Corporate brand ambassadorship and motivation of academic staff of universities in Imo State, Nigeria

The study examined corporate brand ambassadorship and motivation of academic staff of universities in Imo State, Nigeria. It specifically focused on the influence of corporate brand ambassadorship on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of academic staff of universities as well as the gender variation in the academic staff response. A descriptive survey research design was adopted in the study. The population of the study comprised the 2,986 (two thousand nine hundred and eighty six) academic staff of the four public universities in Imo State. From the population of the study, 353 (three hundred and fifty three) academic staff were sampled for the study. The sample size was determined with Taro Yamane formulae of sample size determination. Data was collected from the sampled respondents with the means of a structured questionnaire designed by the researchers. The questionnaire was administered through physical contact with the respondents. Data collected was analyzed with mean and z-test. Analysis of the data collected revealed that corporate brand ambassadorship influences intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of academic staff of universities in Imo State. It further revealed no significant difference in the mean ratings of male and female academic staff of the universities. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that, corporate organizations should extend the appointment of brand ambassadors to hard working lecturers in higher institutions of learning; government should make a policy that will make corporate organizations to always consider lecturers for the appointment of the position of brand ambassadors.