Interpersonal Justice, Relational Conflict, and Commitment to Change: The Moderating Role of Social Interaction

Drawing from Conservation of Resources theory, this study examines the hitherto unexplored mediating role of relational conflict in the link between interpersonal justice and commitment to change, as well as how social interaction might moderate this mediating effect. Data were captured from employees directly affected by a large-scale restructuring in a European-based organisation. The analyses show that interpersonal justice positively affects commitment to change and that relationship conflict fully mediates the relationship. Further, social interaction moderates both the interpersonal justice-relational conflict and the relational conflict-commitment to change relationships, such that they get invigorated at higher levels of social interaction. The findings also reveal that the indirect effect of interpersonal justice on commitment to change, through relational conflict, is more pronounced at higher levels of social interaction, in support of a moderated mediation effect. These findings have significant implications for research and practice.