STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND MILITARY EFFECTIVENESS: DEVELOPING A MULTIDIMENSIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE NIGERIAN ARMY IN COMPLEX SECURITY ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

The increasing complexity of global security environments, characterized by asymmetric and hybrid threats, has significantly altered expectations placed on modern military organizations. In Nigeria, the Nigerian Army operates within a multifaceted and dynamic internal security environment characterized by insurgency, terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal conflicts, cyber threats, and other emerging hybrid security challenges. These realities have exposed the limitations of conventional performance management systems that focus primarily on operational outputs while overlooking broader institutional and strategic dimensions of military effectiveness., characterized by insurgency, terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal conflict, cyber threats, and hybrid warfare dynamics. These realities highlight limitations in conventional performance management systems that often emphasize operational outputs while giving limited attention to broader institutional and strategic dimensions of military effectiveness. This paper develops a multidimensional conceptual framework for strategic performance management in the Nigerian Army through an integrative review of literature, informed by Institutional Theory, Contingency Theory and the Resource-Based View (RBV). Drawing on recent literature (2015-2025) alongside foundational theoretical perspectives, the study identifies a conceptual gap in defence performance management approaches, where operational achievements do not always translate into institutional resilience, legitimacy and long-term sustainability. The paper argues that military effectiveness must be understood as a composite construct integrating operational, institutional, technological, ethical, and societal dimensions, reflecting the multidimensional nature of contemporary military effectiveness The paper proposes a hybrid Strategic Performance Management System (SPMS) framework. The study contributes to defence management literature by advancing a context-sensitive and theoretically integrated framework for evaluating military effectiveness in volatile security environments.