Mediating role of staff engagement in staff performance among academics of universities: bootstrapping approach

Purpose The purpose of this research is to assess how full-time tenured academic staff promotion practices (SPP) in Malaysian private universities (MPUs) influence academic staff engagement (SE) and academic staff performance (SP). Design/methodology/approach The research used quantitative and descriptive methods, focusing on MPUs' academic staff as the unit of analysis. Sampling involved simple random and stratified techniques, with 314 academic personnel surveyed. Participant data was collected through a questionnaire, and study hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) via a bootstrapping approach. Findings The findings show that SE somewhat mediates the connection between SPP and SP and that SPP significantly influences SP. Practical implications This study emphasizes the importance of impartiality and transparency within university administration when promoting academic staff. Universities should adopt modern strategies and approaches for advancing their employees to higher positions, doing so will motivate employees to fully invest in their work, leading to sustained high-performance levels. Originality/value This research has substantially improved the understanding and the practical utilization of literature about SP, SPP and SE. This improvement can potentially facilitate the development of models, theories, research initiatives, and practical strategies geared toward enhancing staff efficiency.