The Impact of Organizational Justice on Gossip Behavior among Employees: The Moderating Role of Organizational Climate from the Perspective of Social Exchange Theory

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of organizational justice on employees' gossip behavior considering the moderating role of organizational climate. This research is applied in terms of purpose, and considered a descriptive-survey research in terms of nature and method. From the statistical population of 500 people of Khorasan Razavi General Administration of Roads and Urban Development, based on Krejcie and Morgan table, 217 people were selected as the sample who were selected using the non-probabilistic convenience sampling method. In order to collect the data to test the hypotheses three standardized questionnaires were used, including; Kalit and Radel, to measure the organizational justice variable, Vitek and Wheelers, to measure the gossip behavior variable, and Stamper and Matherson, to measure the organizational climate variable. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires were confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficient and combined reliability, respectively. Structural equation modeling and Smart PLS software were used to analyze the data. Findings showed that the variables of distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactive justice have a negative and significant effect on gossip behavior. However, the variable of information justice has no effect on gossip behavior. The results also showed that the climate of the organization moderates the effect of the variables of procedural justice and interactive justice on gossip behavior. As a result, it can be concluded that the more the employees perceive salary amount, the interaction of superiors with subordinates, work procedures and promotion criteria in the organization fairer, the rate of their gossip-spreading behaviors in the organization decreases.