Abstract:
Universities contribute greatly to economic development of a country. However, they
experience scarcity of academic staff due to tremendous increase in student enrolment yet
little attention is given to attraction and retention of staff for sustainable performance.
This study sought to determine the relationship between talent management practices
(TMP), organization culture (OC) and sustainable organizational performance (SOP).
Specifically, the study sought to establish the relationships between talent attraction
practice and SOP, talent development practice and SOP, talent retention practice and
SOP, career management practice and SOP, succession planning practice and SOP, and
the moderating influence of OC on the relationship between TMP and SOP. The study
was anchored on Maslow Hierarchy of Needs theory, Herzberg’s Two Factor theory,
Social Learning theory, Self-Concept theory and Systems Approach theory. A positivist
paradigm guided the study. Correlational and retrospective longitudinal designs were
adopted. Target population comprised of 51 Registrars or designates purposively
selected from all 51 Chartered Universities as at 2020. Content and face validity were
ascertained through a panel of professional experts. Approvals were sought from relevant
authorities before data collection. The participants were assured of anonymity and
confidentiality. Primary and secondary data was collected using questionnaires with the
help of research assistants and document review guide respectively. The response rate
was 90.2%. Pilot study was conducted on 5 Chartered Universities and reliability
confirmed by Cronbach Alpha coefficient of 0.960. Collected data was analyzed
descriptively and inferentially aided by SPSS software version 24. Inferential analysis
was adopted through simple, multiple and moderated multiple regression models. The
multiple regression findings revealed varied results with SOP; TAP (β=0.342, p=0.000),
TDP (β=0.128, p=0.118), TRP (β=0.035, p=0.696), CMP (β=-0.203, p=0.005) and SPP
(β=0.134, p=0.020). TAP and SPP found positive significant influence on SOP, CMP
found negative significant influence on SOP while TDP and TRP found positive
insignificant influence on SOP. The R value was 0.831 showing a strong positive
correlation, R2= 0.691 implied that 69.1% of variation in SOP was explained by TMP and
the remaining 30.9% was attributed to other factors outside the model. The model was
significant as shown by (p=0.000). The moderated multiple regression results found that
OC was a significant moderator; Int.(TMP*OC) = [R2
=0.703, R2Δ=0.012, β=0.197 and
p=0.005]. The R2Δ=0.012 implied 1.2% variation in SOP explained by interaction
between TMP and OC hence conclusion that moderator strengthens the relationship
between TMP and SOP. The study further concluded that TMP contribute to SOP under
positive OC. From the conclusion that TMP is a critical contributor to SOP and cannot be
ignored, the study recommended development of effective policies for TMP in order to
ensure the right talent in place for the right jobs at the right time. The study further
recommended creation of supportive positive institutional culture for adoption and
implementation of TMP for sustainable performance of Universities in Kenya.
