Compensation Practices and Faculty Retention in Higher Education Institutions: A Systematic Literature Review

Faculty Retention, Higher Education Institutions, Compensation Practices, Salary, Performance-Based Pay, Incentives, Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction

Faculty retention is important to higher education institutions because experienced faculty contribute to teaching, research, student support, and institutional continuity. This systematic literature review examines how compensation practices influence faculty retention, with emphasis on salary, increments, performance-based pay, incentives, bonuses, benefits, and perceived fairness. A PRISMA-informed screening process was used to organize literature identified from Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, ResearchGate, and other sources. The reported review record comprises 540 identified records, 400 screened records, 140 full-text assessments, 60 studies in qualitative synthesis, and 25 studies identified for quantitative synthesis. A descriptive bibliometric profile of 30 focal studies was also prepared because complete citation and keyword-network data were not available. The synthesis indicates that competitive compensation, predictable increments, performance-linked rewards, and supportive benefits are generally associated with satisfaction, commitment, and stronger retention intentions, particularly when rewards are viewed as fair and transparent. The review also shows that direct higher-education evidence is narrower than the broader teacher-retention literature. It therefore identifies a need for India-specific HEI research that examines multiple compensation components together and considers job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and perceived fairness as related pathways.