Factors influencing committee effectiveness in public higher education institutions: evidence from Ghana

Purpose: With the spate of growth in public and private institutions, higher education systems are also getting more complex, so the task of managing and monitoring the sector is becoming more specialized and demanding. Public higher education institutions (HEIs) operate through committees, and the effectiveness of the committees will determine whether the institutions will achieve their vision and mission. This study aims to identify the critical factors that contribute to committee effectiveness in HEIs in Ghana as well as the factors that constrain committee effectiveness in HEIs in Ghana. The present study sought to measure the contribution of trust, communication, roles, goals, relationships and mutual respect to committee effectiveness in HEIs. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 805 respondents were sampled from ten public universities in Ghana. All the respondents are part of statutory committees in their institutions. Team effectiveness survey by Azmy with Kwofie et al.’s survey for measuring effectiveness in teams was used for data collection and was analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis. Findings: The study found that mutual trust and effective communication significantly contribute to committee effectiveness in HEIs. It also exposed that committee roles, committee goals, committee relationship and committee leadership constrained committee effectiveness in HEIs. Research limitations/implications: This research is limited by the fact that only six team effectiveness factors were considered for the study when many others could have been considered. It also does not measure probable moderators or mediators that might have had some effect on the influence of the factors under consideration on committee effectiveness. Practical implications: This study will help managers of public universities to strengthen the factors considered in the committee to build solid, creative and productive committees and universities through team-building seminars and training workshops. It provides practical knowledge of factors that promote and those that hinder team effectiveness so that appropriate preventive measures can be taken to ensure team effectiveness in all committees. Originality/value: The study departs from research in the private sector corporate entities into a unique area of HEI governance. It should be of great value to the higher education governance discourse in Ghana and Africa. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.