Interpersonal justice and creativity: testing the underlying cognitive mechanisms

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the underlying cognitive mechanisms between interpersonal justice and creativity. Design/methodology/approach: The theoretical model was tested through survey method in two distinct settings, i.e. student teams and organizational setting. Findings: This study found evidence that interpersonal justice has an indirect relationship with creative behavior through two distinct paths of psychological meaningfulness and psychological availability in Study 1 and through psychological availability in Study 2. The results clarify and support the proposition in the justice literature that interpersonal fairness is relevant to creativity because of its relationship to risks associated with creativity, and that this affect holds when controlling for procedural, distributive and informational justice (Study 2). Research limitations/implications: The results suggest that interpersonally fair supervision has a significant influence on employees’ creativity. Fair supervisory treatment adds value to the organization and contributes to the well-being of employees by directly influencing perceptions of psychological engagement factors of meaningfulness and availability of resources. Originality/value: This study contributes to the justice, creativity and psychological engagement literatures by exploring the mechanisms linking organizational justice and creativity in a non-Western context.