Aligning organizational culture to enhance managerial effectiveness of academic leaders: an interface for employee engagement and retention

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of organizational culture on managerial effectiveness of academic leaders to enhance employee engagement and retention in higher educational institutions. This study utilizes “Social Exchange Theory (SET)” as a theoretical lens to clarify the phenomena. Design/methodology/approach This study uses an exploratory cum descriptive research design. Data collected via a structured questionnaire was analyzed and interpreted through structural equation modeling. Findings Organizational culture is found to have a significantly positive impact on managerial effectiveness. The findings also delineate a positive influence of managerial effectiveness on employee engagement and employee retention. Research limitations/implications This study provides insights into the cultural neuances and subtleties of how organizational culture influences managerial effectiveness of institutional leaders. This has a direct bearing upon work engagement and retention of employees. Therefore if leaders focus on organizational culture they will succeed in creating a productive and healthier workplace for their employees. This study is also addressing the strategic concern of sustainability in higher educational institutions through employee engagement and retention. Originality/value It is an original work based on primary data to bridge the research gap concerning the prevalent OC shaping ME in Indian higher educational context. It also enriches understanding about alignment of cultural dimensions towards achieving work engagement, and retention of employees through managerial effectiveness of leaders in higher education institutions.