Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the quality culture and workforce performance in the Malaysian higher education sector. The study also aims to test and validate the psychometric properties of the quality culture and workforce performance instruments used in the study. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 267 academic staff from the International Islamic University Malaysia completed the survey questionnaires. A principal component analysis (PCA) technique was performed to extract the underlying factors, followed by the application of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test factorial validity of the constructs. Findings: The analysis yielded a nine-factor-indexed quality culture construct, while the workforce construct constituted two factors. The findings of the study postulate statistically significant correlation between quality culture and workforce performance. Practical implications: The findings of the study suggest that a quality culture initiative can be used effectively in the context of the Malaysian higher education sector to enhance academic staff performance. Originality/value: The results are important since there have been few published studies on quality culture that examine its effects on academic staff performance in the Malaysian higher education sector. (Contains 10 tables and 6 figures.)