Purpose

The purpose of this study is to test whether equity theory (ET) – which posits that individuals compare their outcome/input ratio to the ratio of a “comparison other” and classify individuals as Benevolent, Equity Sensity, and Entitled – applies to the modern workplace of global virtual teams (GVT), where work is mostly intellectual, geographically dispersed and online, making individual effort nearly impossible to observe directly.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of 1,343 GVTs comprised 6,347 individuals from 137 countries, this study tests three ET’s predictions in the GVT context: a negative, linear relationship between Benevolents’ perceptions of equity and job satisfaction in GVTs; an inverted U-shaped relationship between Equity Sensitives’ perceptions of equity and job satisfaction in GVTs; and a positive, linear relationship between Entitleds’ perceptions of equity and job satisfaction in GVTs.

Findings

Although the second prediction of ET is supported, the first and third have statistically significant opposite signs.

Practical implications

The research has important ramifications for management studies in explaining differences in organizational behavior in GVTs as opposed to traditional work settings.

Originality/value

The authors conclude that the main novelty with ET in GVTs is that GVTs are an environment stingy with satisfaction for “takers” (Entitleds) and generous in satisfaction for “givers” (Benevolents).

中文翻译：

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重新审视全球虚拟团队的公平理论

目的

本研究的目的是测试公平理论（ET）是否适用于现代社会，该理论假设个人将其结果/投入比率与“比较他人”的比率进行比较，并将个人分为仁慈型、公平敏感性型和权利型。全球虚拟团队（GVT）的工作场所，其中的工作大多是智力性的、地理上分散的和在线的，使得个人的努力几乎不可能直接观察到。

设计/方法论/途径

本研究使用来自 137 个国家/地区的 6,347 名个人组成的 1,343 个 GVT 样本，测试了 ET 在 GVT 背景下的三个预测：公平敏感人士对公平的看法与 GVT 中的工作满意度之间存在倒 U 形关系；权利人对公平的看法与 GVT 中的工作满意度之间存在正向线性关系。

发现

尽管 ET 的第二个预测得到支持，但第一个和第三个预测具有统计显着性相反的符号。

实际影响

该研究对于解释 GVT 中的组织行为与传统工作环境中的差异具有重要意义。

原创性/价值

作者得出的结论是，GVT 中 ET 的主要新颖之处在于，GVT 是一个对“接受者”（Entitleds）满意而吝啬，对“给予者”（Benevolents）满意则慷慨的环境。