Does participative decision making affect lecturer performance in higher education?

Purpose The relationship between participation and job performance has captured the interest of not only business researchers but also education researchers. However, the topic has not gained significant attention in the educational management research arena. The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the impact of participation in decision making on lecturer performance in higher education. Design/methodology/approach Mail survey was used to collect the data. Open‐ended questionnaires were distributed to the lecturers in Yogyakarta Province in Indonesia. A total of 347 usable questionnaires were obtained which is about 46.3 percent rate of return. Factor analysis was used to identify the constructs. All Cronbach's alpha values are more than 0.7 and factor loading is more than 0.50. Regression analysis was employed to test research hypotheses. In addition, t ‐test and ANOVA test were also conducted to investigate the different impact of demographic data on the job performance of the lecturers. Findings This study finds that participative decision making and academic rank have significant effect on lecturer performance. This finding implies that involving lecturers in educational decision making would be useful to improve not only lecturer performance but also organizational performance. In addition, among all demographic variables taken into account, only academic rank significantly affects lecturer performance. Research limitations/implications This study assumes constant the reward system and performance appraisal factors that might affect the relationship between participation and lecturer performance. The research findings urge the Indonesian government to immediately set an order of a participative decision making system to facilitate the realization of a better quality of Indonesian higher education performance. Originality/value Participative decision making is a tool to align an organization's vision and a lecturer's objectives. The higher the level of lecturer's participation in decision making the higher the lecturer's commitment to the organization's vision and the higher the lecturer's performance will be.