How Important are Shared Perceptions of Procedural Justice in Cooperative Alliances?

Building on the “loose coupling” logic, this study examines the importance of boundary spanners' shared perceptions of procedural justice in cross-cultural cooperative alliances. I argue that alliance profitability is higher when both parties perceive high rather than low procedural justice. Profitability is also higher when both parties' perceptions are high than when one party perceives high procedural justice but the other perceives low procedural justice. Shared justice perceptions become even more important for alliance profitability when the cultural distance between partners is high or when the industry of operation is uncertain. Analysis of 124 cross-cultural alliances in China supports these propositions.