A moderated mediation model of counterproductive work behaviour, organisational justice, organisational embeddedness and psychological ownership

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms through which organisational justice influences counterproductive work behaviour (CWB). This relationship was explained using a moderated mediation model where organisational embeddedness is a mediator between organisational justice and CWB, while psychological ownership (for the organisation) is a moderator of the relationship between organisational embeddedness and CWB. The conservation of resources (COR) theory was used as the underpinning theory to explain the interrelationships among the constructs. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected by administering a quantitative cross-sectional survey to employees of Punjab Police, a large public sector, law enforcement organisation in Pakistan. The study model was analysed using PLS-SEM to address the treatment of higher-order reflective-formative constructs. Findings The results showed that organisational justice is positively related to organisational embeddedness, while organisational embeddedness is negatively related to CWB. Organisational embeddedness was found to play a significant role in mediating the negative effects of organisational justice on CWB. Also, psychological ownership moderated the influence of organisational embeddedness on CWB in an interesting fashion. CWB was the highest when both embeddedness and ownership were low; however, CWB was not the lowest when both embeddedness and ownership were high. Research limitations/implications Reliance on self-report data, not accounting for the community embeddedness and discounting the differential effects of justice dimensions are some of the limitations of the present study. Despite these limitations, this study offers valuable insights into how the occurrence of CWB can be minimised. That is, apart from providing a work environment based on fair procedures and policies, it is critically important to manage the perceptions of embeddedness and psychological ownership of employees. Originality/value Although numerous researchers have studied the link between organisational justice and CWB, few have explored the roles of organisational embeddedness and psychological ownership in this relationship. This study thus posits a novel moderated mediation mechanism, based on the COR theory, through which organisational justice is translated into CWB. Moreover, this study adds value by investigating this model in the police force context, where justice and CWB have important consequences.