ENHANCING UNIVERSITY COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH BENCHMARKING: A STUDY OF INDUSTRY AND BEST PRACTICE BENCHMARKING IN NIGERIAN PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES

The study examined benchmarking as strategic management accounting tool for enhancing institutional competitiveness. The study investigated the adoption and application of benchmarking practices among highly competitive Nigerian private universities in the context of industry benchmarking and best practice benchmarking. The sample frame are duly accredited private universities. The scope of the study were the private universities in the southwest, North-Central and North east Nigeria. The study adopted purposive sampling techniques to arrive at top Five (5) private universities who were consistently ranked high in the last five years by the annual university ranking systems.  Primary data for the study were gathered through structured questionnaire administered to Vice-chancellors, Registrars, Bursars, Directors and Student Alumni. The study employed Partial Least Square Structural Adjustment Model (PLS-SEM) to test the hypothesis arising from the objective. The relationship analysis reveals that several measures of competitiveness indicators exceeded the 0.5 threshold, suggesting that focusing on industry benchmarking, particularly through improvement initiatives and deliberate measures, significantly enhances competitive advantage. However, the weak influence of best practices benchmarking suggested that adopting global best practices without proper contextualization may not effectively improve competitiveness. It was concluded that focusing on industry benchmarks can help universities to create a culture of continuous improvement that drives competitiveness and attracts more students. Universities should prioritize structured benchmarking processes while ensuring best practices are adapted to local contexts.