
Organizational Injustice
Chapter from the book:
Köse,
S.
&
Özkan,
O.
S.
(eds.)
2025.
The Dark Side of Organizational Behavior.
Synopsis
Justice is a concept as old as human history, yet so deeply rooted in life that it permeates every aspect of our daily lives. While the concept of justice, which has been the focus of numerous philosophers, thinkers, and researchers from past to present, is difficult to define, injustice is a negative phenomenon that people can easily recognize. The concept has been evaluated by numerous disciplines and recognized as one of the most important variables in life. This is primarily due to its impact on all human values, phenomena, behaviors, and relationships. The role of justice in society and its importance in interpersonal relationships have led to its examination at the organizational level. Organizational justice, the application of justice from an organizational perspective, is increasingly gaining prominence in the literature because it is the primary reason behind employees' behaviors based on their perceptions of the current situation. Researchers have long debated the necessity of organizational justice for organizations to effectively function, and the necessity of considering injustice as an organizational problem. The primary reason for this debate can be explained by the direct impact of employees' perceptions of justice on organizational behavioral outcomes. When employees feel valued as members of the organization, they develop harmonious and trusting relationships. While these relationships emerge in the presence of organizational justice, perceptions of injustice lead to negative employee behaviors that divert organizations from their goals. The purpose of this study is to theoretically define and explore the importance of organizational injustice for organizations. To this end, we plan to present a conceptual framework that can better explain the concept by evaluating the perspectives of organizational justice theories on organizational injustice and comparing justice and injustice.