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Equity Theory of Organizations

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance

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Synonyms

Fairness; Justice; Justifications; Social exchange

Definition

  • Equity: How fair a relationship is perceived to be.

  • Inputs: What a person contributes to a relationship.

  • Outcomes: What a person gets out of a relationship.

  • Profit: A person’s outcomes minus inputs.

Introduction

In the eleventh century, St. Anselm of Canterbury (1998) argued that the will possesses two competing affinities: an affection for what is to a person’s own selfish advantage andan affection for justice. The first inclination may be stronger, but the second matters, too. Equity theory, too, posits that in personal, social, and societal relationships, two concerns stand out. Firstly, how much reward does a person reap from a given social relationship? Secondly, how fair and equitable is that relationship? According to Equity theory, people feel most comfortable when their relationships are maximally profitable and they are giving and getting exactly what they deserve from their relationships – no more and...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Elaine Hatfield & Jeanette Purvis

  2. Department of History, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Richard L. Rapson

Authors
  1. Elaine Hatfield
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  2. Jeanette Purvis
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  3. Richard L. Rapson
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Elaine Hatfield , Jeanette Purvis or Richard L. Rapson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA

    Ali Farazmand

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Hatfield, E., Purvis, J., Rapson, R.L. (2018). Equity Theory of Organizations. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20928-9_90

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