Human Resource Management System and Organizational Justice among Japanese Firms

Research Project

Project/Area Number	11630131
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Business administration
Research Institution	Tohoku Gakuin University
Principal Investigator	KOBAYASHI Yutaka Tohoku Gakuin University, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Professor, 教養学部, 教授 (60170362)
Project Period (FY)	1999 – 2001
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2001)
Budget Amount *help	¥1,700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000) Fiscal Year 2001: ¥100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥100,000) Fiscal Year 2000: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000) Fiscal Year 1999: ¥1,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000)
Keywords	Human Resource Management / Fairness / Organizational Commitment / "High-Involvement" model / Organizational Justice / Organizational effectiveness / Firm Performance / Japanese Firms / ハイ・インボルブメントモデル / 企業実績 / 公正知覚 / 組織行動 / ハイ・コミットメントモデル / 企業調査 / 質問紙調査 / 組織の有効性
Research Abstract	In this study, the relationship between the Human Resource Management (HRM) system of Japanese Firms and fairness was examined empirically as well as theoretically. 1. Theory and research method It was hypothesized that the Japanese style of HRM tends to have "High-Involvement" (Lawler, 1986) practices which enhance "organizational justice" (Greenberg, 1990) and in turn firm performance. In order to test this model empirically, a two step questionnaire survey was utilized. The first step questionnaire survey was administered to 210 firms located in Tohoku district of Japan. The second step questionnaire survey was administered to 946 employees from 35 firms selected from the initial 210 firms. 2. Results of surveys (1) It was not found that firms employing Japanese traditional HRM policy (long term employment with internalized skill formation and appraisal based on skill formation) tend to have "High-Involvement" HRM practices. (2) "High-Involvement" HRM systems were not clearly confirmed to be perceived by employees as positively influencing employee participation. (3) If HRM systems were perceived by employees to be participative, this perception enhanced perceived fairness, which in turn enhanced attitudes such as job satisfaction, work motivation, and organizational commitment. These employee attitudes impacted positively on Firm performance. 3. Implications The theory of this study was not wholly supported. However, the result that HRM systems perceived as participative enhanced perceived fairness implies that the "organizational justice" approach is effective even under the unique cultural and social conditions found in Japan.