Nexus Between Human Resource Management Practices and Employee Commitment in Selected Private Universities in South West, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the Human Resource Management (HRM) practices in private universities in South West, Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined the nexus between Human Resource Management (HRM) practices and employees’ commitment in selected private universities in South West, Nigeria. Descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The study population frame is 3,261 (three thousand two hundred and sixty-one) involving all academic staff members from the selected private universities. The Taro Yamane formula was used to statistically determine the sample size, which was 356 (three hundred and fifty-six). The study used primary data and collected responses from respondents in the selected private universities in South West, Nigeria through a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics employed for data analysis were frequency counts, simple percentages, bar charts, mean scores, and standard deviations, while the inferential statistics utilized was the multiple linear regression with the aid of SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 23. The findings of the study revealed that, HRM strategies have a substantial impact on employee commitment at a number of private universities in South West, Nigeria (β=1.001; t = 27.947, p<.05). The study concluded that the adoption of HRM practices such as employee evaluation and pension benefits has improved organizational performance in private universities in South West Nigeria. The study therefore recommended that to allow for increased organizational commitment, the variables of HRM practices namely training and development programmes, employee evaluation and pension benefits needs to be employed by universities and it should be modelled in such a way that the employers can make use of it for their universities operations.