FROM MOTIVATION TO INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENT: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PROFESSIONAL FULFILLMENT AMONG MANAGEMENT ACADEMICIANS

The operational effectiveness of universities now depends on the dedication and professional engagement of their teaching staff.Academicians prepare future business leaders through their work in management education therefore it is essential to understand the factors that lead to their professional satisfaction and commitment to their organization.The study investigates how motivational factors affect institutional commitment among management academicians through their work dedication as a mediating factor.Faculty members are expected to achieve higher job satisfaction because they will receive acknowledgment and professional development opportunities and academic freedom and a pleasant work environment.The institution will gain from their professional fulfillment because it will lead to increased dedication from them.The study developed a framework that demonstrates how two well-established theories of work motivation and organizational commitment interact with work-related variables.A quantitative research design will be used to examine how different variables in the study relate to each other.The researchers will adopt Structural Equation Modeling to examine the direct effects and mediation effects between the variables.The study enhances knowledge about how academic staff should be managed by showing that professional fulfillment leads to increased commitment from management academicians. PurposeThe research investigates how motivational factors affect management professors commitment to their academic institutions.The study examines how professional fulfillment acts as a mediator between three motivational drivers and faculty members institutional commitment which includes recognition and institutional support and professional development opportunities.The study uses motivation theory and organizational commitment literature to investigate how psychological processes help academic professionals develop stronger institutional commitment to their work. Design/methodology/approachThe study uses quantitative research methods to study how motivational factors and professional fulfillment and institutional commitment relate to each other for management faculty members who work in higher education institutions.The research team collected primary data through a structured questionnaire which they distributed to faculty members from universities and autonomous colleges and business schools.The study used a five-point Likert scale to measure responses.The research team used purposive sampling methods to choose their study participants.The researchers used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze data which included confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and reliability testing and mediation analysis for testing the conceptual framework.The researchers used these methods to evaluate the proposed conceptual framework and test the hypothesized relationships among the constructs. FindingsThe research establishes that motivational forces drive management academicians to achieve their professional goals while they demonstrate loyalty to their institutions.The institutional support together with recognition and professional development opportunities enables academicians to achieve their professional goals.The findings demonstrate that professional fulfillment leads to increased institutional commitment.Structural Equation Modeling establishes that professional fulfillment serves as a partial mediator between motivational factors and institutional commitment.The research demonstrates that higher education institutions who implement motivational practices will achieve two results because they will increase faculty commitment and strengthen academicians' professional fulfillment and academic purpose. Research limitations/implicationsThe study uses a cross-sectional design which prevents researchers from studying changes in motivation and professional fulfillment and institutional commitment throughout time.The research focuses specifically on