Extending the team PJ literature, this research represents the first systematic
attempt to empirically examine the structural patterns of team PJ:
centralization and density. Our two field studies conducted in China and
United States support convergent and discriminant validity of the social
network measures of team PJ centralization and density. Our findings reveal
how a leader’s differential treatment of members can harm intrateam
tWe adopt a social network perspective to investigate the distinct structural
patterns (i.e., centralization and density) of procedural justice (PJ)
in teams and the antecedent factors that create them. Across 2 longitudinal
field studies in which we gathered social network data from 1,008
workers on 138 teams (Study 1) in China and 672 workers on 125 teams
(Study 2) in the United States, we found that differentiation in leader–
member exchange relationships significantly influenced the centralization
and density of PJ within a team by affecting the level of intrateam
trust. Specifically, the more differentiated leader treatment team members
received, the lower the level of trust within a team, which resulted in
more concentrated (high centralization) and fewer (low density) social
interactions among members regarding team PJ. Furthermore, differentiated
leader treatment of team members was especially damaging to
intrateam trust and, in turn, the structural patterns of team PJ when team
members were in close proximity and highly sensitive to equity issues.
Team procedural justice (PJ)—team members’ collective perception