Building a Culture of Innovation in Human Resource Management and Business Educators’ Job Commitment in Universities in South-South Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined Building a Culture of Innovation in Human Resource Management and Business Educators’ Job Commitment in Universities in South-South Nigeria. The study was guided by three specific objectives, three research questions and three null hypotheses tested at the 0.05 level of significance. A correlational research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised 309 Business Educators in eleven Federal and State universities offering Business Education programmes in South-South Nigeria. Since the population was manageable, a census (total enumeration) technique was adopted. Data were collected using two researcher-developed instruments titled Building a Culture of Innovation Questionnaire (BCIQ) and Human Resource Management for Business Educators’ Job Commitment Questionnaire (HRMBEJCQ). The instruments were validated by three experts, comprising two specialists in Business Education and one specialist in Measurement and Evaluation. Reliability was established using the test–retest method, with Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) yielding reliability coefficients of 0.73 and 0.78. A total of 309 copies of the questionnaire were administered, of which 295 were retrieved and found suitable for analysis, representing a 95.47% retrieval rate. Data were analyzed using PPMCC to answer the research questions, while the hypotheses were tested using t-transformation of the correlation coefficients at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that training innovation (r = .72), performance recognition (r = .68) and participatory decision-making (r = .74) each had a high positive and significant relationship with Business Educators’ job commitment in universities in South-South Nigeria. The study concluded that building a culture of innovation in Human Resource Management through training innovation, performance recognition and participatory decision-making is associated with stronger job commitment among Business Educators. It was recommended, among others, that university management should institutionalize continuous and needs-based training, establish fair and transparent performance recognition systems, and actively involve Business Educators in institutional decision-making processes to strengthen their commitment to university goals.