What motivates fairness? The role of subordinate assertive behavior on manager's interactional fairness.

This study investigated the proposition that a subordinate's communication style can affect a manager's fairness behavior during decision making and, consequently, can affect the subordinate's attitudes toward the decision, manager, and organization. Two studies were conducted to test these propositions in the context of performance appraisal decisions. First, a laboratory study demonstrated that appraisers engage in more interactionally fair behavior when interacting with an assertive appraisee than with an unassertive appraisee. Second, a quasiexperimental field design showed that training employees on assertiveness, when coupled with self-appraisal, is associated with positive attitudes toward the appraisal and trust in the manager. Implications for understanding the causes of fair behavior and improving the fairness of decisions are discussed.