The role of leaders in building research cultures in sub-Saharan African universities: a six-nation study

Puplampu, B. B. et al. (2022) The role of leaders in building research cultures in sub-Saharan African universities: a six-nation study. Africa Journal of Management, 8(2), pp. 171-193. (doi: 10.1080/23322373.2022.2039050)

Abstract

Existing research attributes the problem of weak research productivity of academics in African universities primarily to institutional resource poverty and inadequate research skills. However, there has been little attention to research cultures and the role of leaders in fostering productive ones. Drawing from the literature on organizational culture, this study examines the role of university leaders in developing research cultures. The study explores how institution leaders do this within the higher education contexts in their countries. The empirical work is based on qualitative interviews with senior and mid-level university leaders in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa. While all of the leaders espoused clear views about the elements of a productive research culture, results indicate a significant gap remains between espoused values for research and the actual research culture. Theoretically, the research extends the concept of research cultures by demonstrating the complex dynamics between research cultures, culture embedding mechanisms, and leader behavior within contextual constraints.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The authors want to thank the following funders for their support of the ORCA project: ESRC Impact Accelerator Account, School of Education, University of Nottingham; Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education and the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary and Education, Innovation, Science, and Technology Development, Zimbabwe; Central University (Ghana) Research Seed Funds; Lagos Business School, Nigeria and North-West University, South Africa.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: McGrath, Professor Simon
• Authors: Puplampu, B. B., Nkomo, S., du Plessis, Y., Kabagabe, J. B., Garwe, E. C., Namada, J., Ogunyemi, K., Thondhlana, J., Abdul-Nasiru, I., Agina, A., Amponsah-Tawiah, K., Danesi, R., Djokoto, J. G., Duncan, D. D., Lekunze, J., McGrath, S., Ndegwa, J., Ngowa, N., Ntow, M. O., Ondondo, E. A., Rena, R., and Sandada, M.
• Subjects: L Education > L Education (General)
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Journal Name: Africa Journal of Management
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 2332-2373
• ISSN (Online): 2332-2381
• Published Online: 19 March 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 Taylor & Francis
• First Published: First published in Africa Journal of Management 8(2):171-193
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher