The effects of organisational justice and trust on employee commitment and turnover intention: a case study of a manufacturing business in China

Since the early 2000s, China has become a powerhouse of the manufacturing business and is now known as the ‘factory of the world’. Although there is a population of 1.3 billion in China, there is an acute shortage of workers, particularly in the manufacturing industry. This empirical study investigates the relationships between organisational justice (distributive, procedural and interactional justice), organisational trust (trust in organisation and trust in supervisor), organisational commitment (affective commitment) and turnover intentions, and their effects on the manufacturing industry in China. Social exchange theory (Blau 1964 ; Gouldner, 1960 ) and Equity theory (Adam, 1965) are adopted for discussion. The Mandarin Chinese terms guanxi, perceived as relationship or connection, and pao, defined as reciprocity, are also reviewed. Based on sample tests conducted with 500 factory workers in Guangdong province in China, the study reveals positive relationships between the three dimensions of organisational justice and organisational commitment and a negative relationship for turnover intentions. The results of the study also support the proposed mediation model between distributive justice, procedural justice and organisational commitment. Moreover, this study reveals that an employee’s affective commitment, organisational justice and organisational trust reduce his or her intention to leave the organisation.