ABSTRACT
This chapter explores i-deals from the vantage point of coworkers, who often an i-deal's most interested third party. The chapter explains why individual coworkers react as they do. It specifies conditions under which coworkers win, lose, or draw in the making and implementation of i-deals. The organizational context's key role in influencing coworker's reactions is through its impact on the comparisons coworkers make between themselves and the i-dealer. In the triangle of relationships in which i-deals are embedded, coworker's reactions are shaped by their relationships with the employer and the worker who has an i-deal. Coworkers with a high-quality relationship with their employer are likely to be more accepting, other things being equal, in response to news of another's i-deal. Key features shaping the quality of the relationship include justice, that is, whether coworkers believe the employer treats them fairly, the psychological contract between the coworkers and the employer, and the resultant support the coworker experiences from the organization.
