Organizational justice research: A review, synthesis, and research agenda

• Published date: 01 December 2023
• Author: Mladen Adamovic
• Date: 01 December 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12564

REVIEW ARTICLE

Organizational justice research: A review, synthesis, and research

agenda

Dr Mladen Adamovic

Department of Human Resource Management

and Employment Relations, King’s Business

School, King’s College London, London, UK

Correspondence

Dr Mladen Adamovic, Department of Human

Resource Management and Employment

Relations, King’s Business School, King’s

College London, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B

4BG, UK.

Email: mladen.adamovic@kcl.ac.uk

Abstract

We conducted a general, semi-systematic literature review on organizational jus-

tice. Based on this review, we first explored the various ways in which organiza-

tional justice was conceptualized. Second, we explained the importance of

organizational justice by reviewing and synthesizing theoretical frameworks in

organizational justice research and studies that analyzed the effects of justice on

employee outcomes. Subsequently, we shifted the focus from the individual to the

team level by reviewing and synthesizing justice climate and peer justice research.

To expand prior research and stimulate future research, we presented several ave-

nues for future research, such as the cultural sensitivity of justice, justice in diverse

work environments, justice and conflict, and the changing nature of work and jus-

tice. We also created a theoretical foundation for the integration of organizational

justice with research on workplace conflict, diversity and dissimilarity, cultural

values, relationships with coworkers, and the changing nature of work.

KEYWORDS

conflict, cross-cultural research, diversity, fairness, groups/teams, justice perceptions, organizational

justice, social justice

INTRODUCTION

Justice in business and work is important for moral and

ethical reasons. This is illustrated by financial and busi-

ness scandals, including the exploitation of third-world

populations by multinational textile companies (Global

Slavery Index, 2018), multi-million-dollar compensation

for CEOs of loss-making companies (The New York

Times, 2020), the high number of tax havens

(Transparency International, 2019), bribery and corrup-

tion in many countries (Ramamoorthy, Kulkarni, &

Gupta, 2015), and recent cryptocurrency scams

(Financial Times, 2022). Acting in a just way is not only

the right thing to do but to do so is also an attractive

business opportunity (Brockner, 2010; Lind et al., 2000).

Managers can use justice as an effective tool to increase

employees’job satisfaction, organizational identification,

and job performance (Colquitt et al., 2013). It also

decreases employees’turnover intentions, the need for

retaliation, and engagement in counterproductive work

behaviors, such as conflict or theft (Rupp et al., 2014).

Furthermore, treating employees with justice is a precon-

dition for establishing effective relationships with

employees (Cropanzano & Rupp, 2008). Treating

employees with justice will make managers appear to be

better people and leaders (Byrne et al., 2012).

Organizational justice is the study of employees’per-

ceptions of justice in the workplace (Colquitt, 2001).

Prior research shows that employees evaluate a work-

place based on four dimensions: (1) just pay and out-

comes, (2) just decision-making procedures, (3) respectful

and dignified treatment, and (4) accurate and honest

communication (Colquitt, 2001). Organizational justice

research has further demonstrated the importance of jus-

tice for employees in a variety of organizational settings,

such as pay systems, selection, layoffs, performance eval-

uations, corporate ethics programs, and social enterprises

(Cropanzano & Ambrose, 2015; Cropanzano et al., 2007;

Moliner, Cropanzano, & Martínez-Tur, 2017). By acting

in a just way, managers can improve their workplace cul-

ture, reputation, and performance (Colquitt et al., 2013;

Rupp et al., 2014).

DOI: 10.1111/emre.12564

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided

the original work is properly cited.

© 2023 The Author. European Management Review published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Management (EURAM).

762 European Management Review. 2023;20:762–782.

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/emre

To expand previous organizational justice reviews

(e.g., Colquitt, 2012; Colquitt & Rodell, 2015;

Cropanzano & Ambrose, 2015; Moliner, Martínez-

Tur, & Cropanzano, 2017; Rupp et al., 2017) and to

motivate managers to create workplaces, we present a

review, synthesis, and future topics of organizational jus-

tice research (Table 1). First, our semi-systematic review

(see Grant & Booth, 2009; Snyder, 2019) clarified the

conceptualization of organizational justice by explaining

its definitions and dimensions, as well as the distinction

between justice and injustice. Has organizational justice

research developed meaningful concepts and established

construct validity? Second, our semi-systematic review

provided information about the utility and importance of

organizational justice research by reviewing and synthe-

sizing research on theoretical approaches to explain why

employees cared about justice and the effects of the work

environment on employee outcomes. Third, we shifted

the focus of organizational justice research from the indi-

vidual level to the team level by reviewing and synthesiz-

ing research on justice climates and peer justice. Finally,

we identified several research gaps and presented topics

that require future research, such as the cultural sensitiv-

ity of justice, justice in a diverse work environment, jus-

tice and conflict, and the changing nature of work and

justice. These are key themes and lines of inquiry that

need to be deepened in the future. We expand on previ-

ous reviews by creating a theoretical foundation for the

integration of organizational justice with research on

workplace conflict, diversity and dissimilarity, cultural

values, and the changing nature of work. These topics

have often been neglected in previous literature reviews

and in organizational justice research.

PROCEDURES FOR LITERATURE

REVIEW

Semi-systematic literature review

To conduct our semi-systematic literature review, we fol-

lowed the best practices and guidelines of previous

research (Chamakiotis, Panteli, & Davison, 2021;

Grant & Booth, 2009; Snyder, 2019). The main difference

between a general semi-systematic literature review (also

known as a state-of-the-art literature review) and a sys-

tematic literature review is the degree of structure used in

the review process. A systematic literature review is a for-

mal and structured approach that uses a predefined set of

criteria to identify and evaluate relevant research studies.

This approach was designed to provide a highly struc-

tured and exhaustive overview of the available literature

on a given topic. Presenting a number of manuscripts

and clear decision criteria are important for a systematic

literature review.

In contrast, a general semi-systematic literature

review is less formal and structured and may not use a

strict set of criteria to identify and evaluate research stud-

ies (e.g., Chamakiotis, Panteli, & Davison, 2021; Dabi

c

et al., 2022; Dagnino, Picone, & Ferrigno, 2021; Fuduric

et al., 2022; Grant & Booth, 2009; Henry & Lewis, 2023;

Snyder, 2019; Verschuere, Brandsen, & Pestoff, 2012).

This approach is more flexible and allows for more crea-

tivity and a broader overview of the available literature

but may not be as structured, exhaustive, or quantitative

as a systematic literature review. Overall, the main differ-

ence between these two types of literature reviews is the

level of structure used in the review process.

A general semi-systematic review was conducted

because of its better “ability to map a field of research,

synthesise the state of knowledge, and create an agenda

for further research”(Snyder, 2019: 335) and its facilita-

tion of the development of “new perspectives on an issue

or highlights areas in need of further research”(Grant &

Booth, 2009: 105). These two strengths of a semi-

TABLE 1 Classification of prior organizational justice research.

Conceptualization of

organizational justice

Description

Definition of

organizational justice

Subjective versus objective justice

Dimensions of

organizational justice

What are the different dimensions of

justice?

Overall justice Justice dimensions versus overall

justice

Justice versus injustice Is bad stronger than good?

Importance of

organizational justice

Description

Theoretical justice

perspectives

Why do employees care about justice?

Justice effects on employee

outcomes

What are the effects of employees’

justice perceptions on employee

outcomes in different

organizational settings?

Organizational justice in

the context of teams

Description

Justice climate Analyzingemployees’justice

perceptions at the team level of

analysis

Peer justice Analyzing coworker justice

Research agenda for

organizational justice

Description

Cultural sensitivity of

justice perceptions

Do justice norms differ across

countries?

Justice and diversity Creating a just environment for

minority workers

Justice–conflict

relationship

Why, how, and when are

organizational justice and

workplace conflict related to each

other?

Changing nature of work

and organizational

justice

Adopting a justice lens to analyze

current topics such as telework,

gig workers, and integration of

refugees

ADAMOVIC 763