A leadership competency framework for the empowerment of employees and the enhancement of organisational citizenship behaviour in public universities in Ghana

Abstract

Background: Leadership selection in public universities often prioritizes academic research, teaching experience, and community engagement while neglecting critical factors like the ability to motivate and empower employees. This oversight has contributed to leadership styles that lack robust management practices and fail to encourage innovative thinking or employee autonomy. Empowering employees through autonomy and participation in decision-making fosters organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), where employees voluntarily perform tasks beyond their formal roles to support coworkers and the organisation. Implementing a leadership competency framework could guide public universities in selecting and developing leaders who can effectively promote empowerment and OCB, ultimately enhancing institutional success. Aim: the study aimed to (1) investigate the relationship between the constructs of leadership, empowerment, and OCB; (2) determine whether employees differ significantly regarding leadership, empowerment, and OCB attributes in terms of their age, gender, job level and marital status; (3) examine the moderating and mediating role of employee empowerment on the relationship between leadership and OCB and; (4) develop a leadership competency framework for the selection and development of academic leaders. Methods: A quantitative research design was adopted for this study. A self-developed web-based survey was used as the measuring instrument. Study participants were selected from the total population of four public universities in Ghana, using the proportionate stratified probability sampling technique a statistical formula for determining the sample size from a known population. The total population of staff from the four universities was 10,890. The sample consisted of 447 participants from management, academic and non-academic staff. Descriptive, correlational and inferential statistics were applied in this study Results: The total participants of 447 comprised 60.6% males and 39.4% females. Among the participants, 33.1% had up to a postgraduate level qualification, while 44.5% were senior staff in the public universities. Exploratory factor analysis identified three Leadership factors (Supervision and staff development, Interpersonal relationships, and Vision and goal orientation); three Employee empowerment factors (Meaningfulness, Autonomy, and Competence); and four OCB factors (Altruism, Sportsmanship, Conscientiousness, and Civic virtue). In the relationship between empowerment and OCB, the results revealed that the empowerment factors of meaningfulness and competence had positive and significant relationships with all four factors of OCB. However, positive and significant relationships concerning autonomy and decision-making with civic virtue and conscientiousness were established. Regarding the relationship between leadership and empowerment, the results indicated that supervision and staff development had a positive and significant relationship with all the dimensions of empowerment. However, interpersonal relationships only had a positive and significant relationship with autonomy/decision. Vision and goal orientation had a positive and significant relationship with meaningfulness and a negative relationship with autonomy/decision-making. Further, the structural equation modelling analysis revealed that autonomy/decision-making significantly moderates the relationship between interpersonal relationships (IR) and conscientiousness. In contrast, meaningfulness significantly moderates the relationship between vision and goals (VGO) and altruism. The results on the mediating role of empowerment revealed that empowerment significantly mediated the relationship between leadership and OCB. There was no statistically significant difference in the views of males and females on the dimensions of leadership, empowerment and OCB. The study found significant age-related differences in perceptions of leadership dimensions such as supervision and staff development, interpersonal relationships, and vision and goal orientation, with respondents aged 32–35 placing less emphasis on leadership's role in empowerment and OCB than those below 32 or above 35 years. However, no statistically significant differences among age groups regarding employee empowerment and OCB dimensions were observed. The study revealed significant differences in perceptions of employee empowerment and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) based on educational levels, with postgraduates valuing competence and autonomy/decision-making more than others and most likely to exhibit civic virtue behaviours. However, no significant differences were observed in the perception of leadership across educational levels, as all respondents acknowledged its importance in promoting empowerment and OCB. Significant differences were observed between job levels and empowerment dimensions, with senior administrative staff placing higher value on meaningfulness, autonomy/decision-making, and competence. Similarly, senior administrative staff were most likely to exhibit organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) dimensions such as altruism, sportsmanship, conscientiousness, and civic virtue, while no significant differences were found between job levels regarding perceptions of leadership. Conclusion: The study's findings provide actionable insights for leaders and decision-makers within public universities in Ghana, encouraging them to communicate a compelling vision, empower employees, adapt leadership approaches to demographic differences, and recognise and support OCB across all job levels. These strategies can foster a more engaged, motivated, and committed workforce, ultimately contributing to the success and effectiveness of public universities.