Impact of leadership styles on employee engagement and conflict management practices in Nigerian universities

Babatunde Akanji
Elizade University, Nigeria
Tonbara Mordi
University of Worcester, United Kingdom
Hakeem Ajonbadi and Bashir Mojeed-Sanni
Higher Colleges of Technology, United Arab Emirates

This study explores how leadership styles impact work engagement and conflict management practices in Nigerian universities. It utilises a qualitative research design, focusing on 40 semi-structured interviews with senior university management staff comprising Vice-Chancellors, Registrars, Bursars, Deans of Faculties and senior non-teaching staff (i.e. chief librarians) of some selected institutions. The findings reveal cultural values shaping the choice of authoritative, transactional and transformational leadership styles were commonly adopted. Results further indicate how Nigerian academic institutions and processes are considered as being overly bureaucratic and transactional. Additionally, some context-specific norms were found to influence leadership functions impacting work engagement and conflict management practices. In summary, the study suggests practice and policy implications that can enhance the direction and development of effective leadership in this context.
[ PDF full text for this article ]

Authors: Dr Babatunde Akanji is a legal practitioner and lecturer in human resource management. He obtained his first degree in law and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2001. In 2008, he obtained a Masters in Management from Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, and a PhD in human resource management in 2015 from the University of Wales, UK. Email: babatunde.akanji@elizadeuniversity.edu.ng Dr Tonbara Mordi is a graduate of University of Leeds, UK and a qualified UK solicitor. She lectures in business law, European Union topics, and human rights law at the University of Worcester Business School, UK. She is a consummate corporate trainer and legal consultant and a key speaker at national and international forums in her area of expertise. Email: t.mordi@worc.ac.uk Dr Hakeem Ajonbadi recently completed his doctoral studies in human resource management and employment relations and currently lectures and researches on comparative human resource management. He has authored several publications which have appeared in international journals. Email: ajons2003@yahoo.co.uk Dr Bashir Mojeed-Sanni recently completed his doctoral studies in human resource management and employment relations at the University of Wales. He lectures at the Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Email: mojeed_sanni@yahoo.com Please cite as: Akanji, B., Mordi, T., Ajonbadi, H. & Mojeed-Sanni, B. (2018). Impact of leadership styles on employee engagement and conflict management practices in Nigerian universities. Issues in Educational Research, 28(4), 830-848. http://www.iier.org.au/iier28/akanji.pdf