Do Procedural Justice Perceptions in a Selection Testing Context Predict Applicant Attraction and Intention Toward the Organization?

• Published in: Journal of applied social psychology Vol. 34; no. 1; pp. 125 - 145
• Main Authors: Maertz Jr, Carl P., Mosley Jr, Donald C., Bauer, Talya N., Posthuma, Richard A., Campion, Michael A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2004
• Subjects: Applied psychology; Business organization; Business studies; Human resources; Justice; Perception of others; Personnel management; Recruitment; Regression analysis; Self-perception; Social psychology; U.S.A
• ISSN: 0021-9029; 1559-1816
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2004.tb02540.x

This study examines the effects of procedural justice perceptions on outcomes in an actual selection context with applicants taking a general mental ability test to gain employment as utility meter readers. Applicant attraction and intention related to the organization were measured at 3 time periods. This allowed us to control for initial levels of outcome variables and the pass‐fail result when assessing procedural justice effects. Procedural justice perceptions modestly predicted organizational attractiveness and intention prior to pass‐fail feedback. However, the procedural justice effects on these outcomes were diminished after controlling for the pass‐fail result. Either changes in R2 or regression coefficients associated with procedural justice perceptions failed to achieve significance for all outcomes. We discuss the implications of these findings for procedural justice research and for employment managers.