Challenges impacting performance management implementation in public universities

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify the challenges impacting performance management implementation (PMI) in public universities in Uganda. Design/methodology/approach - The philosophy underpinning this study was the pragmatic world view. A mixed methods approach was adopted. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used. The phenomenology strategy through interviews conducted with purposively selected top administrators of a selected public university; and a cross‐sectional survey strategy administered to academic staff in four public universities, using a disproportionate stratified random sampling technique, were applied. Findings - The findings reveal that the major challenges impacting PMI in universities in Uganda could be categorised as: lack of a formal performance management environment; limited employee engagement/communication problems; institutional systems and structural constraints; and institutional governance challenges. Among the enlisted challenges the specific items on which respondents had the highest level of agreement are: limited motivation and staff morale; limited and uneven cash flows; and poor physical infrastructure. Practical implications - Knowledge of the challenges impacting public universities allows managers to pay close attention to the critical challenges, thereby taking precautionary measures on how to minimize and overcome them. Originality/value - This study is an empirical contribution to the literature on institutional performance management, specifically with regard to challenges of PMI in public universities in Uganda.