Procedural Justice and Team Learning: Integrated Understanding Based on Social Exchange Theory

Abstract

The learning that occurs in teams is seen as crucial for organizations to survive and thrive in dynamic environment. Although team procedural justice has been found to impact team learning behavior, it is not clear how and when it is able to do so. Intrateam trust and team leadership have been considered to be important antecedents likewise. However, these factors are examined independently of each other, causing the lack of coherent knowledge on existing work of team learning. In this study, we use social exchange theory to integrate insights across studies on procedural justice, intrateam trust, and leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation. The time-lagged, survey-based findings reveal that the positive relationship between procedural justice and team learning is mediated by intrateam trust. Yet, this is only true when LMD differentiation is weak, not when it is strong. We therefore provide initial patterns of interaction and discrimination among key factors that are related to team learning in ways that contribute to both theory and practice.