In order to examine antecedents of trust between joint venture (JV) partners, this studyapplies social exchange theory and justice theory to the context of international joint ventures. Based on social exchange theory and justice theory, three important variables are identified asantecedents of trust. The first antecedent variable is the fairness in the distribution of the JV'sfinancial performance This distributive justice is hypothesized to positively affect trust betweenJV partners. The second antecedent variable is the fairness in the decision-making procedures. This procedural justice reflects the shared nature of the JV's management. It is also hypothesizedto positively affect trust between JV partners. The third antecedent variable is the interactionalfairness that refers to mutual respect and close communication between JV partners. Thisinteractional justice is also thought to affect trust between JV partners. An empirical studywas conducted in Korea to test whether three antecedent variables affect trust between JVpartners. Data were collected from 78 international joint ventures in Korea. It was found thatthe fair distribution of the JV's financial performance (distributive justice) is not related to thedevelopment of trust between JV partners, but that both procedural justice and interactionaljustice is related to the development of trust between JV partners. The findings suggest thatthe two antecedent variables generated from justice theory facilitate the development of trustbetween JV partners. It was also found that the relationship between trust and proceduraljustice/interactional justice is stronger in shared management ventures than in one partnerdominantventures. This suggests that shared management ventures must deal with the justiceor fairness issues very carefully in order to build trust between JV partners.