' self-esteem was higher when they identified strongly with the collective and when the leader was self-sacrificial (vs. self-benefiting). An experimental scenario study replicated this interactive effect between collective identification and leader's self-sacrifice on followers' self-esteem and also showed that this effect was (at least partly) mediated by followers' perceptions of whether the leader respected and valued the group. Implications with respect to the relationship between self-sacrifice and self-esteem are outlined, and possible integrations of leader self-sacrifice, identity, and empowerment are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14571/ 2006-09-01T00:00:00Z Purpose – This study aims to examine the effect of leader's use of procedural justice on followers' sense of organizational identification (OID), affect-based trust and cognition-based trust. Design/methodology/approach – A survey study was conducted to examine the relationship between the proposed constructs. Regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings – It was found that leaders enacting procedural justice positively affect OID and both types of trust. Further, only affect-based trust (and not cognition-based trust) mediated the relationship between procedural justice and OID. Research limitations/implications – The present findings reveal important new insights with respect to how procedural justice impacts upon followers' sense of OID. In fact, contrary to predictions based on theoretical reviews the results show that the cognitive concept of OID is mediated by an affective construct. Originality/value – The present research presents a perspective of looking at procedural justice as a tool that leaders can use in organizations to promote followers' sense of OID. At the same time, it also explores the role of another important psychological process relevant to the well-functioning of an organization, that is, trust in the leader. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14574/ 2006-09-01T00:00:00Z The present research aims to elucidate to what extent the motive to ensure equality in outcomes is general and to what extent it interacts with other important motives such as maximizing own or collective gains. Because individuals may have different considerations and motivations in decision-making situations, it is likely that people with a different social value orientation will respond differently to an unequal distribution of outcomes. Contrary to expectations, not only prosocials care about equality in outcomes. In Study 1, the authors found that individualists choose to forego personal gains, despite obvious selfish reasons to cooperate, when outcomes were distributed unequally. In a second experiment, this finding was replicated and shows that individualists, just as prosocials, demand equality in outcomes in interdependent situations. The studies suggest that typifying individualists as solely being concerned about enhancing personal outcomes is too limited and that fairness norms may trump social value orientation. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14575/ 2006-09-01T00:00:00Z In the present research, we examine how procedural justice predicts acts of revenge as a function of members' sense of collective identification. A first scenario study showed that high identifiers expect their own group to be more fair and just than low identifiers, and if this is not the case, they exhibit higher levels of disappointment. A second scenario study showed that unfair procedures (relative to fair procedures) led to acts of revenge, but mainly so when collective identification was high rather than low. In addition, the level of disappointment that members experienced was found to mediate (at least partly) this interactive effect on revenge. A third laboratory study replicated the interactive finding of Study 2. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14576/ 2006-09-01T00:00:00Z The present research examined the effect of procedural justice and transformational leadership style on followers' affective responses: Self-esteem and emotions. It was predicted that procedural justice would positively influence both followers' self-esteem and emotions, but particularly so if the leader displayed a transformational style. Results from a scenario experiment, a laboratory experiment, and an organizational survey indeed showed that procedural justice and transformational leadership style interacted to influence followers' self-esteem and emotions, such that the positive relationships between procedural justice and the affective measures were more pronounced when the leadership style was high in transformational behaviour. Implications in terms of integrating the leadership and procedural justice literatures are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11815/ 2006-08-23T00:00:00Z This study focuses on why people may resort to coercive tactics. We tested the proposition that considerations of utility and legitimacy mediate effects of a powerholder’s competence and reward structure on the use of coercion. Results showed that in general coercive tactics are employed less often than softer tactics, that coercive tactics are used more by more competent individuals than by less competent individuals, and that coercive tactics are used more often when the revenues of task performance benefited the agent of power than when they benefited both agent and target or when they benefited the target solely. Results identified perceived utility and perceived legitimacy as mediators of the decision to coerce the other or not. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14577/ 2006-08-01T00:00:00Z Using a sample of 212 employees, the authors examined the relationships between employees’ perceptions of procedural and interactional justice and their subsequent trust in their organization and supervisor. Specifically, the authors predicted that the link between procedural justice and trust in organization would be mediated by perceived organizational support (POS), whereas the relationship between interactional justice and trust in supervisor would be mediated by perceived supervisor support (PSS). In line with predictions, the authors found that POS partially mediated the effect of procedural justice on trust in organization and PSS partially mediated the impact of interactional justice on trust in supervisor. These findings suggest that employees develop relationships with their supervisors that are distinct from those relationships they experience with their organization. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14970/ 2006-07-01T00:00:00Z In social dilemmas, equality is an important coordination rule. When equality is violated, people seek explanations. In Experiment 1, the authors assessed dispositional trust and found that especially high trusters were affected by the given explanation. High trusters reacted less negatively to external than internal explanations. Experiment 2, using a manipulation of trust in others, revealed a similar pattern across a wider range of negative emotions. In Experiment 3, the authors only induced high trust and showed that when the external explanation turned out to be a lie, emotional and retributive reactions became more negative. Moreover, attribution information did not influence reactions when participants realized that the information was dishonest. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14971/ 2006-07-01T00:00:00Z This study investigates how environmental uncertainty in resource dilemmas influences the decisions of participants differing in social value orientations. We argue that under resource size certainty people anchor their decisions on tacit coordination rules such as the equal division rule, whereas under resource size uncertainty people rely more on their own social value orientations to determine their choice behavior. The results corroborate our line of reasoning. When the size of the resource was certain, proselfs as well as prosocials anchored their decisions on the equal division rule. Under resource size uncertainty, the equal division rule appeared to lose its coordinating potential, inducing proselfs to harvest more than prosocials. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14979/ 2006-04-01T00:00:00Z The present research tests an important motivational explanation for people's concern with procedural fairness by considering the influence of people's belongingness needs. We predicted that those individuals with a strong need to belong would care more about procedural fairness information and thus they would process that information more carefully, as compared to individuals with a weak need to belong. In Study 1, the need to belong moderated the relationship between the opportunity for voice and self-evaluations. In Study 2, the need to belong moderated the relationship between the opportunity for voice and organizational identification among employees of a multinational healthcare company. Study 3 extends this finding by demonstrating that people with a strong need to belong engage in more careful and systematic processing of procedural fairness information. Together, these findings provide important insight into understanding the motivations that underlie reactions to procedural fairness. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14980/ 2006-03-01T00:00:00Z Sanctioning systems in social dilemmas are often meant to increase trust in others and to increase cooperation. We argue, however, that sanctioning systems may also give people the idea that others act in their own self-interest and undermine the belief that others are internally motivated to cooperate. We developed the “Removing The Sanction” paradigm and a new trust manipulation, and showed in three experiments that when there is a sanction on defection, trust in others being internally motivated to cooperate is undermined: Participants who had experienced the presence of a sanctioning system trusted fellow group members less than participants who had not. In a similar vein, the sanction undermined cooperation when trust was initially high. The implications of these paradoxical findings are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14982/ 2006-02-01T00:00:00Z The present research examined how self-sacrificial leadership predicts followers' emotional and motivational reactions as a function of how autocratic this leader behaves (i.e., pushing his opinions or not). A scenario experiment and a laboratory experiment were conducted to test the prediction that, in addition to main effects for self-sacrifice and autocratic leadership, the positive effect of self-sacrifice is most strongly when the leader does not act in an autocratic manner. The findings of these two studies supported the predictions. Also, the laboratory experiment showed that the interactive effect on motivation to work with the leader was mediated by followers' emotional reactions. The present results are discussed in light of prior research on self-sacrifice and charismatic leadership in general and suggestions are made that future research needs to focus more on the interactions between different leadership behaviors and the psychological processes underlying these effects. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14984/ 2005-12-01T00:00:00Z This article presents the results of a field study on the effects of own versus other's fair treatment on positive emotions. From the findings of the field study it is clear that one's own experiences of procedural fairness have a significant influence on one's positive emotional reactions. Indeed, the procedural justice for oneself was correlated to positive emotions when procedural justice for others was high. One positive point with the present research is that it has taken real-life into perspective by taking real-life situation and real-life employees into consideration. Associated researches in the future might be on the topics of influence of other's fair treatment on the reactions of the individuals taken as subjects. Care should be given not only to what degree of fairness do managers treat their subordinates but also to how procedural justice is communicated to the group and managers of an organization. Is is clear that fairness experiences of the organization in turn make fairness experiences of the individuals. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14985/ 2005-12-01T00:00:00Z In step-level public good dilemmas the equality rule serves as an important distribution rule to tacitly coordinate group members' decisions. In two studies, we examined the motives that may underlie the use of the equality rule. More specifically, we examined whether people use the equality rule out of fairness concerns or out of efficiency concerns. For this purpose, we assessed people's emotional reactions toward a violator of the equality rule when the group succeeded vs. failed, as a function of social value orientation. The results of both experiments showed that proselfs' emotional reactions towards a violator were a function of the success or the failure of the group, whereas prosocials' emotional reactions did not vary as a function of the outcome feedback. These results suggest that prosocials prefer the equality rule out of fairness concerns whereas for proselfs efficiency concerns dominate. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14986/ 2005-09-01T00:00:00Z Previous research on social dilemmas has shown that leadership can be an effective means to supervise a common resource and that group members prefer a leader when confronted with high variance between group members' harvests. In this article, the authors investigate how leaders and followers react to variance. The results of an experimental study indicate that leaders are especially likely to harvest more than followers (and to deviate from the optimal harvest) when there is high variance between group members' harvests. Moreover, this role effect was explained, at least partly, by the fact that compared with followers, leaders felt more entitled to higher harvests. The findings suggest that assigning leadership may, under certain situations, lead to inefficiency in managing the common resource. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14987/ 2005-09-01T00:00:00Z The present study examined whether manipulating the closeness of reference points can provide further insights into explaining why people care so much about receiving voice (i.e., the opportunity to express one's opinion with respect to allocation decisions). Participants read a scenario portraying a situation where they had always been a member of the relevant team (i.e., distant referent point condition) or where they had just become a member of the relevant team (i.e., close referent point condition). Thereafter, they were either told that they would receive voice or no voice with respect to the issue of distributing a financial bonus. The results showed that people cared more about voice when they were placed in the distant referent condition rather than in the close referent condition. This effect was strongest on participants' positive emotions (i.e., being positive when receiving voice vs. receiving no voice) than on their negative emotions. The findings are discussed in light of procedural fairness, counterfactual thinking, and emotion literature. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11864/ 2005-08-01T00:00:00Z Researchers in leadership effectiveness are paying increasing attention to the role of follower self-concept and identity as a mediator and moderator of the effectiveness of leadership. In this introductory article, we provide a short outline of this rapidly growing field of research, briefly introduce the articles presented in this special issue on leadership, self, and identity, and highlight key themes for future research that we feel emerge from these studies. These themes include greater attention to the dynamic interplay between leaders and followers, the incorporation of theories of fairness, and the role of leader self-concept. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14989/ 2005-08-01T00:00:00Z The process-based model of leadership draws upon the procedural justice literature to hypothesize that leaders motivate their followers to accept change by exercising their authority via fair procedures. The model draws upon social identity theory to hypothesize that this procedural justice influence is linked to the identity relevance of procedural justice information. As a consequence, it is hypothesized that those who are more strongly identified with their company will be more influenced by procedural justice information. This hypothesis is tested in a merger situation in which leaders are seeking employee acceptance for a change in corporate structure in a situation in which their company is “taken over” by another. The study examines whether the fairness of the procedures managers use to implement the merger shapes employee's subsequent reactions to the new company and whether this influence is stronger when identification is high as predicted by social identity theory. The results suggest that if leaders act in procedurally fair ways, they are viewed as more legitimate and more competent, and employees are more accepting of organizational change. This influence is stronger among those who identify more highly with the organization. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14990/ 2005-08-01T00:00:00Z In this article, we examine how being assigned the role of leader affects behaviour in resource sharing tasks. Previous research has shown that group members anchor their decision on the equal division rule prescribing that resources should be distributed equally. Following notions of equity theory and the literature on role schemas, we expected that adherence to the equal division rule would be moderated by role assignment. In particular, we expected leaders to take more than followers from a common resource and that this effect would be explained in terms of feelings of entitlement. The results of two experimental studies corroborate this reasoning. Study 1 demonstrated that leaders took more than followers and that leaders deviated more strongly from the equal division rule. In Study 2, it was found that legitimate leaders took more from the resource and deviated more strongly from the equal division rule than non-legitimate leaders. Additional analyses suggest that the leaders' tendency to make higher allocations to the self can be explained by feelings of entitlement. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14991/ 2005-06-09T00:00:00Z Purpose – The purpose of the research was to test whether the widely known interaction between procedural and distributive justice influences cooperation, but only when employees’ identification with the organization is strong. Design/methodology/approach – A survey study was conducted in a company, including scales assessing distributive justice, procedural justice, employees’ sense of organizational identification and willingness to cooperate. Findings – The results showed that this interaction effect was only found among those with a strong sense of organizational identification. However, the pattern of this interaction was different from the pattern found in previous studies, that is, both high procedural and distributive justice was required to best predict cooperation. Originality/value – These findings identify yet another important moderator of the interaction between distributive justice and procedural justice, but also show that because of the cognitive content of the measure of organizational identification, the shape of the interaction is different than the one predicted by prior research. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14993/ 2005-06-01T00:00:00Z When do people support sanctioning systems in social dilemmas? Sanctions increase collective efficiency, but have the disadvantage of restricting people’s autonomy. This paper studies the effects of feedback about collective (in)efficiency and the influence of the presence or absence of a sanctioning system. The results show that, except after feedback about collective inefficiency, people were reluctant to support installation of a sanctioning system. When a sanctioning system was already present, however, sanction support was strong and not affected by feedback. Interestingly, the presence of a sanctioning system increased pessimism about attaining collective efficiency. This suggests that the mere presence of a sanctioning system creates the need to have that sanctioning system, and that installing one can have irreversible consequences. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14994/ 2005-06-01T00:00:00Z Six studies examined why and when respect vs. disrespect influences people’s emotions, self-worth, and behavior. Following relational models of justice, we argued that people use groups to derive information about the social self and as such value respect information because it indicates (a) whether or not they are accepted, and (b) how their status within the group is evaluated. These two identity concerns were operationalized by means of reinforcing people’s desire to belong (i.e., the identity concern of acceptance) and concern for reputation (i.e., the identity concern of one’s status evaluation). In line with predictions, the first three studies demonstrated that respect matters only among those whose concerns to belong are made salient. Studies 4–6 further showed that respect only influenced reactions among those who have strong concerns for reputation. It is concluded that respect communicates information relevant to people’s identity concerns—i.e., inclusion and reputation. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14995/ 2005-06-01T00:00:00Z The present research examined the process underlying the effect of procedural fairness on cooperation. It was predicted that fair procedures have a positive effect on cooperation, and that the psychological process of self-other merging (between the group authority and the group member) mediate this effect. Results from a scenario experiment, and a cross-sectional survey supported these predictions. It is concluded that procedural fairness engenders cooperation because it enhances the process of self-other merging between the group authority and the group member. The importance of including the behavioral notion of cooperation into procedural fairness theories is discussed with particular relevance to social decision making. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12113/ 2005-04-01T00:00:00Z An organizational field study examined the extent to which fair treatment influences organizational commitment was a function of employees levels of social self-esteem. Following recent research indicating that self-esteem acts as a moderator of procedural fairness effects, we suggested that to examine the relational assumption that self and procedures are related, one should assess the social dimension of self-esteem. In line with predictions, the results indeed showed that fair treatment (assessed by an interactional justice scale) positively influences affective commitment, but only when employees have low social self-esteem. These findings are discussed in light of research on relational models of justice and sociometer theory. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12104/ 2005-03-01T00:00:00Z Purpose – To examine the psychological processes underlying the effect of leaders' self-sacrifice on follower cooperation, that is, trust and collective identification. Design/methodology/approach – The main effect of leader self-sacrifice was tested on people's willingness to cooperate. In addition, people's perceptions of trust and collective identification were assessed. These effects were tested using a public good experiment, and a cross-sectional survey in a German multinational company. Findings – The findings from both the experimental study and the cross-sectional survey showed that leader self-sacrifice has a positive effect on cooperation (measured by contributions in a public good dilemma and organizational citizenship behavior in the survey). Moreover, perceptions of trust in the leader and feelings of collective identification mediated this effect of self-sacrifice. Practical implications – The present finding indicates that organizations need to focus on and implement leadership styles based on self-sacrifice. It is suggested that one possible way to do this is to train managers more effectively in how they can clearly communicate the goals that they personally value and for the achievement of which they are willing to engage in sacrificial behavior. Originality/value – This research identifies important mediators of a leadership style considered to be effective in organizations. In addition, the findings of this research also show the usefulness of both experimental paradigms and survey studies to examine the issue of leader self-sacrifice. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14996/ 2005-03-01T00:00:00Z We propose that self-uncertainty moderates responsiveness to perceived variations (e.g., breaches or provisions) in procedural justice. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that high (compared to low) self-uncertainty individuals are more responsive to variations in procedural justice, because they use procedural information to infer their organizational acceptance, respect, or social standing. In six experiments, high (compared to low) self-uncertainty individuals responded with affective, cognitive, and behavioral intensity to perceived variations in procedural justice. In particular, they felt worse, judged the procedure as unfair, and were unwilling to cooperate when they were deprived (as opposed to granted) voice. However, this pattern was cancelled out when these individuals engaged in a self-affirming activity. The findings establish the self in general, and self-uncertainty in particular, as a crucial moderator of responses to procedural information. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14997/ 2005-03-01T00:00:00Z Various theories have been shown to account for the effects of procedural fairness on people’s attitudes and behaviors. We propose that a logical next step for organizational justice researchers is to delineate not whether, but rather when certain explanations are likely to account for people’s reactions to procedural fairness information. Accordingly, the present research tested the hypothesis that social psychological explanations would be particularly applicable to people high in interdependent self-construal. As predicted, the results of three studies showed that interdependent self-construal (ISC) moderated the relationship between procedural fairness and a variety of dependent variables (cooperation, positive affect, and desire for future interaction with the other party). In different types of interpersonal encounters (social dilemmas, reward allocations, and negotiations), procedural fairness had more of an influence on participants’ reactions among those high rather than low in ISC. Theoretical implications are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11862/ 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z In the present research, the authors examined the effect of procedural fairness and rewarding leadership style on an important variable for employees: self-esteem. The authors predicted that procedural fairness would positively influence people's reported self-esteem if the leader adopted a style of rewarding behavior for a job well done. Results from a scenario experiment, a laboratory experiment, and an organizational survey indeed show that procedural fairness and rewarding leadership style interacted to influence followers' self-esteem, such that the positive relationship between procedural fairness and self-esteem was more pronounced when the leadership style was high in rewarding behavior. Implications in terms of integrating the leadership and procedural fairness literature are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12106/ 2004-12-01T00:00:00Z This article reviews empirical research on the role of follower self-conception in leadership effectiveness, and specifies an agenda for future research in this area. The review shows that several aspects of follower selfconception (i.e., self-construal, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and self-consistency) may be affected by leadership, and may mediate the effects of leadership on follower behavior. There also is consistent evidence that follower selfconstrual moderates the impact of leadership on follower attitudes and behavior. Two key themes for future research are defined. First, future research should focus on the development of theory about the role of relational self-construal in the leadership process. Second, it seems particularly valuable to develop theory about the interplay of different aspects of follower self-conception in leadership effectiveness, including the interactive effects of these aspects of self. Working backwards from these theoretical models of follower self-conception, specific leader behavior relevant to these aspects of self should then be identified. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14999/ 2004-12-01T00:00:00Z The present study examined whether or not the extent to which people include other group members in the self, influences depersonalized self-perception (i.e., perceiving self and others as similar in terms of group characteristics). The results revealed that self-other merging positively influenced feelings of belongingness and identification with the in-group. Furthermore, a strong experience of self-other merging was shown to lead to depersonalized self-perception as measured by a self-assimilation and an in-group homogeneity index. Finally, results also revealed that feelings of belongingness and group identification mediated, at least partly, the effect of self-other merging on depersonalized self-perception. The findings are discussed in light of the literature on self-expansion. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15000/ 2004-11-01T00:00:00Z One of the main issues in research on ultimatum bargaining is whether bargainers are motivated by self-interest or by a concern for fairness. It is difficult to distinguish between both motivations, because it may be in the own interest to make fair offers. In the current paper on ultimatum bargaining, it is investigated whether bargainers are truly motivated to be fair, or whether they merely strategically use fairness as a means to increase their own outcomes. The results of two experimental studies indicate that social value orientations play an important role: strategic use of fairness is mainly displayed by proselfs. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12107/ 2004-05-23T00:00:00Z The present research examined how self-sacrificial leadership predicts leadership effectiveness as a function of leader’s display of self-confidence. Results from a scenario experiment, a laboratory experiment, and a cross-sectional survey yielded consistent evidence that the effects of both leadership elements are stronger in conjunction than on their own. Moreover, the experimental studies also showed that the interactive effect on leadership effectiveness was mediated by collective identification. It is concluded that more research is needed focusing on the interactions between different leadership behaviors and the psychological processes underlying these effects. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12165/ 2003-05-01T00:00:00Z The present research examined the effectiveness of leadership in influencing cooperation in social dilemmas by focusing on the procedural fairness and favorability of leader's outcome decisions. We predicted that leader's influence on cooperation would be determined by the fairness of the procedures used, but only so when received outcomes were unfavorable. Across two experimental studies, support for this hypothesis was found. Both in Study 1 (using accuracy as a manipulation of procedural fairness) and Study 2 (using voice as a manipulation of procedural fairness), it was found that procedural fairness influenced contributions in a public good dilemma only if outcomes were unfavorable (i.e., participants received less than an equal share), whereas procedural fairness did not influence level of contributions when outcomes were favorable (i.e., participants received more than an equal share) http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12167/ 2002-10-01T00:00:00Z The present research examined the effect of leaders' procedural fairness and perceived charisma on an important organizational process: cooperation. Both charisma and procedural fairness were predicted to have a positive effect on cooperation, and procedural fairness and charisma were predicted to interact such that their effects are stronger alone than in conjunction. Results from a scenario experiment, a cross-sectional survey, and a laboratory experiment supported these predictions. Results from the laboratory study also showed that the interactive effect of leader charisma and procedural fairness on cooperation was mediated by their interactive effect on the sense of group belongingness. It is concluded that leader charisma and procedural fairness may engender cooperation because they appeal to relational concerns.