Institutional environment and academic performance of private universities in Ghana the mediation role of governance mechanisms

Abstract

The study was designed to explore and explain the influence of institutional environments on the academic performance of private universities in Ghana and the mediating role of governance mechanisms. The target population was the private universities in Ghana. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. Using a purposive sampling technique, a sample size of 120 (100 for the quantitative and 20 for the qualitative phase) were selected from private universities in Ghana. Data were obtained through self administered questionnaires from field survey and focus group discussions. The quantitative data was analysed using regression analytical tool while content analysis was employed to analyse the qualitative data. Results from the study indicate that regulative, normative, mimetic, and cognitive institutional forces largely influence private university education management. The findings further show that in the context of private universities’ operations, the institutional environment generally has a positive effect on academic performance. Again, the findings indicate that quality assurance practices, but not faculty governance, has a significant positive effect on academic performance. In addition, governance mechanisms partially mediate the relationship between institutional environment and academic performance. Results from the qualitative phase of the study largely corroborate the quantitative results. A significant theoretical contribution from this study is its ability to show that the institutional environments-academic performance relationship is partially mediated by governance mechanisms. Managerially, the findings inform policy decisions by offering guidance to the Ministry of Education (MoE), Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), and other relevant agencies to take into cognisance the prevailing institutional forces within their environments when developing and implementing policies of higher education in Ghana (and in similar context).