Authorship misappropriation as academic currency: publication pressure, patronage, and research integrity in a Pakistani higher education context

Authorship assigns scholarly credit, responsibility, and accountability, yet in pressure-driven higher education systems, it may become a negotiable academic resource. This qualitative exploratory study investigates authorship misappropriation in selected Lahore-based universities in Pakistan. Thirty-five face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with academics, PhD scholars, TTS and private-university faculty, journal editors, and research office staff. Reflexive thematic analysis identified five themes: authorship as career survival; supervisory gatekeeping and student vulnerability; publication markets and paid authorship; patronage, sifarish, and relational authorship; and silence, vulnerability, and normalization. Findings show that misappropriation is shaped not only by individual misconduct but also by evaluation pressures, commercial publication routes, unequal power relations, and weak accountability. Using symbolic capital, the Authorship Misappropriation as Academic Currency Framework explains how authorship becomes convertible into career advancement, recognition, reciprocity, access, and protection. The study recommends contribution-based evaluation, author statements, authorship agreements, transparent journal policies, dispute mechanisms, and protections for vulnerable scholars.