Impact of human resource management on performance in competitive priorities
International Journal of Operations & Production Management
ISSN: 0144-3577
Article publication date: 1 February 2016
Abstract
Purpose
Human resource management (HRM) is considered an important issue in operations strategy (OS). Furthermore, OS effectiveness depends on performance in competitive priorities (CP). However, little empirical evidence exists about the relationship between them. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of HRM on performance in CP.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted by surveying a sample of medium and large manufacturing companies in the Colombian coffee region. Three groups of variables were studied: performance in CP, HRM practices and factors related to employees. A regression analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses.
Findings
No significant relationship was found between HRM practices and performance in CP. Regarding the factors related to employees, two findings were relevant: first, when the companies involve features about the individuals in OS decision making (motivations, personal goals, abilities, etc.) better performance can be observed in CP; second, when employees reach a higher level of satisfaction and job performance, the performance in CP improves as well.
Practical implications
Considering the importance of HRM practices, appropriate adjustment and application should be sought to improve company performance. Furthermore, factors related to employees (features about the individuals, job satisfaction and employee performance), must be properly aligned with the OS.
Originality/value
The paper addresses an issue supported by little empirical evidence. Because few studies have considered the total set of CP identified in the literature review, the authors applied an indicator to establish the global performance of the production system according to the market requirements. Traditionally, HRM has been studied from the perspective of management practices, giving little attention to employees. In this research, the authors consider not only this perspective but also the effects of factors related to employees on performance in CP when they are aligned with the OS.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Universidad Nacional de Colombia for the financial support provided for this research (Project code 13755).
Citation
Vivares-Vergara, J.A., Sarache-Castro, W.A. and Naranjo-Valencia, J.C. (2016), "Impact of human resource management on performance in competitive priorities", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 36 No. 2, pp. 114-134. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-11-2013-0484
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited