Effect of perceived justice on subcontractor willingness to cooperate: The mediating role of relationship value

Cooperation between subcontractors and the general contractor provides the foundation for the successful delivery of every construction project. As one of the most important factors influencing subcontractor behavioral intentions, perceived justice from previous collaborative experience affects the willingness of a subcontractor to cooperate with a general contractor in the future. In this paper, a model is built based on social exchange theory to examine the relationship between justice perception, relationship value, and subcontractor willingness to cooperate (WTC). Analysis of data from 122 subcontractors demonstrates that distributive justice and interactional justice positively affect WTC, and relationship value from the general contractor partially mediates such effects. However, procedural justice does not significantly affect WTC. The study provides a new perspective for examining the internal mechanisms between subcontractor justice perception and WTC. The findings will also help general contractors understand how their behaviors affect subcontractor WTC, thus providing practical implications for subcontracting management.