Perceptions of organizational injustice in French business schools

Abstract

Whereas the institutional drivers of the accountability discourse and the apparatus of performance evaluation accompanying such a discourse in the neoliberal university are well documented, their implications at the individual level have received lesser interest. Our paper suggests that more attention be paid to the voices and the experiences of the “governed”. It accounts of the unfairness of the accountability regime in higher education, and more specifically in business schools, as it is perceived by scholars in France. Using insights from the institutional complexity (IC) and organizational justice (OJ) literatures, as well as an empirical analysis of the French business scholars’take on their changing work context and the metrics against which their performance is assessed, our study extends the understanding of the implications of organizations’ rewards, incentives, performance control and evaluation practices for OJ. Moreover, it deconstructs the narrative of the accountability regime by reminding that institutional complexity leaves very little room for many scholars to be star researchers, excellent program managers, innovative and inclusive pedagogues as well as impactful public servants at the same time without hindering other academic missions they value (disinterested collegiality, care, social inclusion), their quality of life, family, and or health.