How does perceived organizational justice mediate talent management of non-high potential employees and their outcomes?

PurposeThis study examines how perceived organizational justice mediates the relationship between talent management (TM) and non-high potential employees (NHPE) outcomes (i.e. affective commitment, job satisfaction, and the intention to leave) in the public sector, thereby clarifying the underlying mechanisms.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a causal mediation analysis of the findings of a scenario-based survey with 748 public-sector NHPEs by adopting a post-test experimental design.FindingsPerceived distributive justice and perceived procedural justice mediated the relationships among equal resource distribution/TM procedures and NHPE outcomes, respectively.Originality/valueThis study extends and clarifies the argument for fairness judgments based on the gap in resource allocation and the presence or absence of the six rules of procedural justice that affect the attitudes and behaviors of NHPEs, who are generally more affected by TM but underexplored, in the public sector in which NHPEs are considered to be more sensitive to TM due to the egalitarian culture of public sector.