Influence of Empathy on Organisational Performance in Public Universities, Western Region, Kenya: The Moderating Role of Organisational Justice

Abstract

This study sought to determine the influence of empathy on organisational performance and to establish the moderating influence of organisational justice on leadership emotional intelligence and organisational performance in public universities western region, Kenya. The research philosophy for this study was positivism, while a descriptive explanatory research design was adopted. 794 faculty members from four public institutions were the intended subjects, of which 266 participated in the survey by means of a stratified random sample procedure. Primary data was gathered using questionnaires and interview schedules. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used with the aid of SPSS 27. The results showed a significant influence of empathy on organisational performance (R²=0.464, P=0.000). The interaction term has a positive effect on performance, indicating that organisational justice helps improve empathy, which in turn boosts organisational performance (R²=0.707, P=0.000).  The study concluded that empathy and organisational justice jointly enhance performance in public universities, with justice amplifying empathy’s influence. Universities should embed empathy in leadership training, enforce fair policies, assess staff perceptions, and develop feedback systems; the Ministry of Education should also formalise emotional intelligence and fairness standards in the university governance framework.