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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the mediating role of affective commitment (AC) in the relationship between organizational justice (OJ) and personal initiative (PI).

Data were collected from 321 employees from hotels in northern Portugal. The study required that all hotels be at least four-star establishments operating for over a year. The data and hypotheses were analyzed by using structural equation modeling.

Employee perceptions of justice in relation to rewards, procedures, or interpersonal relationships can only lead to displays of initiative behaviors if employees have developed AC toward their organization. Accordingly, employee perception of justice does not directly bring about initiative behavior; a feeling of AC toward the organization must be created beforehand.

Knowing how to increase employee PI could be one of the keys to obtaining successful results within the hotel industry. This study provides evidence of an indirect relationship between OJ and PI via AC. Such knowledge may help to establish a plan of action aimed at improving perceptions of justice within the hotel industry in order to obtain committed and proactive employees.

Very few studies carried out within the context of the hotel industry have considered the relationship between the three variables proposed in this research paper. Additionally, this study examines the mediating role of employee AC, which has not been previously confirmed.