Factors influencing preferential treatment on academic performance of private universities in Mogadishu

This study aims to explore how favoritism affects students' grades at private universities in Mogadishu. It uses a quantitative approach involving interviews with 98 faculty members. The research team carefully collected data to ensure the results were reliable. They then analyzed the data using statistical software like SPSS and Smart PLS. The findings show that favoritism, along with nepotism and cronyism, negatively impacts students' academic achievements in these universities. This research adds to what we already know about the negative effects of preferential treatment, especially regarding nepotism, favoritism, and cronyism. It makes a significant contribution to discussions on how favoritism affects education, highlighting its harmful effects. The study also suggests that future research in Somalia could look at this issue in other cities to better understand its wider effects. While this study focused on how favoritism influences students' grades, it points out that future research could examine other factors like trust within the organization, employee commitment, the tendency of employees to remain silent, and staff turnover. These factors could offer further insights into the complex environment of private universities in Mogadishu and similar institutions around the world. (c) 2023 The Authors. Published by IASE.