Strategies to improve organizational climate in higher education institutions: a systematized literature review using the SALSA framework

Abstract

Organizational climate in higher education institutions (HEIs) is a strategic factor influencing academic sustainability, job satisfaction, and staff commitment. This study aimed to analyze, through a systematized literature review based on the SALSA framework, the organizational factors and management practices associated with a more favorable organizational climate in HEIs. Searches were conducted in Scopus using terms related to organizational climate, leadership, quality culture, and human resource management in higher education, covering 2015–2026. From 132 initial records, 22 studies were included after assessing relevance and methodological quality using criteria adapted from the MMAT. Information was organized into five dimensions: leadership and governance, organizational culture and quality, climate diagnosis, commitment and participation, and human resource management and sustainability. Findings show that a more favorable organizational climate was consistently associated with the integration of transformational leadership, effective institutional communication, participatory quality culture, role clarity, recognition, psychological well-being, and sustainable HRM practices. Destructive leadership by middle managers emerged as a frequently underestimated climate deterioration factor. The findings suggest that HEIs would benefit from adopting systemic strategies connecting structural and cultural elements, with special attention to middle management roles and research gaps in Latin American contexts. This study contributes an original synthesis by integrating, within a single framework, destructive middle-management leadership, participatory quality culture, and organizational sustainability, dimensions that have typically been addressed in isolation in the higher education climate literature.