How and when organizational justice impact extra-role customer service: A social exchange perspective of thriving at work

This study tests a model of three-dimensional organizational justice (i.e., distributive, procedural, and interactional) and extra-role customer service, with thriving at work as a mediator, based on social exchange theory. We also explore how servant leadership moderates the linkages between these organizational justice dimensions and thriving. Our analysis of data collected from 292 employee-supervisor dyads in the hotel industry affirms that organizational justice dimensions are positively associated with thriving, and thriving is positively related to extra-role customer service. The analysis also corroborates that thriving mediates the associations among distributive, procedural, interactional justice, and extra-role customer service. Moreover, servant leadership strengthens the positive relationships of all three organizational justice dimensions and thriving at work. Building on the analysis results, our study discusses theoretical contributions and practical implications related to the perception of justice in enabling thriving and illustrates how social exchange shapes employee behavior.