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Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org
ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
Vol.11, No.18, 2020
94
Organisational Factors as Antecedents of University Academic
Staff Research Productivity
Geoffrey Boaz Hiire
1*
Joseph Oonyu
2
Robert Kyaligonza
1
David Onen
1
1.East African School of Higher Education Studies and Development (EASHESD)
2.School of Education (SoE)
College of Education and External Studies, Makerere University, Uganda
Abstract
This study explored whetherorganisational factors such as technological progress, computer skills, research
funding, and human resourceswere significant antecedents of academic staff research productivity in chartered
private universities in Uganda. The study stemmed from reportedly low levels of research productivity of the
academic staff in private universities in the country in spite of the numerousinterventionsby the Government of
Uganda to spur research in both public and private higher education institutions.Using the quantitative approach
anddescriptive cross-sectional survey research design, the researchers collected data using a pre-testedself-
administered questionnaire from a sample of 210 academic staff drawn from four out of nine chartered private
universities in the country. The data were analysed with the use of appropriate descriptive and inferential
statistical techniques. The study findings showed, among others, that while technological progress (β = 0.425, p
= 0.000 < 0.05) and possession of computer skills (β = 0.329, p = 0.000 < 0.05) were positive and significant
antecedents of research productivity, research funding (β = -0.003, p = 0.965 < 0.05)and human resources (β =
0.073, p = 0.186 < 0.05) were respectively negative and positive but non-significant antecedents of academic
staff’s research productivity in the universities studied. Therefore, it was concluded that although organisational
factors, overall, were significant antecedents of university academic staff’s research productivity, some of its
elements such as technological progress and possession of computer skills were more significant antecedents
than others – implying that in order to boost the research productivity of the academic staff, university managers
need to place proportionate emphasis on these factors if they are to create an enabling research environment in
their institutions.
Keywords: Organisational factors, Antecedents, Academic staff, Research productivity, Universities
DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-18-11
Publication date:June 30th 2020
1. Introduction
In today’s knowledge economies, there is mounting pressure on universities, world over, to becomestewards of
public knowledge creation and innovation through their research function (Kyaligonza, 2015). But, this pressure
is essentially being mounted directly on the academic staff - whom together with their students - are expected to
engage in the advancement and creation of scientific and technological knowledge through their research
activities(Ndege, Migosi&Onsongo, 2011). However, the research productivity of several academic staff in
universities in developing countries in terms of their research publications often leaves a lot to be desired. The
case of research productivity of the academic staff in chartered private universities in Uganda has not been an
exception. In this study, the researchers explored whether organisational factors such as technological progress,
computer skills, research funding, and human resources were significant antecedents of academic staff’s research
productivity in chartered private universities in Uganda in order to devise ways through whichthe research
productivity of the academic staff in these institutions can be raised. In this section, the authors present the
background to the study and the research objectives.
Historically, research was not one of those core functions of the university professor (or academic staff)
whose initial role was majorly to teach. But, this trend changed from early 1800s when Wilhelm von Humboldt,
a Prussian minister, diplomat and philosopher founded the University of Berlin in 1810 in which he envisioned
“an institution that intimately intertwined research and education under one roof, giving students direct access to
the leading researchers and thinkers of the time” (EMBO Rep., 2007, para 1). Since then, research has become
an integral role of any university teacher, to extent that today, many universities do not focus on teaching ability
in order to hire new faculty but simply look at the publications list (Sawyerr, 2004). In fact, frequent publication
is now one of the few powerful methods at a scholar’s disposal to demonstrate his/her academic talent to peers
and universities now also use the number of publication to an individual’s credit as the measure of competency.
This has brought immense pressure on academic staff to publish (Kasozi, 2008) and the phrase “Publish or
perish” initially coined by Coolidge in 1932 is now a harsh reality for thosewho teach at universities
(Rawat&Meena, 2014). However, not many academic staff are as productive in terms of research as required due
to several factors or constraints. In this study, the researchers explored whether organisational factors
significantly influence the research productivity of academic staff in chartered private universities in Uganda.
Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org
ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
Vol.11, No.18, 2020
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Conceptually, there were three key terms in this study. First, was the term organisational factors.According
to Davis and McKee (2005), organisational factors are the things or “factors [that] influence the way … things
are done within [an] organization, [including] the rules and regulations that are enforced, normal or expected
patterns of behaviour, and even the structure of the organization” (p.120). But according to Elanain
(2009),organizational factors are the job characteristics that influence behaviour at work. In the context of this
study, organizational factors were looked at in terms of those things or issues believed to influence the research
productivity of the academic staff such as employee skills (Huselid, 1995), funding (Musiige&Maassen, 2015),
technological progress and computer skills (Worthington & Lee, 2008) as well as physical and human resources
(Oyekan, 2014). The second key concept in this study was antecedent. The phrase antecedentis derivedfrom two
Latin words:‘ante’, which means “before” or “to proceed” and ‘cedere’, which means “to yield” (Delmonte,
2007). In this study, the phrase was used to refer to already existing factors that lead something to happen -
specifically the factors that influence the research productivity of the academic staff. Finally, the third and last
important concept in this research was research productivity. The term research productivity is defined
differently by different scholars. According to Usang, Akuegwu, Udida andUdey (2007), research productivity is
a measure of the research publications of an individual or institution. This definition of research productivity is
widely accepted among scholars. This explains why according to Reed, Enders, Lindor, McCleesandLindor
(2011), research productivity is defined as the number ofauthored or co-authored textbooks, book chapters,
journal articles, and conference papers that an individual or group publishes. Kyaligonza(2015) and
WamalaandSsembatya(2015)also add that research productivity is a measure of the number and quality of
technical reports, conference papers, working and occasional papers that an individual or a group produces for
the scientific community. In this study, research productivity was characterized by the above stated measures of
the concept.
This study was conducted in chartered private universities in Uganda. Out of the over 45 private universities
in the country, only nine of them are chartered. According to the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions
[UOTIA] Act of 2001 (as amended in 2006), by having a charter, it means that such a university is already fully
licensed and is now comparable to a public university (Uganda Government, 2001). As a result, society expects
such a university to play its core role of conducting high-level teaching, research and community engagement.
Unfortunately, both public and private universities in Uganda are reportedly not adequately playing their
research function. According to the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE] (2018), the research
productivity of the academic staff of most private universities in Uganda have remained low. In the NCHE’s
report of 2015/16 on the state of higher education in Uganda, it was reported that the productivity of PhD
academic staff in terms of publication, for instance, was less than 10 publications in over 20-year period per staff.
This was worrying since the private universities tend to enrol a large number of students comparable to the
number of academic staff that they employ. This scenario prompted the researchers to investigate the factors that
could be influencing the research productivity of the academic staff in these institutions; thus, the genesis of this
study.
Study objectives. This study was intended to explore whether organisational factors such as technological
progress, computer skills, research funding, and human resources were significant antecedents of academic
staff’s research productivity in chartered private universities in Uganda. Specifically, however, the study was
aimed at achieving the following research objectives:
i. To determine whether research funding is a significant antecedent of academic staff research
productivity;
ii. To establish whether technological progress is a significant antecedent of academic staff research
productivity;
iii. To find out whether possession of computer skills is a significant antecedent of academic staff research
productivity; and
iv. To determine whether human resources are significant antecedents of academic staff research
productivity.
2. Literature Review
2.1. Theoretical Review.This study was anchored on the theory oforganisational contingency that was developed
by Lawrence and Lorschin 1967. According to the theory, there is no single right method of doing anything; it is
the context that dictates the best approach to how anything can be done or accomplished. Therefore, since
research projects, in this case, are novel by definition, they require a different contingent approach on each
instance, simply because most variables have changed to some extent (Kureshi, 2013). Thus, no general
organisation principles exist to guide how many different things in a work organisation should be carried out -
including research (Matyusz, 2012). Therefore, in this study, the researcherstheorised that organisational
effectiveness is dependent on a fit of individual organisation’s specific factors and the higher the interaction of
structural dimensions of work design influence organisational adaptation to environment. This was because,
Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org
ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
Vol.11, No.18, 2020
96
according to the contingencytheory, the more organisation structures fit their respective environments more
coherently, the more they are likely to outperform those that do not (Leweling, 2007). Therefore, the researchers
conjectured that if specific organisational factors such as research funding, human and physical resources, and
technological progress interact with institutional environment, there will be increase in the research productivity
of the academic staff in the universities studied.
2.2 Review of related literature. Different scholars such as Hadjinicolaand Soteriou (2006), Hedjaziand
Behravan(2011), Kyaligonza(2015), Musiigeand Maassen(2015), Mugimu, Nakabugo and Katunguka (2013),
and Oyekan(2014) have all investigated the organizational factors that significantly relate with the research
productivity of university academic staff and they have all emerged with diverse, and at times, contradictory
findings. Bland, Center, Finstad, Risbey and Staples(2005)for instance tested the ability of individual,
institutional and leadership variables in influencing faculty research productivity using data from the University
of Minnesota Medical School - Twin Cities. Their regression results revealed that faculty productivity was
influenced more by institutional rather than personal characteristics. Hadjinicola and Soteriou (2006) on the
other hand investigated factors that promote the research productivity of the researchers in US Business schools.
Their findings revealed that three factors increased both the research productivity and the quality of the articles
published by the professors in the Business schools. These factors were: presence of a research centre, funding
received from external sources for research purposes and better library facilities. In another study, Hedjazi and
Behravan (2011) analyzed the relationship between individual, institutional and demographic characteristics on
one hand and the research productivity of agriculture faculty members all over Tehran Province on the other
hand and discovered that institutional characteristics, namely: network of communication with colleagues,
resources of facilities, corporate management and clear research objectives were significant predictors of the
agricultural faculty members’ research productivity. These studies were however slightly different with the
current study in two major ways. First, the earlier studieswere restricted to academic staff in a few faculties or
schools. The current study meanwhile was done across staff members of academic staff of different schools or
faculties. Second, the earlier studies were also virtually all done outside Africa. The current study on the other
hand was undertaken in private universities and in the context of a developing nation. The researchers
thereforebelievedthat there could be some difference in the findings on the current study with that of theearlier
ones;thus, the justification for this study.
Some other studies on the factors affecting the research productivity of academic staff in universities in
Africa had also been carried out by some scholars. Kyaligonza (2015) for instance investigatedthe factors that
influenced the research productivity of the academic staff in public universities in Uganda. His descriptive
results revealed that institutional factors had a moderate effect on the research productivity of the academic staff
in the universities studied. However, this study was basically focussed on public universities unlike the current
one. Further, Kyaligonza, Kimoga andNabayego (2015) also looked at the influence of funding on the research
productivity of academic staff in universities, again, in Uganda. Their study findings revealed that funding can
positively influence research productivity in universities and colleges. This finding was somehow corroborated
with that of Musiige and Maassen (2015) who explored the faculty perceptions and experiences with respect to
the factors that influence their research productivity at Makerere University, also found in Uganda. The findings
of the Makerere study revealed that organisational factors and funding had a major impact on the nature and
sustainability of research productivity. This kind of scenario was not very different with what Oyekan (2014)
reported in his study in which he examined the factors that determine the research productivity ofacademic staff
in Nigerian Universities. Indeed, with the use of correlational analysis, Oyekan reported that resource situation
factors such as physical, human and material resources have significant positive relationships with academic
staffs’ research productivity. It is thiskind of result and others mentioned above which the current study
intended to verify; thus, the needfor this investigation.
3. Method
3.1 Research Approach and Design. This study was conducted basing on the positivist research philosophy.
This was premised on the belief that the study variables such as research productivity could easily be measured.
As a result, using the quantitative approach would easily yield data that could answer the research questions.
Specifically, the study was conducted using the descriptive cross-sectional survey research design where data
were collected from a cross-section of academic staff at one point in time in order to avoid returning to the field
several times if the design was longitudinal in nature. The design was a survey because the researchers intended
to generalizethe findings from the sample to the entire target population of the study. Therefore, this design also
made it cheaper to collect data from the sampled population in order to understand the issues under investigation
for the entire study population.
3.2 Study Population and Sampling Procedure.The study targeted all the academic staff of the nine chartered
private universities in Uganda.However, data were collected from 210 academic staff drawn from four out of
nine chartered private universities in Uganda.This was a 40 percent coverage of the study population which was
Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org
ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
Vol.11, No.18, 2020
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well above the minimum 10 percent conventionally recommended in survey studies.
3.3 Data Collection.Data were collected with the useof a self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) which items
were adapted as follows: research productivity(from Abba&Mugizi, 2018); research funding (from Doh, Jang,
Kang &Han, 2018); technological progress (from Bruner, Kumar &Heppner, 2007);computer skills (from Boot
et al., 2013), and human resources (from Vidotto, Ferenhof, Selig &Bastos, 2017). The items were generally
close-ended and based on a five-point Likert scale.
3.4 Data Management and Analysis.After data collection, theresearchers coded and enteredthe data into the
computer using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) program. Thereafter, the data were analyzed
with the use of assorted descriptive and inferential statistical techniques including means, standard deviations,
Pearson correlation and regression analyses. The results of the study are presented in the next section.
4. Results
4.1 Background characteristics. This section presents the background characteristics of the study respondents
which were looked at in terms of the sex, age, marital status, highest academic qualification, and the current
professional rank of the individual study participants. The results on the distribution of respondents by their
background characteristics are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Distribution of Respondents by Background Characteristics
Characteristic
Attributes
Frequency
Percent
Sex Male
Female
Total
126
84
210
60.00
40.00
100.00
Age group Less 30 years
30 – 40 years
41 – 50 years
Above 50 years
Total
34
31
47
98
210
16.19
14.76
22.38
46.67
100.00
Marital Status Single/Unmarried
Married
Widowed
Divorced/separated
Total
45
32
58
75
210
21.43
15.24
27.62
35.71
100.00
Highest Level of
Education
Bachelor's Degree
39
1
8.60
Master's Degree
151
71.90
Doctorate (PhD)
19
9.00
Others
1
0.50
Total
210
100.00
Current Professional
Rank
Assistant lecturers 3
Lecturers 176
Senior lecturers 22
Associate professors 9
Professors 0
Total
210
0.01
83.81
10.48
4.29
0.00
100.00
Terms of employment
Permanent staff
26
12.4
On contract
179
85.2
Other
5
2.4
Total
210
100.0
The results in Table 1 indicate that there were more male(60%) academic staff who participated in this
study than their female counterparts (40%). This was in agreement with the records of the National Council for
Higher Education (2018) which showed that the academic staff of Uganda’s universities was still generally male
dominated. The results also showed that the largest group of the study participants were above 40 years of age
(over 69%). This could be because those who retire from public universities in Uganda often end up being
employed by the private universities. The results also revealed that the majority of the study respondents were
lecturers (83.81%), holders of master’s degrees (71.9%) employed majorly on contract basis (85.2%). These
were also in line with the records of the NCHE (2018) which showed the dominance of those groups of academic
staff in Uganda’s universities.
4.2. Descriptive statistics on research productivity.In the study, research productivity was studied as a uni-
dimensional concept describing the authoring of a textbook(s), a book chapter(s), patenting and certifying an
invention(s), producing an occasional paper(s), authoring a journal article(s) or conference paper(s), and writing
Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org
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Vol.11, No.18, 2020
98
a technical report(s) or scientific peer-reviewed bulletin(s) within a given time period. Besides, research
productivity was also looked at in terms of publishing the different types of publications with local or
international publishers. Overall, the results on research productivity were as presented in Table 2.
Table 2:Descriptive statistics on the research productivity of academic staff
Items on Research Productivity
I have…in the last 2 years
Disagree (%)
Undecided (%)
Agree
(%)
Means
…authored a textbook(s)
57.20
30.00
12.80
1.43
…written a book chapter(s)
56.20
26.70
17.10
1.64
…c
o
-
authored a textbook(s)
22.40
34.80
42.80
2.13
…patented and
certified invention(s)
52.90
13.80
33.30
1.76
…produced an occasional paper(s)
43.40
10.50
46.10
1.94
…authored a journal article(s)
40.00
14.80
45.20
2.04
…written a technical report(s)
39.
10
16.20
44.70
1.98
…authored a scientific
bulletin(s)
51.90
13.30
34.80
1.79
…presented a paper at a local conference
40.50
11.40
48.10
2.01
…presented a paper at an international conference
51.40
13.80
34.80
1.81
…authored a working paper(s)
39.10
16
.70
44.20
1.97
N=210; Overall Mean = 1.87 and Standard = 0.53
The results in Table 2 revealed that the research productivity among the academic staff of the universities
studied is generally low - with an overall mean productivity of only 1.87 and a standard deviation of 0.53 (out of
a maximum of 3 that correspond to Agree). Besides, the results even indicate that the productivity of the
different types of research publications are low (below 2 that corresponds to Undecided) - except for the co-
authorship of textbooks (mean=2.13), publication of journal articles (mean=2.04), and the presentation of
scientific papers at local conferences (mean=2.01). The low research productivity (as indicated in Table 1)may
account for having a large number of academic staff at the lower ranks in theseuniversities.
4.3Descriptive statistics on organizationalfactors.In the study, organizational factors were the independent
variables and they were looked at in terms of research funding, technological progress, possession of computer
skills andhuman resources. With the use of adapted tools, these variables were measured using a three-point
Likert scale ranging from disagree (coded as 1) to agree (coded as 3). The descriptive results on organizational
factors are presented in tables 3(a) to (d).
Table 3(a): Descriptive Statistics on Research Funding
A.
tems on Research Funding
I have…in the last two years
Disagree
(%)
Undecided
(%)
Agree
(%)
Means
I have received research funding from Uganda
government…
67.10 6.70 26.20 2.35
I
have received research funding from
local government…
22.40
30.50
47.10
2.22
I have received research funding from
a private firm…
41.50
17.10
41.40
1.97
I have received research funding from a
foreign country…
35.20
14.80
50.00
2.08
I have received res
earch funding from
this University…
42.80
14.30
42.90
1.96
I have received research funding from
another university…
26.10
14.8
49.10
2.24
I have received research funding from my personal
savings…
35.20 16.70 48.10 2.03
Overall Mean and Standard Deviations for research funding: Mean = 2.01; SD = 0.59
The results in Table 3(a) revealed that research funding among the academic staff of the universities studied
is average - with an overall mean research funding of 2.01 and a standard deviation of 0.59 (out of a maximum
of 3 that correspond to Agree). Besides, the results even indicate that funding from different sources is just
average (around 2 that corresponds to Undecided) - except for the funding from the university (1.96) and private
firms (1.97) that are rather low. This low research funding could account for the low research productivity
among academic staff in private universities in Uganda.
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Table 3(b): Descriptive statistics on Technological Progress
B.
tems on Technological Progress
Disagree
(%)
Undecided
(%)
Agree
(%)
Means
This University has acquired sufficient ICT devices
35.20
18.60
46.20
2.26
When new ICT innovations occur, this university
immediately acquires it
41.90 18.10 40.00 2.01
This University benefits from the acquisition of the
latest ICT gadgets
43.80 19.50 36.70 2.11
This University is usually ahead of others when it
comes to buying new tech devices
42.20 17.10 40.70 2.00
This University try to own the latest technological
prod
ucts
49.00 14.80 36.20 1.80
Acquiring new technological devices is very important
to this university
40.50
18.60
40.00
1.93
I consider this University to be more innovative than
other universities
41.40 19.50 39.10 2.23
This University is willing to buy new high ICT devices
even to repla
ce existing ones
34.80
21.40
43.80
2.24
Overall mean and Standard deviations for technological progress: Mean = 2.07; SD = 0.58.
The results in Table 3(c) showed that the technological progress in the private universities studied were
moderately high - with an overall mean of 2.07 and a standard deviation of 0.58. Besides, the results showed that
most of the elements of technological progress scored above 2 - which correspond to undecided. This implied
that technological progress could be favourably influencing the research productivity of the academic staff in
private universities in Uganda.
Table 3(c): Descriptive statistics on possession of Computer Skills
C.
Computer Skills
Disagree
(%)
Undecided
(%)
Agree
(%)
Means
I can send and open an e
-
mail v
ery easily
9.50
0.50
90.00
2.75
I easily use search engines (e.g., Google)
28.60
11.40
60.00
2.27
I easily find information
resources on the Internet
26.70
11.90
61.40
2.27
Finding information of interest on the Internet is easy
for me
31.90 14.80 53.30 2.16
Chat using instant messaging on the computer
33.80
15.70
50.50
2.07
I can easily chat on the computer using internet chat
rooms
41.90 15.70 42.40 1.95
I can easily post messages to the Internet (e.g., to
blogs, Facebook)
27.60 8.10 64.30 2.30
I U
se a computer keyboard to type documents
25.20
10.50
64.30
2.33
I ably use a computer mouse
28.10
10.0
61.90
2.33
Overall Mean and Standard Deviations for Computer skills: Mean = 2.27; SD=0.52
The results in Table 3(c) revealed that the academic staff possessed moderately adequate computer skills -
with an overall mean possession of computer skills of 2.27 and a standard deviation of 0.52. Besides, the results
showed that the respondents moderately possessed all the relevant skills for computer use in research (with
scores around 2 that corresponds to Undecided) - except for the item “I can easily chat on the computer using
internet chat rooms” (mean=1.95) – implying that the possession of computer skills could also be favourably
influencing the research productivity of the academic staff in private universities in Uganda.
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Table 3(d): Descriptive Statistics on Human Resources
D.
uman resources
Disagree
(%)
Undecided
(%)
Agree
(%)
Means
This University employees staff thatconstantly do their
research activi
ties
24.70 6.70 68.60 2.40
Academic staff in this University hasresearch skills
23.80
6.20
70.00
2.42
This university evaluates academicstaff research
activities
29.10 5.20 65.70 2.30
In this university staff learn fromeach other
24.30
4.30
71.40
2.40
In this university staff competence isat a suitable level
30.10
3.30
66.60
2.29
A program is in placeto train the staff that replaces the
one who leaves
29.20 5.70 65.10 2.27
This university supports staff to upgrade their skills
and qualifications
34.80 3.80 61.40 2.19
The lecturers in this University are intelligent (gifted)
45.20
0.50
54.30
2.09
Lecturers of this University are nationally considered
the best around
40.00 1.90 58.10 2.19
Overall mean and Standard deviations for human resources: Mean = 2.28; SD = 0.60.
Finally, the results in Table 3(d) showed that the human resources in the private universities studied were
moderately sufficient - with an overall mean of 2.28 and a standard deviation of 0.60. Besides, the results
showed that none of the elements of human resources scored less than 2 - which correspond to undecided. This
implied that human resources could also be favourably influencing the research productivity of the academic
staff in private universities in Uganda.
4.4. Test of Research Hypotheses. In this study, four null research hypotheses were formulated to be tested.
These hypotheses where stated as follows:H
01
: Research funding is not a significant antecedent of academic staff
research productivity; H
02
: Technological progress is not a significant antecedent of academic staff research
productivity; H
03
: Computer skills are not significant antecedents of academic staff research productivity; and
H
04
: Human resources are not significant antecedents of research productivity.To perform the tests of the
hypotheses, the researchers used the multiple linear regression analysis technique. This technique of data
analysis does not only show the amount by which an independent variable such as research funding, technical
progress or human resources individually affects the dependent variable; in this case, research productivity, but
collectively too. It was therefore considered an appropriate technique for testing the hypotheses because it would
determine both the individual and compound effects of the organizational factorsstudied on the research
productivity of academic staff. The results of the hypothesis tests are presented in Table 4.
Table 4: Regression analysis results on organisational factors vis-a-visresearch productivity
Organisati
onal Factors
Standardised Coefficients [Beta (β)]
Significance (P)
Research Funding
-
0.003
0.965
Technological Progress
0.425
0.000
Computer Skills
0.329
0.000
Human Resources
Adjusted R
2
= 0.375
F = 32.186, p = 0.000
0.073 0.186
a. Dependent variable: Research productivity
b. Independent variables: research funding, Technological progress, Computer skills, and Human
resources
The results in Table 4 show that, overall, organisational factors are significant antecedents of research
productivity because 37.5 percent variation in research productivity is accounted for by organisational factors
(see adjusted R
2
= 0.375). Additionally, the results also indicate that technological progress (β = 0.425, p = 0.000
< 0.05) and possession of computer skills (β = 0.329, p = 0.000 < 0.05) are positive and significant antecedents
of research productivity, while research funding (β = -0.003, p = 0.965 < 0.05) and human resources (β = 0.073,
p = 0.186 < 0.05) are respectively negative and positive but non-significant antecedents of academic staff’s
research productivity in the universities studied.This implies that the null hypotheses on whether technological
progress (H
02
) and possession of computer skills(H
03
) are not significant antecedents of research productivity
were rejected while their alternative hypotheses accepted. On the other hand, the null hypotheses on research
funding(H
01
) and human resources (H
04
) were accepted while their alternative hypotheses rejected.
5. Discussion
In this study, there were four key findings. First, the study revealed that the research productivity of the
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academic staff in the private universities studied was still low(Overall Mean = 1.87 and Standard = 0.53) and the
organisational factors were moderate. This finding that the academic staff’s research productivity was lowwas in
consonant with the work of earlier scholars such as Kyaligonza, Kimoga and Nabayego (2015), Musiige and
Maassen (2015), Okendo (2018) and Oyekan (2014) who investigated the issues of research productivity among
academic staff in different African universities. Oyekan for instance observed that the research productivity of
the academic staff in Nigerian universities was lowdue to different resource constraints. These constraints were
part and parcel of the organisational factors that influence research productivity. This scenario was not any
different with case of the private universities in Uganda that are equally constrained in terms of finances, and
human and physical resources.
Second, the study revealed that technological progress (β = 0.425, p = 0.000 < 0.05) andpossession of
computer skills (β = 0.329, p = 0.000 < 0.05) were positive and significant antecedents of research
productivity.This means that these factorssignificantlyinfluencethe research productively of the academic staff.
These findings were alsoin consonant with the findings of some earlier studies. For instance, Okiki (2013) and
Adetomiwa and Okwilagwe (2018) had observed thatthe use of modern technologies and the possession of
computer skills were significant antecedents of academic staff’s research productivity. They, in fact, pointed out
that having awareness and increased utilisation of electronic databases tend to enhance the research productivity
of researchers. Similarly, Bhukuvhani, Chiparausha and Zuvalinyenga (2012) also reported that skills obtained in
the training on use of electronic information resources by lecturers positively affected their work - including
research.
Third, the study also revealed that research funding (β = -0.003, p = 0.965 < 0.05) has a negativebut non-
significant influence of the research productivity of academic staff in the universities studied. This was rather
strange - even to the researchers - because ordinarily, there should have occurred a positive correlation between
research funding and the research productivity of academic staff. This negative correlation could have arisen
from the fact that even where there has occurred increase in research funding, other factors such as lack of
research knowledge and teaching loadcould have limited the increase in research productivity of the academic
staff. As a result, this finding was contradictory to the findings of earlier studies which indicated that research
funding generally has a positive and significant influence on research productivity of academic staff (see
Kyaligonza, Kimoga&Nabayego, 2015; Musiige&Maassen, 2015; Okendo, 2018). In fact, Alzahrani (2011) and
Sulo, Kendagor, Kosgei, Tuitoek and Chelangat (2012) reported that there exists a positive correlation between
research funds that academic staff received and the number of researches produced. Therefore, the low
correlation between research funding and research productivity could have arisen from other challenges affecting
the research process in private universities in Uganda.
Finally, the study revealed that human resources (β = 0.073, p = 0.186 < 0.05) have positive but non-
significant influenceon the research productivity of the academic staff. This finding was in agreement with the
finding of several earlier studies including that of Bland et al. (2005) which looked at the effect of individual
factors on the academic staff’s research productivity. In this study, the influence of human resources on research
productivity was weak probably because the Likert scale used in measuring research productivity was not able to
yield the exact measure rate of research productivity.
6. Conclusion and Recommendations
Drawing from the discussion above, it can be concluded that organisational factors, overall, are significant
antecedents of academic staff’s research productivity. In that regard, favourable organizational factors are
essential for raising the level of research productivity of academic staff. The factors, however, are not equally
important. Factors like technological progress and computer skills account for the difference in the research
productivity among academic staff in private universities in Uganda much more that funding and human
resources. Therefore, it is recommended that the management of universities should place different emphasis on
the different factors that influence the research function in order to create a conducive research environment for
their staff.
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