CONCEPT
Fair Process
Kim and Mauborgne's finding that people accept decisions — even painful ones — when three principles are present:
engagement (involving them),
explanation (articulating why), and
expectation clarity (defining new rules) — trust through process, not outcomes.
Fair process is Kim and Mauborgne's most influential organizational research outside the blue ocean framework itself. Their 1990s studies revealed that what makes people accept strategic decisions is not the favorability of the outcome but the fairness of the process by which decisions are made. Three principles constitute fair process.
Engagement: involving affected individuals in decisions that affect them, asking for their input, allowing them to refute others' ideas, ensuring their perspectives are heard before the decision is made.
Explanation: articulating why final decisions are made as they are, with
enough candor that affected people can evaluate the reasoning rather than merely comply with the directive.
Expectation clarity: stating what the new rules are, what will be expected of each person, and what the standards of evaluation will be. When all three are present, people commit to decisions voluntarily — investing discretionary effort, going beyond
compliance, maintaining trust even when outcomes are unfavorable. When any principle is