Mediating effect of team trust on the influence of top management team (TMT) processes against HRM decision quality and satisfaction performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the mediating role of top management team (TMT) team trust in examining the relationship between team processes (internal and external) and human resource management (HRM) decision performance (quality and satisfaction) in the context of the People’s Republic of China. Design/methodology/approach The sample data of this study include 524 team members from 76 TMTs in east China’s Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui provinces. IBM SPSS AMOS 22.0 software was employed for the data analysis. Findings The study finds that TMT internal and external processes have significant positive effects on HRM decision quality and satisfaction. The study further finds that TMT team trust partially mediates the relationship between TMT processes (internal and external processes) and HRM decision quality and satisfaction. Practical implications This research provides useful insights into the role of TMT team trust in enhancing managerial decision performance. Originality/value This study is among the limited studies that explore the influence of team trust in the relationship between TMT processes (internal and external processes) and HRM decision quality and satisfaction among TMTs in China. This study has extended TMT knowledge in mainstream management with guidelines on how to enhance organizational decision performance.