Effect of Justice on Contractor’s Relational Behavior: Moderating Role of Owner’s Asset Specificity

Abstract

It is critical to the successful implementation of construction projects that the behavior of both the owner and the contractor meet common expectations. In the transaction, the economic results and the impact of justice on relational behavior should not be ignored. Our study on the perspective of contractors explores whether and how different dimensions of interorganizational justice affect relational behavior in construction projects and the moderating role of owner’s asset specificity. On the basis of survey data from the construction industry, the empirical results reveal that if contractors perceive higher procedural justice or interactional justice, the contractor’s relational behavior conforms to relational norms more. Furthermore, the owner’s asset specificity dilutes the positive impact of interactional justice on the contractor’s relational behavior. The findings contribute to strengthening the understanding of project management and interorganizational justice while guiding owners to pay more attention to the process of contract execution in practice and the appropriate investment of specific assets in projects to improve the contractor’s relational behavior.