scholarly journals The Effects of Flexibility in Employee Skills, Employee Behaviors, and Human Resource Practices on Firm Performance

2005 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mousumi Bhattacharya ◽  
Donald E. Gibson ◽  
D. Harold Doty

The components of human resource (HR) flexibility and their potential relationship to firm performance have not been empirically examined. The authors hypothesize that flexibility of employee skills, employee behaviors, and HR practices represent critical subdimensions of HR flexibility and are related to superior firm performance. Results based on perceptual measures of HR flexibility and accounting measures of firm performance support this prediction. Whereas skill, behavior, and HR practice flexibility are significantly associated with an index of firm financial performance, the authors find that only skill flexibility contributes to cost-efficiency.

Author(s):  
Yanqing Lai ◽  
George Saridakis ◽  
Stewart Johnstone

This article uses the matched employee–employer dataset from the Workplace Employment Relations Study of 2011 (WERS2011) in Britain to empirically examine the direct relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) performance in the United Kingdom, as well as the potential moderating effect of organisational commitment/job satisfaction on the HRM-performance linkage. We find a positive and direct relationship between the use of certain formalised human resource (HR) practices and SME performance, measured by financial performance and labour productivity. More importantly, we find that the positive relationship between HR practices and financial performance varies between SMEs with high job satisfaction and low job satisfaction, and that the relationship is weakened in SMEs with high job satisfaction. The results suggest that certain HR policies and practices may improve small firm performance, especially within firms with low levels of commitment and satisfaction.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Black ◽  
Peter Stokes

This chapter examines the link between corporate governance ideology and HR (human resource) practices involved in the important and ongoing issue of senior staff salaries. In the spirit of financialization and hyper-individuals, the mainstream corporate governance ideology promotes beliefs about competitive pay and managerial power. These beliefs shape the design and implementation of HR practices by legitimizing the ‘common-sense’ assumption that senior staff members should, primarily, be rewarded for meeting corporate goals. However, our discussion critiques the use of this corporate governance ideology for encouraging myopia and silence amongst remuneration committee members in response to growing inequality. This is exemplified by an inductive analysis of remuneration committee minutes taken from British universities (n = 67). Interestingly, this example also highlighted a marginalized belief about sacrificial leadership that countered this growth under alternative ideology in the spirit of altruism. The chapter recommends the radical proposal that remuneration committees should expand their remit beyond only considering senior staff salaries and promote HR practices that will embed altruism and equality.


2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Korutaro Nkundabanyanga ◽  
Joseph M. Ntayi ◽  
Augustine Ahiauzu ◽  
Samuel K. Sejjaaka

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of intellectual capital on the relationship between board governance and perceived firm financial performance. Design/methodology/approach – This study was cross-sectional. Analyses were by SPSS and Analysis of Moment Structure on a sample of 128 firms. Findings – The mediated model provides support for the hypothesis that intellectual capital mediates the relationship between board governance and perceived firm performance. while the direct relationship between board governance and firm financial performance without the mediation effect of intellectual capital was found to be significant, this relationship becomes insignificant when mediation of intellectual capital is allowed. Thus, the entire effect does not only go through the main hypothesised predictor variable (board governance) but majorly also, through intellectual capital. Accordingly, the connection between board governance and firm financial performance is very much weakened by the presence of intellectual capital in the model – confirming that the presence of intellectual capital significantly acts as a conduit in the association between board governance and firm financial performance. Overall, 36 per cent of the variance in perceived firm performance is explained. the error variance being 64 per cent of perceived firm performance itself. Research limitations/implications – The authors surveyed directors or managers of firms and although the influence of common methods variance was minimal, the non-existence of common methods bias could not be guaranteed. Although the constructs have been defined as precisely as possible by drawing upon relevant literature and theory, the measurements used may not perfectly represent all the dimensions. For example board governance concept (used here as a behavioural concept) is very much in its infancy just as intellectual capital is. Similarly the authors have employed perceived firm financial performance as proxy for firm financial performance. The implication is that the constructs used/developed can realistically only be proxies for an underlying latent phenomenon that itself is not fully measureable. Practical implications – In considering the behavioural constructs of the board, a new integrative framework for board effectiveness is much needed as a starting point, followed by examining intellectual capital in firms whose mediating effect should formally be accounted for in the board governance – financial performance equation. Originality/value – Results add to the conceptual improvement in board governance studies and lend considerable support for the behavioural perspective in the study of boards and their firm performance improvement potential. Using qualitative factors for intellectual capital to predict the perceived firm financial performance, this study offers a unique dimension in understanding the causes of poor financial performance. It is always a sign of a maturing discipline (like corporate governance) to examine the role of a third variable in the relationship so as to make meaningful conclusions.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan David Peláez-León ◽  
Gregorio Sánchez-Marín

PurposeThis study analyses whether human resource management (HRM), through the use of four sets of high-performance work policies (HPWPs) (i.e. selection, training, motivation and opportunity policies), mediates the relationship between socioemotional wealth (SEW)—defined as a unique set of nonfinancial family goals—and firm financial performance when family firms face a high-risk context.Design/methodology/approachHypotheses were statistically tested using a structural equation modeling (SEM) methodology with a cross-sectional sample of 196 medium-sized and private family firms in a high-risk context in Spain.FindingsThe results indicate that the relationship between SEW and financial performance in family firms is fully mediated by the use of HPWPs, especially by training and motivation HR policies. The importance given to preserving SEW influences the use of four sets of HPWPs when family firms show clear evidence of being confronted by a financial decline (i.e. a high-risk context). However, to improve their financial results to avoid the firm's failure and thus the loss of their SEW, only those HR policies that focus on training and motivation made a significant and positive contribution to the firm financial performance.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on family firms and HRM by adopting an alternative theoretical framework to understand how the importance of nonfinancial family goals may affect employee structures and management policies, thereby improving financial performance in family firms.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sukhpreet Kaur ◽  
Gurvinder Kaur

PurposeThis study aims to understand the role of employee competencies in terms of the relationship between Human Resource Practices (HRPs) and firm performance.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 60 HR managers and 546 employees from large-scale food processing firms were considered for the study. The study presents a 2-1-2 multilevel mediational analysis in which HRPs and firm performance are measured at the firm level (Level-2) and employee competencies are measured at employee level (Level-1).FindingsPositive relationship was found between HRPs and firm performance, which was partially mediated by employee competencies.Practical implicationsThe study highlights the importance of employee-related factors by focusing on the wider dimensions of human capital (e.g. academic qualification, job experience) in HRPs–performance relationship.Originality/valueThe study undertakes a 2-1-2 multilevel mediational analysis, which is rarely applied in HRM studies; however, this interaction between macro- and microlevel effects will create a better understanding of organization studies from an integrated and multilevel context.


1989 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul B. Cragg ◽  
Malcolm King

Numerous studies have attempted to gain a greater understanding of small firm performance with the intent of isolating factors which are important for success. The studies, some with serious limitations, suggest that many different variables are Important to success. A further study of 179 small, metal goods manufacturers enabled some of the specific relationships to be re-examined, but with mixed support for previous findings. Various suggestions are made for future research studies. A causal model of small firm financial performance is proposed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengli Shu ◽  
Dirk De Clercq ◽  
Yunyue Zhou ◽  
Cuijuan Liu

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and strategic renewal (as a critical dimension of corporate entrepreneurship) might transmit government institutional support and thereby enhance firm performance in a transition economy.Design/methodology/approachMulti-respondent data were collected from 230 Chinese-based firms. The hypotheses were tested with structural equation modeling, in combination with a bias-corrected bootstrap method, to assess the significance of the theorized direct and indirect relationships.FindingsGovernment institutional support enhances EO and strategic renewal individually, yet EO also fully mediates the relationship between government institutional support and strategic renewal. Moreover, strategic renewal fully mediates the relationship between EO and firm financial performance, and it partially mediates the relationship between EO and firm reputation.Originality/valueThis study contributes to entrepreneurship literature by testing an organization-level model of entrepreneurial phenomena in established firms that identifies EO and strategic renewal as two distinct mechanisms through which government institutional support in a transition economy can enhance organizational effectiveness, which entails the firm’s financial performance and reputation. In doing so, this study provides an extended understanding of how EO and strategic renewal might influence a firm’s financial and nonfinancial outcomes in different ways.


Author(s):  
Cody Cox ◽  
Richard Posthuma ◽  
Fabian Castro ◽  
Eric Smith

Many researchers have noted the increasing age of the workforce, but less noted is that the workforce is also becoming more diverse in terms of age. Thus, as the workforce ages, the ability to manage age diversity will become increasingly important. Managing workers of different ages requires understanding the physiological, psychological, and motivational changes that accompany age, as well as how individuals of different ages interact in organizational contexts. With an increased awareness of the multidimensional nature of age, employers can consider useful adaptations to their human resource practices. Dispelling invalid age stereotypes may be accomplished through inclusive HR practices, the use of intergenerational interactions, and providing meaningful work to all employees.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mazibar Rahman ◽  
Umme Khadija Kakuli ◽  
Shahnaz Parvin ◽  
Ayrin Sultana

This paper aims to empirically investigate the impact of capital structure choice on the firm performance of the firms listed under the Dhaka Stock Exchange of Bangladesh. Multiple regression has been employed in this research to determine the relationship between the capital structure and the firm’s financial performance. Three ratios of financial performance, i.e., return on assets, return on equity, and gross margin, have been used as a sample of non-financial Bangladeshi companies, selected from 2010 to 2015. The study records numerous findings. First, the result shows a significant negative influence of long-term debt (LTD) and total debt (TTD) on firm financial performance measured by return on assets (ROA), but no significant relationship is found between short-term debt (STD) and this measure of firm’s financial performance. Moreover, the research found that there is no significant effect of short-term debt, long-term debt and total debt on the firm financial performance measured by return on equity (ROE). Finally, the result shows that a significant negative influence of short-term debt and total debt on firm performance measured by GM, but no significant relationship was found between long-term debt and financial performance. In general terms, the results of this study may suggest that capital structure has a negative influence on firms’ financial performance in Bangladesh.


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