Organizational Justice in Higher Education: A Qualitative Inquiry into Faculty Perspectives on Issues of Distributive, Procedural, and Interactional Justice

Abstract

Justice is an important factor in organizational performance, including in higher education institutions. This study examines how faculty perceive and experience issues of organizational justice across distributive, procedural, and interactional dimensions as practiced by their immediate leaders, such as department heads and college deans. In doing that, the study used a case study design and involved 48 purposively selected participants. Data were collected through interviews and focus group discussions. The collected data was then analysed thematically. The study findings showed that all three dimensions of justice are characterized by ongoing challenges. Regarding distributive justice, faculty experienced inequities in the allocation of resources and provision of professional development opportunities, which undermined their trust and motivation. In terms of procedural justice, issues were linked to a lack of transparency, inconsistent application of policies, and limited opportunities for faculty participation in decision-making and governance. Faculty perceptions of interactional justice issues also emerged from experiences of dismissive and disrespectful behaviour from leadership. Taken together, these findings highlight critical organizational justice issues that may affect faculty trust, satisfaction, and performance in higher education. The study findings have important implications for higher education institutions, which aim to increase faculty trust, satisfaction, and performance by increasing the perception of fairness across all three justice dimensions. Moreover, the study highlights the need for higher education institutions to institutionalize transparent and participatory justice practices to foster faculty’s sense of fairness in their daily academic and professional interactions.