Organizational Justice

This chapter frames the development of the justice literature around three literature-level trends: differentiation, cognition, and exogeneity. The differentiation trend has impacted how justice is conceptualized, with additional justice dimensions being further segmented into different sources. The cognition trend has created a rational, calculative theme to the most visible justice theories. The exogeneity trend has resulted in justice occupying the independent variable position in most empirical studies. Taken together, these trends have resulted in a vibrant and active literature. However, I will argue that the next phase of the literature’s evolution will benefit from a relaxation—or even reversal—of these trends. Path-breaking contributions may be more likely to result from the aggregation of justice concepts, a focus on affect, and the identification of predictors of justice.