Unlocking faculty members' commitment: how work engagement mediates human resources practices

Purpose In the last few decades, business and academic organizations have been striving to understand the reasons and motivations that shape employees' behavior and attitudes, ultimately impacting organizational outcomes. Nevertheless, understanding these relationships within higher education institutions (HEIs) remains an outstanding task. This research aims to understand and explain the mediating role of faculty members' engagement in the relationship between their perceptions of human resource practices and affective commitment, within the framework of Job Demand-Resource Theory (JDR) and Social Exchange Theory (SET). Design/methodology/approach The study tested its hypotheses using Structural Equation Modeling. Data were collected from 311 full-time professors with more than one year of tenure whose primary role was teaching at private universities in Peru ranked among the top 150 universities in Latin America according to the QS Latin America 2025 Ranking. The approach was quantitative, confirmatory, non-experimental, and cross-sectional. Findings The results highlight the importance of implementing effective human resource (HR) practices that positively influence faculty members and promote higher levels of engagement and affective commitment. Current practices often prioritize publication metrics over academics' mental health and overall well-being. The study's findings may also offer valuable insights for people management in other business sectors. Originality/value This research advances HR management theory by elucidating the mechanisms through which HR practices influence engagement and commitment within the idiosyncratic, high-pressure context of HEIs, offering novel insights into the efficacy of HR interventions amidst academic role multiplicity.