American Journal of Management Vol. 25(3) 2025 59 The Impact of Organizational Culture on the Migration of Managers From Public to Private Chinonye Onwuchekwa The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how present and former public corporations managers describe organizational culture's influence on their intent to remain or leave public corporations in Nigeria as well as job satisfaction and current organizational culture. The researcher further explained the role of organizational cultural dimensions concerning retention rates, as perceived by former and current managers. Handy’s model of organizational culture was selected as the optimal theoretical foundation for this research. The primary research questions for the present study is: how do present and former managers of public corporations describe the organizational culture influence on intent to remain for public organization employees in Nigeria? The researcher used a qualitative descriptive study as it would aid in answering salient questions via semi structured interviews and focus group discussions to discover how present and former managers of public corporations describe the organizational culture influence on intent to remain for public organization employees in Nigeria. The sample included a total of 25, 10 for the interviews and 15 focus group participants. Thematic analysis was used to assess the transcripts, and four primary themes emerged: impact of culture, qualities of culture, employee qualities, and organizational values. Theoretical implications include that organizational culture in this context has an expanded influence on manager retention, and practical implications reveal the importance of establishing a solid organizational culture. Keywords: organizational culture, retention, intent to stay, public corporations INTRODUCTION The performance of public organizations in Nigeria is dwindling because of poor corporate governance, which is characterized by a culture of fraud, corruption, ineffectiveness, and poor leadership (Ajisafe, 2016; Akanji, 2017; Bamidele et al., 2016; Casimir et al., 2014; Chukwuemeka et al., 2015; Ehi, 2018; Markovska & Adams, 2015; Oduntan, 2017; Okonkwo& Smith, 2018; Pierce, 2016; Zuofa & Ochieng, 2014). The latest report from Corruption Perception Index (CPI) rated Nigeria as 27 out of 100 on the Index, which has remained unchanged since 2017 (Corruption Perception Index [CPI], 2019). The CPI rate for Nigeria is very low, as are those of most African countries. According to Hire (2016) and Evansa and Alenoghena (2015), the low CPI rate indicates civil services’ failure to serve the needs of the Nigerian people. In the current study, the researcher explored how present and former managers of public corporations describe how organizational culture influences intent to remain or turnover in southeastern Nigeria. This study represents a valuable contribution to the field of retention in public organizations in Nigeria because of the importance of understanding organizational leadership in the overall success of organizations (Casimir et al., 2014; Chukwuemeka et al., 2015). Because public organizations are vital to the very existence of 60 American Journal of Management Vol. 25(3) 2025 Nigerian society, an understanding of the role of organizational culture in the retention of managers in public organizations is critical to improving the quality of services provided by the public sector of Nigeria (Ezirim et al., 2017). Background of the Study Nigeria is home to 160 million people, representing 20% of the population of subSaharan Africa, making it Africa’s most populous country (Ezirim et al., 2017). Government expenditures are a substantial fraction of its GDP (26%). Moreover, it has weak institutions and widespread corrupt practices in public sector organizations, much like other developing countries. Public organizations in Nigeria are organizations that are set up, controlled, and financed by the government at the federal, state, and local levels, charged with the responsibility of providing essential services to the members of the public (Chukwuemeka et al., 2015; Rasul & Rogger, 2018). Public organizations include Nigerian railway organizations, Nigerian telecommunications, and the Nigerian Electrical Power Agency. The retention of effective leaders can be significant in facilitating positive change in public organizations in Nigeria (Solaja & Ogunola, 2016). The role of a good leader is indispensable in organization[s] that involves defining and directing of team towards corporate vision and communicating it to people as well as motivating, inspiring and empowering them to contribute to achieving organizational success. Leadership in work organization requires being strategically focused and applying behavioral techniques to build commitment 3 and attain the best performance from the workforce. (Solaja & Ogunola, 2016, p. 46) According to Chiedu et al. (2017), examining effective retention strategies is important to retain talented individuals who can contribute to the success of organizations. Within the context of public organizations in Nigeria, organizational culture is important to consider in retention strategies because of the widespread practice of fraud, corruption, ineffectiveness, and poor leadership (Chukwuemeka et al., 2015). The managers of public organizations who leave are likely to pursue careers in the private sector, which is believed to be more efficient and less corrupt (Ajayi& Joshua, 2015). Davis and Frolova (2016) explored the underlying reasons for the difficulty of retaining talented leaders in the African public sector by interviewing human resource professionals from 14 African countries. The reasons for attrition that these authors identified included corruption, a skilled labor shortage, low prioritization of talent management, and lack of funding (Davis &Frolova, 2016). Much talented leadership is lost whenever good managers leave for the private sector. Ampomah and Cudjo (2015) focused on the high turnover rate at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). Their target population comprised 38 senior and junior management staff, completing questionnaires. The results showed that out of the top six reasons employees leave organizations, work environment was ranked fifth (Ampomah & Cudjo, 2015); however, job dissatisfaction was ranked second, which was even higher than job security. The only lack of promotion was number one, with personal characteristics being number six. The negative effect of employees leaving, which has the greatest impact on organizations involves loss of skilled labor, difficulties in attracting 4 new staff, poor quality of work, and additional cost of replacement recruitment (Ampomah & Cudjo, 2015). Public organizations are different from private organizations in Nigeria because public organizations employ a majority of the workforce in the country (Ezirim et al., 2017). Compared to the private sector, in which profits are leaders’ primary concern, the public sector should be motivated by the people’s interest (Bozeman et al., 2017). The absence of literature on the role of organizational culture’s influence on managerial retention in public organizations was a gap in need of further examination (Ezirim et al., 2017). The results of the current study offer deeper insights into retention strategies and initiatives by exploring the retention factors in connection with dimensions of organizational culture of public organizations in Nigeria. The results of this study have potential societal and professional impacts beyond the local setting, as the findings may be transferable to other public organizations with similar problems. Problem Statement Prior to this study, it was not known how present and former managers of public corporations describe how organizational culture influences intent to remain or turnover. Specifically, it was not known what the perspectives of the managers about the low retention rates seen for managers in Nigeria’s public organizations—specifically, whether and how organizational culture influences manager retention in those public organizations (Chukwuemeka et al., 2015; Ezirim et al., 2017; Francis & Singh, 2016; Solaja & Ogunola, 2016) are. Through the current study, the researcher to explore this problem from the perspectives American Journal of Management Vol. 25(3) 2025 61 of individuals within these organizations. Addressing the problem is important to understand how the public sector of Nigeria can be improved by 5 understanding its organizational culture in connection with employee retention. This is an important issue in Nigeria; as Uche et al. (2015) and Chukwuemeka et al. (2015) have affirmed, the public sector provides numerous essential services, so most people are employed in that sector. The mention of future research about organizational culture in Nigeria is minimal, but there are some suggestions. Salisu et al. (2015) suggested that future research should take place in other states of Nigeria than Jiguwa and focus on areas different than their research such as salary, allowance, gratuity and pension, and retention. Francis and Singh (2016) recommend that future research focus on “employers’ or managers’ perceptions of job satisfaction amongst their employees (engineers) to obtain an overview of the perceptions of employers” (p. 132). Ogunyomi and Bruning (2015) suggested using study designs with multiple data sources concerning the performance of small and medium enterprises and human resource management. They also recommended that institutional corruption must be addressed. Furthermore, focusing on the retention of managers is important, given their influence on organizational culture and facilitating change (Solaja & Ogunola, 2016). Ajayi and Joshua (2015) stated that many managers leave the public organizations to pursue careers in the private sector because they believe that it is less corrupt, more efficient, and pays higher salaries. Knowledge of effective retention strategies, as well as which factors have affected managers in their decision to remain or turnover from a company, is important to retain talented individuals who can contribute to the organization’s success (Chiedu et al., 2017). This is particularly important for public organizations in Nigeria, as this sector is currently plagued by corruption and ineffective organizational culture (Chukwuemeka et al., 2015). Focusing on manager 6 retention is also important given their influence on organizational culture and facilitating change (Solaja & Ogunola, 2016). Addressing this problem is important to understand how the public sector of Nigeria can be improved through stronger or a different organizational culture, which includes its leaders. According to Solaja and Ogunola (2016), retaining effective leaders is a significant factor in creating positive change for the public organizations in Nigeria. Ezirim et al. (2017) identified the problem is in part due to limited literature on the role of organizational culture’s influence on managerial retention in public organizations. The current study was designed to address this issue. The population affected by this problem includes a large portion of the workforce in Nigeria, because workers are primarily employed through public organizations (Chukwuemeka et al., 2015). Accurate numbers about how many people work in the public service sector in Nigeria is most difficult. A bloated number of 1. 2 million has been reported—but ultimately debunked. Authorities have cited an ideal number as “about 870,000” (The Guardian, 2014, para. 1). The target population and unit of analysis in this study was the managers of public organizations in Nigeria. The goal of the current study was to understand the experiences of public organizational managers in relationship to the organizational culture and their intent to remain in the public sector because it was not known whether or how these two factors relate. The societal and professional impact of the study could be the improved leadership retention in public organizations in Nigeria—which, in turn, may improve the delivery of essential services. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how present and former managers of public corporations describe how organizational culture influences intent to remain or turnover public organizations in Nigeria. The phenomenon that the 7 researchers explored was the role of the dimensions of organizational culture as it relates to retention rates, as perceived and experienced by former and current managers. The selected methodology was a qualitative descriptive study because this approach illuminated the complexity of the problem and enabled the researcher to answer the research questions by using semi structured interviews and focus group discussions with managers. Data on a few demographic variables were collected, including participants’ age, gender, educational level, and income. The primary goal was to gather in-depth descriptions about the current culture, job satisfaction, and attrition intent from various individuals so that common themes can be developed. One of the interview questions asked participants to explain why they have decided to remain or turnover in the public sector. The researcher anticipated that organization culture may be at least one of those reasons. It is reasoned that this would lead to various themes and that the researcher would be able to distinguish commonalities and anomalies. Follow-up prompting questions were employed to go further into depth. The total sample size of 25 was broken down 62 American Journal of Management Vol. 25(3) 2025 into 15 former managers and 10 current managers. According to Yin (2013), this is an appropriate size for a qualitative descriptive study case because it is small enough to maintain a close relationship with participants and establish good communication, yet it also gathers descriptions from enough participants to understand the phenomenon well. Two sources were used to collect participant data: semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. This study contributes to the organization studies field by illuminating the relationship between corporate culture and retention levels of managers in public organizations in Nigeria. 8 Research Questions The study’s focus was exploring how present and former managers of public corporations describe how organizational culture influences intent to remain or turnover organizations in Nigeria. Organizational culture refers to the shared values and beliefs within an organization that lead to norms and predictable patterns of behaviors (Schein, 2004). This exploration was based on the perceptions and experiences of former and current managers in terms of their decisions to remain in the public sector in Nigeria or to leave. The general problem under study was the low retention rates seen for managers in Nigeria’s public organizations, specifically whether and how organizational culture influence manager retention in those public organizations. Uche et al. (2015) and Chukwuemeka et al. (2015) have declared that this is an important issue because the public sector provides numerous essential services and most people are employed in that sector. Schein (1992) described how managers can use organizational culture effectively to simplify the complex nature of corporate culture and initiate interventions (Sackmann, 1992). The other factor was the cultural dimensions that led to the decision to leave the public sector and job dissatisfaction. The concept foundation of cultural dimensions is taken primarily from Deshpandé and Farley’s (1999, 2004) work, which discusses some organizational culture dimensions and several types of organizational cultures. The following research questions were developed to guide this exploration of how present and former managers of Nigerian public corporations describe how organizational culture influences intent to remain or turnover: 9 RQ1. How do present and former managers of public corporations describe the organizational culture influence on intent to remain for public organization employees in Nigeria? RQ2. How do present and former managers of public corporations in Nigeria describe the influence of espoused values on their intent to remain or turnover? Advancing Scientific Knowledge and Significance of the Study The literature that defined the problem statement and the research questions lacked sufficient information on how present and former managers of public corporations describe how organizational culture influences intent to remain or turnover (Atiku et al., 2017; Davis &Frolova, 2016; Isa et al., 2016). The specific gap that the current researcher focused on was the lack of knowledge regarding how organizational culture influences the retention of managers in public organizations in Nigeria from the managers’ perspectives. Nigeria was selected as the study setting because public organizations employ most of the workforce in the country (Chukwuemeka et al., 2015; Ezirim et al., 2017). This gap was addressed in the current study by exploring how dimensions of organizational culture influence the retention of managers in public organizations in Nigeria using the experiences and perceptions of current and former managers in the public sector. These individuals’ insights contributed to the literature on organizational culture and retention because of the unique circumstances in public organizations in Nigeria, where organizational culture is mired by fraud, corruption, ineffectiveness, and poor leadership (Chukwuemeka et al., 2015). Speaking of public organizations such as the Nigerian Railway Corporation, the River Basin Authorities, Nigerian Electrical Power Agency, and Nigerian Telecommunications, Solaja and Ogunola (2016) indicated 10 that “These organizations are faced with numerous challenges (i.e., corruption, decaying facilities, improper use of resources and waste, nepotism, abuse and misuse of power and authority, etc.) which led to operational inefficiency” (p. 46). The findings of this study added to the literature concerning the application of Schein’s (1992) organizational culture theory in the context of Nigerian public organizations. Isa et al. (2016) conducted a study to examine the role of organizational culture on employees’ performance within the context of public sector organizations. Data were collected from 250 employees using a questionnaire based on a well-known and extensively used measurement tool developed by Wallach. Their results revealed that two of the three cultural dimensions identified in this study significantly influence an employee’s performance. This paper contributed to understanding American Journal of Management Vol. 25(3) 2025 63 organizational culture by providing empirical evidence from a public sector organization in Oman. These researchers highlighted the need for studies on cultural research to examine other types of culture applicable within the public sector domain using a larger sample. Public organizations in Nigeria provide the most vital services to the Nigerian economy (Ezirim et al., 2017). Therefore, the results of the current study have potential value to the public workforce in Nigeria by producing information that could retain talented managers and preventing their attrition. The results of the study could lead to more effective retention strategies of managers in public organizations in Nigeria that incorporate the importance of organizational culture. The findings have potential societal and professional impacts because they may be transferable to other public organizations with similar organizational culture and manager retention problems. 11 Why Nigeria? There is a paucity of literature on organizational culture and its influence on the retention of managers in public organizations in Nigeria. The current study was important because Nigeria is a major player in Africa and the most populous country on the continent (Adeniran, 2017). The country is culturally diverse, with the three largest ethnic groups being the Hausa-Fulani, the Igbo (sometimes called Ibo), and the Yoruba. Nigeria has the largest population of any African country, and is the world’s tenth largest country (Adeniran, 2017). The country’s peculiarities indicate its importance not only in Africa, but in the global economy as well (Adeniran, 2017). Atiku et al. (2017) explored the interplay between the cultural values and human resource (HR) outcomes in the Nigerian banking sector. The authors of this article adopted a quantitative method, utilizing a correlational approach with the advanced explanatory design. A combination of simple random sampling and convenience sampling techniques was adopted; 380 questionnaires were distributed to respondents at two selected banks. The authors concluded that there were significant positive relationships between cultural values and HR outcomes in the Nigerian banking sector. These scholars suggested that their qualitative approach of data collection and analysis procedures would have been more useful in providing a robust nonnumerical analysis, particularly on why cultural values in the Nigerian banking industry have no significant influence on coworkers and organizational- directed behaviors. Public Organizations vs. Private Corporations Public organizations in Nigeria are government-owned, are designed to serve the needs of its population, and operate within the ambit of bureaucracy (Krukru, 2016). They exhibit high levels of bureaucracy, where members are largely viewed as belonging 12 to an exclusive social club; most public corporation employees exhibit a nonchalant attitude about discharging their responsibilities. Public corporation employees lack a culture of efficiency and accountability; instead, the culture is that of corruption. In contrast, private organizations demonstrate high levels of organizational commitment and efficiency. Nigeria’s private sector has more stringent polices than the public sector, and the loopholes that make it possible for corruption in the public sector are minimal in the private sector (Krukru, 2016). Nigeria vs. Other African Cultures As previously indicated, the attitude in Nigeria is that of corruption, waste, and antisocial behavior. As Ijewereme (2015) declared, “In many African states, particularly Nigeria, corruption is a clog in the wheel of progress, as well as a malaise that inflicts every aspect of the society” (p. 1). He continued, “Experience shows that civil servants do not see anything wrong in using their offices to enrich themselves as long as the politicians are corruptly acquiring wealth on daily basis” (Ijewereme, 2015, p. 12). There is no area in Nigeria, public or private, that is not corrupt. Mostert et al. (2015) conducted an in- depth study on how corruption in the health care system effected cancer treatment in Africa. Mostert et al., concluded that African countries cannot be expected to take action to curb corruption. Instead, it is up to financial donors, health organizations, and international financial institutions to “use their power to demand policy reforms of health-care systems in Africa” (Mostert et al., 2015, p. 394). The Corruption Perceptions Index scores countries worldwide on how corrupt their public sectors are perceived to be on a yearly basis. Their scale is from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). The index is currently lower than 50 in 91% of African countries. In contrast, 21% of high-income countries, such as New Zealand, the United States, Canada, 13 and Australia, have a score of less than 50 (Mostert et al., 2015). Schein’s (1992) theory describes how managers can use organizational culture effectively to simplify the complex nature of corporate culture and initiate interventions (Sackmann, 1992). 64 American Journal of Management Vol. 25(3) 2025 Rationale for Methodology The current researcher selected the qualitative methodology to guide this study because this approach emphasizes individuals’ subjective experiences. The qualitative methodology does not involve numerical values and statistical analysis to make sense of a phenomenon (Silverman, 2016). Qualitative studies involve a narrative or text-based approach to understanding a phenomenon. Qualitative researchers rely on themes, usually from detailed narratives, to understand the essence of a phenomenon (Smith, 2015). Through these themes, the core processes or features of a phenomenon can be uncovered. The qualitative methodology was the most appropriate approach for this study because it encourages participants to reflect on their own experiences and perceptions to make sense of a phenomenon (Silverman, 2016). The current researcher focused on the dimensions of organizational culture and how that affects the retention of managers and aspects thereof. The qualitative methodology was the most appropriate approach for the current study because the researcher’s goal was to understand the complex relationship between managerial retention and organizational culture in public organizations in Nigeria. A quantitative methodology would not have been appropriate for the current study because it would not aid in answering the research questions. Quantitative studies are concerned with numerical responses (Yin, 2017) and frequency counts or statistics (Silverman, 2016), which was not the focus of the current study. 14 the researcher conducted semi structured interviews and facilitated focus group discussions to collect qualitative data. The population of interest was managers and former managers within public organizations in southern Nigeria. All participants had experience as managers in public organizations in Nigeria. The sample consisted of 10 current managers and 15 former managers of public organizations in southern Nigeria. In a qualitative descriptive study, the questions addressed are how or why questions, and all of the research questions in the current study were how questions. The results may be utilized to improve organizational culture in public organizations in Nigeria. Nature of the Research Design for the Study Qualitative descriptive study is the appropriate qualitative research design because the goal of the current research study was to gather narratives that the researcher could then analyze by coding into common meaningful themes to understand the complexity of the phenomenon while taking into consideration the context (Yin, 2013). According to Yin (2013), 25 is a good sample size for gathering in-depth descriptions of participants’ experiences so that various perspectives are solicited. This small sample size also helped the researcher to establish open frank communication and maintain a close relationship with participants. Other qualitative methods were considered. Grounded theory would not have worked for this issue because the goal was not to develop a theory. A phenomenological study would not have aligned with this study’s goals, which were not to understand the “essence” of lived experiences of individuals. Ethnography was not appropriate for this study because it aims to describe a culture-sharing group. A qualitative study was determined to be the best method for this study because the purpose of the current study was to examine the complexity of the issue by allowing the participants to discuss their 15 thoughts and interpretations within the context it occurs so that solutions could then be developed and instituted to solve the problem. One data source was semi-structured interviews, which are considered reliable data (Yin, 2013). Due to the need for social distancing resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual interviews and focus group discussions were conducted through the Zoom platform. The unit of analysis was individual managers. The target population was managers of public organizations in southern Nigeria. The researcher compiled an interview protocol, consisting of open-ended questions, based on the purpose of the research and insights gained from the literature reviewed together with the theoretical foundation of this study. Two existing interview protocols were used and adapted to develop the interview protocol. Before adapting the existing protocols, the researcher obtained permission from the authors to use and adapt these lists of questions. The existing protocols were (a) the Organizational Culture, Business Ethics, and Whistleblowing Interview Schedule (Teo & Caspersz, 2011), and (b) Employee Turnover Semi Structured Interview (Maertz et al., 2003). The researcher developed the codes into meaningful themes of commonalities. The researcher then used the coding to develop the themes. The researcher administered a demographic questionnaire. The data source was a self-administered demographic questionnaire that participants received via email, completed, and mailed back to the researcher at least 2 days before the interview. Participants took part in the following activities: (a) semi structured interview, (b) focus group discussions, (c) completing a demographic questionnaire, and (d) member checking of interview transcript summaries. The researcher checked the American Journal of Management Vol. 25(3) 2025 65 transcript of the focus group discussion against the audio recording taken during the focus group 16 discussion. After recruitment via flyers, the participants received informed consent forms via email and were requested to give electronic consent whereafter the informed consent forms were sent to the first 25 participants. Upon receiving the participants’ consent, the researcher made arrangements to meet with the participants to conduct the semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews, lasting 60–90 minutes each. Due to the need for social distancing based on the COVID-19 virus, the researcher conducted virtual interviews using the Zoom platform. Participants were informed that they should locate a private, quiet, and safe room. The focus group meetings, which lasted about 90 minutes, were also conducted via Zoom with the participants’ cameras off to maintain their confidentiality. Definition of Terms The phenomenon explored was the role of the dimensions of organizational culture as it relates to retention rates, as perceived and experienced by former and current managers of public organizations. These terms aided in the exploration of the perceptions and experiences of former and current managers in terms of their decisions to remain in the public sector in Nigeria. In this section, the researcher provides the definitions of commonly used terms in the current study: Artifacts. The first level is the organization’s characteristics which can be easily viewed, heard, and felt by individuals collectively known as artifacts. The dress code of the employees, office furniture, facilities, behavior of the employees, mission and vision of the organization all come under artifacts and go a long way in deciding the culture of the workplace (Schein, 1992). Basic Assumptions. A pattern of basic assumptions evolves among the members of a social group and makes the core of the culture in any organization. The basic 17 assumptions are understood, the isolated and confusing artifacts and values become coherent (Schein, 1992). Corruption. Corruption is using public office for private gain or the misuse of entrusted power for private gain. Therefore, the use of official position by an office holder for his personal benefit represents corruption. Thus, corrupt behavior would include, fraud bribery, favoritism partiality, stealing the public resources, seizure of public assets for private use etc. (Transparency International, 2018) Espoused Values. The values of the individuals working in the organization play an important role in deciding the organization culture. The thought process and attitude of employees deeply impact the culture of any particular organization. The individual’s mindset associated with any particular organization influences the culture of the workplace (Schein, 1992). Norms. Norms can be descriptive or injunctive (Meisel& Goodie, 2014). Descriptive norms refer to the perceived prevalence of a behavior, whereas injunctive norms refer to the perceived approval of a behavior within a specific context. Organizational Culture. This refers to the shared values and beliefs within an organization that lead to norms and predictable patterns of behaviors (Schein, 2004). Public Organizations. In Nigeria, public organizations are those that are set up, controlled, and financed by the government at the federal, state, and local levels, charged with the responsibility of providing essential services to the members of the public (Chukwuemeka et al., 2015). Retention. Retention refers to the period between the commencement and termination of an individual’s employment (Nagaraju& Rao, 2015). Furthermore, 18 retention is “a technique adopted by businesses to maintain an effective workforce and at the same time meet operational requirements” (Mita et al., 2014, p. 155). Shared Values. These refer to a system of group-based beliefs within an organization that enables different individuals within a group to achieve the same goals (Forenza & Mendonca, 2017). Assumptions, Limitations, Delimitations Assumptions An assumption is a self-evident truth (Simon, 2011). Based on this definition, the key assumptions of the study were the following: 1. It was assumed that all the participants would be honest with their responses during the data collection process. This assumption was necessary to treat the data as valuable and useful within the context of a research study. 2. It was assumed that this study accurately represents the current situation and organizational culture in public organizations in Nigeria. This assumption was informed by the literature suggesting the unique organizational culture of public organizations in Nigeria that is characterized by fraud, corruption, and ineffective leadership. Research Questions The phenomenon that was explored in the current study was the role of the organizational culture and its influence on employee turnover. The research questions that guided the study were as follows: RQ1. How do present and former managers of public corporations describe the organizational culture influence on intent to remain for public organizations employees in Nigeria? RQ2. How do present and former managers of public corporations in Nigeria describe the influence of espoused values on their intent to remain or turnover? These research questions are also aligned with the theoretical 66 American Journal of Management Vol. 25(3) 2025 framework designated for this study. Handy’s (1985) cultural model informed the formulation of the above research questions to understand how managers describe the influence of organizational culture on employee retention intentions. Handy’s cultural model posits a need to ensure that organizations adopt the best organizational culture to influence employee turnover intentions. Handy’s cultural model comprises four types of cultures that influence employee relationship, job satisfaction, and their intentions to leave or continue working in the company. The four cultural constructs include power culture, role culture, achievement culture, and support culture. Each of the constructs was used to formulate the research questions. First, power culture was used to develop the research question, which sought to understand how power organizational culture influences employees’ intent to continue working for public organizations in Nigeria as described by managers. The second construct, role culture, was used to formulate the second research question which seeks to how role organizational culture influences employees’ intent to continue working for public organizations in Nigeria as described by managers. Achievement culture, which is the third theoretical construct, was used to inform the third research question that seeks to understand how achievement organizational culture influences employees’ intent to continue working for public organizations in Nigeria as described by managers. Lastly, support culture construct was used to formulate the fourth research question seeking to understand how support organizational culture influences employees’ intent to continue working for public organizations in Nigeria as described by managers. Therefore, there is evidence that the theoretical framework used has been used to inform the development and formulation of the research questions. The research questions are each aligned to address the posed purpose statement through gathering specific data. The first research question was addressed by gathering data through semi structured interviews with participants. For the second research question, data from the focus group were collected and analyzed. An interview guide, which is discussed in the “sources of data” section, was developed to ensure that the questions applied in the interviews and focus groups aligned with the associated research questions. Finally, the demographic questionnaire was used to describe the study sample.These participants were managers in public organizations in Nigeria. Table 1 displays the interview characteristics. The interviews were on average 37 minutes long and ranged from 17 minutes to 44 minutes. The transcripts were about 7 pages, singles paced on average, ranging from 4 pages to 14.5 pages. The average number of codes per transcript was about 23. TABLE 1 INTERVIEW QUALITIED American Journal of Management Vol. 25(3) 2025 67 Table 2 displays the focus group characteristics. The focus group discussions were about 81 minutes long and ranged from 69 minutes to 98 minutes in length. The transcripts were about 17 pages in length on average, ranging from 14 pages to 22 double-spaced pages. Approximately 24 codes emerged from the transcripts for the focus groups. TABLE 2 FOCUS GROUP QUALITIES Table 3 represents the participant characteristics. The average age of the participants was between 37 to 68 years of age. Five participants were females, and 19 participants were male. Twenty-two participants held a master’s degree and three reporting a doctorate. Twenty participants were married, two were single and one reported divorce. The average household income range between 35,000 to 50,000. TABLE 3 DEMOGRAPHIC OF PARTICIPANTS W h at i s y o u r ag e? W h at i s y o u r g en d er ? W h at i s y o u r et h n ic it y ? W h at i s th e h ig h es t le v el o f sc h o o l y o u h av e co m p le te d o r h ig h es t d eg re e y o u h av e re ce iv ed ? W h at i s y o u r m ar it al s ta tu s? W h at i s y o u r to ta l h o u se h o ld in co m e? 45 INT Male Black Masters Divorced 43,000 40 FG Female Black Masters Single 35,000 42 INT Male Black Masters Married 40,000 65 INT Male Black Doctorate Married 50,000 63 INT Male Black Masters Married 38 60 INT Female Black Masters Married 42 47 INT Female Black Masters Married 44 38 INT Male Black Masters Married 49,000 68 FG Female Black Doctorate Married 48,000 39 FG Male Black Masters Single 30,000 55 INT Male Black Masters Marricd 38,000 56 INT Malc Black Masters Married 36 37 FG Male Black Masters Married 37,000 48 FG Malc Black Masters Married 39,000 44 INT Male Black Masters Married 36,000 68 American Journal of Management Vol. 25(3) 2025 64 FG Female Black Masters Married 38,000 65 FG Male Black Doctorate Married 49,000 51 FG Male Black Masters Married 35,000 53 FG Male Black Masters Married 35,000 50 FG Male Black Masters Married 37,000 59 FG Male Black Masters Married 36,000 55 FG Male Black Masters Married 35,000 45 FG Male Black Masters Married 37,000 52 FG Male Black Masters Married 36,000 63 FG Male Black Masters Married 35,000 Data Analysis Procedures The first analysis of the interviews employed a deductive approach in which codes were developed from the interview questions. This process resulted in 15 codes that were applied to the transcripts. TABLE 4 CODING FREQUENCY FOR INTERVIEWS AND FOCUS GROUPS American Journal of Management Vol. 25(3) 2025 69 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION This section contains a summary of the findings previously presented in FErA, four themes arose from this iterative, qualitative analysis: (a) qualities of culture, (b) impact of culture, (c) organization values, and (d) employee qualities. Each theme encompassed several subthemes and codes. The first theme, qualities of culture, was composed of two subthemes: extent to which culture is employee-oriented and extent to which organizational culture is processor results-oriented. This first theme relates to participants ‘perspectives of organizational culture. They opined on the orientations of their cultures. The second theme, impact of culture, was composed of three subthemes: impact of culture on remaining in an organization, impact of culture on motivation to leave or retire early, and effect of organization culture on employees. These subthemes demonstrated the variety of impacts that organizational culture had on employees. They shared the impact on employee retention and motivation to retire or leave early. The third theme, organization values, portrayed participants’ descriptions of business values and efforts to maintain these values. This theme comprised two subthemes: values defined and the influence of values. Participants reported on the values that existed within their organizations and values that were important to sellers. Participants also described how these values influenced different organizational activities. The fourth and final theme, employee qualities, included information about the qualities of employees that contribute to values. There were two subthemes that composed this theme: employee involvement in the organization and qualities of successful employees. Participants conveyed how employees were considered. Recommendations for Future Practice It is recommended that these findings be applied to practice to improve public organizations in Nigeria, which are government-owned and are designed to serve the needs of its population, and they operate within the ambit of bureaucracy (Krukru, 2016). They exhibit high levels of bureaucracy, where members are largely viewed as belonging to an exclusive social club; most public corporation employees exhibit a nonchalant attitude about discharging their responsibilities. Public corporation employees lack a culture of efficiency and accountability; instead, the culture is that of corruption. On the contrary, private organizations demonstrate high levels of organizational commitment and efficiency. Nigeria’s private sector has more stringent polices than the public sector, and the loopholes that make it possible for corruption in the public sector are minimal in the private sector (Krukru, 2016). Thus, the results from this study can help advance these issues. Recommendations for Future Research There remains a paucity of literature on organizational culture and its influence on the retention of managers in public organizations in Nigeria. This researcher proposes that further research be conducted on this study because Nigeria is a major player in Africa (Adeniran, 2017). The country is culturally diverse, 70 American Journal of Management Vol. 25(3) 2025 with the three largest ethnic groups being the Hausa-Fulani, the Igbo (sometimes called Ibo), and the Yoruba. Nigeria has the largest population of any African country and is the world’s tenth-largest country (Adeniran, 2017). 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