Perceived Interactional Justice and Trust-in-supervisor as Mediators for Paternalistic Leadership

This study identifies the influencing processes that underlie the effect of the three paternalistic leadership dimensions on subordinates' work performance/organizational citizenship behaviours. The results, based on data collected from private firms in China, showed that perceived interactional justice mediated the effects of moral leadership and benevolent leadership on trust-in-supervisor. However, perceived interactional justice did not mediate the relationship between authoritarian leadership and trust-in-supervisor. In addition, trust-in-supervisor was found to be positively associated with work performance and organizational citizenship behaviours. Cultural and practical implications and future research directions are also discussed.