Does the Institutional Type Matter for Leadership, Trust, and Faculty Performance in Public and Private Zambian Universities?

Abstract

This study explores the structural and relational mechanisms linking leadership, trust, and employee performance within public and private higher education institutions (HEIs) in Zambia. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory and the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) framework, data were gathered from a cross-sectional survey of 276 academic staff across 43 participating HEIs. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was deployed to evaluate the relationships among perceived leader trustworthiness (ability, benevolence, and integrity), dual-target trust (individual and organizational), and composite work outcomes (commitment, engagement, productivity, and effectiveness). The structural model indicates that leadership is a highly significant predictor of both trust and performance, with dual-target trust acting as a vital partial mediator. Crucially, a Partial Least Squares Multi-Group Analysis (PLS-MGA) revealed a significant contextual divergence between institutional types: the positive effect of leadership on trust is significantly stronger within private Zambian HEIs than in public ones, whereas the downstream pathways linking trust to performance remain structurally invariant. These findings demonstrate that while trust serves as a universal engine for optimizing academic outcomes across all universities, private-sector faculty exhibit heightened psychological sensitivity to leaders’ behavior due to the precarious, market-driven nature of private contracts. The study contributes to the limited literature on organizational behavior in African higher education and provides actionable, governance-sensitive recommendations for university councils, policymakers, and institutional leaders.