Does human capital mediate the nexus of human resource management (HRM) practices and organizational performance?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v11i5.1829Keywords:
Human Capital, HRM Practices, Banking Industry, Organizational PerformanceAbstract
Human capital is a significant element in the attainment of sustained competitive advantage and economic survival of organizations. The study explored whether human capital mediates the nexus of human resource management practices and organizational performance. A field study was conducted among 11 internationally and 4 indigenously owned banks. The hypothesized relationships were supported by the data. The results show that the association between selective staffing with the levels of human capital was significant. The results also show that the levels of human capital influenced organizational performance significantly. The results further show that human capital mediated the nexus of HRM practices and organizational performance. The generalizability of the results obtained may be constrained since the present study focused on the banking industry. The study suggests the creation and maintenance of valuable human capital promote competitiveness and sustained competitive advantage. The study contributes to the extant literature by empirically evidencing that human capital mediated the nexus of HRM practice and organizational performance.
Downloads
References
Ahuja, G. & Katila, R. (2004). Where do resources come from? The role of idiosyncratic situations. Strategic Management Journal, 25,887–907. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.401
Ardichvili, A., Page, V., & Wentling, T. (2003). Motivation and barriers to participation in virtual knowledge sharing teams. Journal of Knowledge Management, 7, 64-77. https://doi.org/10.1108/13673270310463626
Armstrong, M. (2006). A handbook of human resource management practice. London: Kogan Page.
Athey, T.R. & Orth, M.S. (1999). Emerging competency methods for the future. Human Resource Management, 38,215-28.
https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-050X(199923)38:3<215::AID-HRM4>3.0.CO;2-W
Bank of Ghana (2022). The 2022 directory of licensed banks. available at: www.bog.gov.gh (accessed 6 February 2022).
Barney, J.B. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17, 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51,1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173
Becker, B.E. & Huselid, M.A. (1998). High performance work systems and firm performance: a synthesis of research and managerial implications. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 53,53-101. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.319.7549
Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238-246. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238
Benson, J. & Hagtvet, K. (1996). The interplay among design, data analysis, and theory in the measurement of coping. in Zeidner, M. and Endler, N.S. (Eds), Handbook of Coping: Theory, Research, Applications, John Wiley, New York, NY, 83-106.
Baird, L. & Meshoulam, I. (1998). Managing two fits of strategic human resource management. Academy of Management Review, 13(1),116-128. https://doi.org/10.2307/258359
Boselie, P. (2010). High performance work practices in the health care sector: a Dutch case study. International Journal of Manpower, 31(1) 42-58. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437721011031685
Bourne, M., Franco, M. & Wilkes, J. (2003). Corporate performance management. Measuring Business Excellence, 7(3), 15-21. https://doi.org/10.1108/13683040310496462
Boxall, P. & Steenveld, M. (1999). Human resource strategy and competitive advantage: a longitudinal study of engineering consultancies. Journal of Management Studies, 36(4),443-463. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00144
Capelli, P. & Crocker-Hefter, A.C. (1996). Distinctive human resources are a firm's core competencies. Organisational Dynamics, 28, 7-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-2616(96)90002-9
Clardy, A. (2008). The strategic role of human resource development in managing core competencies. Human Resource Development International11(2),183-197. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678860801932998
Chenhall, R.H. & Langfield-Smith, K. (2007). Multiple perspectives of performance measures. European Management Journal, 25,266-282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2007.06.001
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94,95-120. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2780243
Conway, J.M. & Lance, C.E. (2010). What reviewers should expect from authors regarding common method bias in organizational research. Journal of Business and Psychology,25 No. (3), 325-334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-010-9181-6
Delaney, J. T., & Huselid, M. A. (1996). The impact of human resource management practices on perceptions of organizational performance. Academy of Management Journal,39, 949–969. https://doi.org/10.2307/256718
Delery, J.E., & Doty, D.H. (1996). Modes of theorizing in strategic human resource management: tests of universalistic contingency and configurational performance predictions. Academy of Management Journal, 39,802-835. https://doi.org/10.5465/256713
Delery, J. E., & Shaw, J. D. (2001). The strategic management of people in work organizations: Review, synthesis, and extension. Research in personnel and human resources management, 20,165-197. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-7301(01)20003-6
Dryer, L. & Reeves, T. (1995). Human resource strategies and firm performance: An approach and an agenda”, Industrial Relations, 23,156-169. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585199500000041
Ellig, B.R. (1998). Employment and employability: foundation of the new social contract. Human Resource Management, 37,173-175.
Evans, W.R., & Davis, W.D. (2005). High-performance work systems and organizational performance: the mediating role of internal social structure. Journal of Management, 31,758-775. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305279370
Felin, T., Zenger, T.R., & Tomsik, J. (2009). The knowledge economy: emerging organizational forms, missing micro foundations, and key considerations for managing human capital. Human Resource Management, 48,555-570. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.20299
Hinson, R., Mohammed, A. & Mensah, R. (2006). Determinants of Ghanaian bank service quality in a universal banking dispensation. Banks and Bank Systems, 1, 69 -81. https://businessperspectives.org/journals/banks-and-banksystems?category_id=30
Garavan, T. N., Morley, M., Gunnigle, P., & Collins, E. (2001). Human capital accumulation: the role of human resource development. Journal of European Industrial Training, 25, 48-68. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000005437
Glew, D., O'Leary-Kelly, A., Griffin, R., & Van Fleet, D. (1995). Participation in organizations: A preview of the issues and proposed framework for future analysis. Journal of Management, 21, 395-421. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639502100302
Gong, Y., Law, K.S., Chang, S. & Xin, K.R. (2009). Human resources management and firm performance: the differential role of managerial affective and continuance commitment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1),263-275. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013116
Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., & Anderson, R.E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis: a global perspective. Delhi: Pearson Education.
Helfat, C.E. & Peteraf, M.A. (2003), The dynamic resource-based view: Capability lifecycles. Strategic Management Journal 24, 997–1010. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.332
Henry, O., & Temtime, Z. (2009). Recruitment and selection practices in SMEs: empirical evidence from a developing country perspective. Advances in Management, 3,52-58. Retrieved from:https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Recruitment-and-Selection-Practices-in-SMEs%3A-from-a-Henry-Temtime/cf478da0dcadfa46e4723bcefefeeeb46a7b9254
Huselid, M.A. (1995). The impact of human resources management practices on turnover, productivity and corporate finance performance. Academy of Management, 38(3), 635-672. https://doi.org/10.5465/256741
Jackson, S.E. & Schuler, R.S. (1995). Understanding human resource management in the context of organizations and their environment. Annual Review of Psychology, 46(1), 237-264. 10.1146/annurev.ps.46.020195.001321
Jiang, K., Lepak, D.P., Hu, J., & Baer, J.C. (2012). How does human resource management influence organizational outcomes? A meta-analytic investigation of mediating mechanisms. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 55,1264-1294. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0088
Johnson, R.B., Onwuegbuzie, A.J. & Turner, L.A. (2007). Toward a definition of mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(2),112-133. https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689806298224
Kehoe, R.R. &Wright, P.M. (2013). The impact of high-performance human resource practices on employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Management, 39, 366-391. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310365901
Kline, R.B. (2010). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. (3rd ed.) New York: Guilford Press
Kline, R.B. (2011). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling, 3rd ed., Guilford Press, New York, NY.
Lado, A.A., & Wilson, C.M. (1994). Human resource systems and sustained competitive advantage: a competency-based perspective. Academy of Management Review,19, 699-727. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1994.9412190216
Lepak, D.P. & Snell, S.A. (1999). The human resources architecture: Toward a theory of human capital allocation and development. Academy of Management Review 24,31–48. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1999.1580439
Lepak, D.P. & Snell, S.A. (2002). Examining the human resources architecture: The relations among human capital, employment, and human resources configurations. Journal of Management 28,517–543. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630202800403
Lepak, D. P., Liao, H., Chung, Y. & Harden, E. E. (2006). A conceptual review of human resource management systems in strategic human resource management research’. In Martocchio, J. J. (Ed.), Research in Personnel and Human Resource Management. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 217–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-7301(06)25006-0
Lewin, A., & Milton, J. (1986). Determining organisational effectiveness: Another look, and an agenda for research. Management Science, 32, 514-538. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.32.5.514
Mahoney, J. T., & Pandian J. R. (1992). The resource-based view within the conversation of strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 13,363-80.
https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250130505
Maltz, A., Shenhar, A., &Reilly, R. (2003). Beyond the balanced scorecard: Refining the search for organisational success measures. Long Range Planning, 36, 187-204. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0024-6301(02)00165-6
Minbaeva, D.B. (2005). HRM practices and MNC knowledge transfer. Personal Review, 34 (1)125-144. https://doi.org/10.1108/00483480510571914
Nyberg, A. J., Moliterno, T. P., Hale, D., & Lepak, D. P. (2014). Resource-based perspectives on unit-level human capital: a review and integration. Journal of Management, 40, 316-346. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206312458703
Otoo, F.N.K. & Mishra, M. (2018). Measuring the impact of human resource development (HRD) practices on employee performance in small and medium scale enterprises. European Journal of Training and Development, 42, 517-534. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-07-2017-0061
Otoo, F.N.K. (2019). Human resource development (HRD) practices and banking industry effectiveness: The mediating role of employee competencies. European Journal of Training and Development, 43,250-271. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-07-2018-0068
Otoo, F.N.K. (2019). Human resource management (HRM) practices and organizational performance: The mediating role of employee competencies. Employee Relations, 41,949-970. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-02-2018-0053
Otoo, F.N.K. & Mishra, M. (2018). Influence of human resource development (HRD) practices on hotel industry’s performance: The role of employee competencies. European Journal of Training and Development, 42, 435-454. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-07-2017-0113
Otoo, F.N.K. (2020). Measuring the impact of human resource management (HRM) practices on pharmaceutical industry's effectiveness: the mediating role of employee competencies. Employee Relations, 42,1353-1380. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-03-2019-0142
Otoo, F.N.K., Otoo, E.A., Abledu, G.K. & Bhardwaj, A. (2019). Impact of human resource development (HRD) practices on pharmaceutical industry’s performance: The mediating role of employee performance. European Journal of Training and Development, 43,188-210. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-09-2018-0096
Ostroff, C. & Bowen, A.E. (2000). Moving HR to a higher level: HR practice and organizational effectiveness. in Klein, K.J. and Koslowski, S.W.J. (Eds), Multilevel Theory, Research, and Methods in Organizations, Foundations, Extensions, and New Directions, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 211-266.
Pfeffer, J. (1998), The human equation: building profits by putting people first. Boston: Harvard Business School Press,
Ployhart, R.E., & Moliterno, T. (2011). Emergence of the human capital resources: a multilevel model. Academy of Management Review, 36,127-150. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2009.0318
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.Y., &Podsakoff, N. P. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 539-569. 10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100452
Randeree, K. & Al Youha, H. (2009). Strategic management of performance: an examination of public sector organizations in the United Arab Emirates. International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change Management,9(4),123-134. https://doi.org/10.18848/1447-9524/CGP/v09i04/49722
Real, J.C., Roldan, J.L. & Leal, A. (2014). From entrepreneurial orientation and learning orientation to business performance: analyzing the mediating role of organizational learning and the moderating effects of organizational size. British Journal of Management, 25(2), 186-208. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2012.00848.x
Richard, J.P., Devinney, T.M., Yip, G.S. & Johnson, G. (2009). Measuring organizational performance: towards methodological best practice. Journal of Management, 35(3),718-804. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206308330560
Rowe, W.G. & Morrow, J.L., Jr. (1999). A note on the dimensionality of the firm financial performance construct using accounting, market, and subjective measures. Canadian Journal of
Administrative Sciences, 16, 58-70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1936-4490.1999.tb00188.x
Tomal, D.R. & Jones, K.J. (2015). A comparison of core competencies of women and men leaders in the manufacturing industry. The Coastal Business Journal,14(1),13-25. Retrieved from: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/A-COMPARISON-OF-CORE-COMPETENCIES-OF-WOMEN-AND-MEN-Tomal-Jones/87d4da0d53f46788ceee6254837dc7d2d6bdff84
Snell, S. A., & Dean, J.W. Jr. (1992). Integrated manufacturing and human resource management: a human capital perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 35, 467-504. https://doi.org/10.5465/256484
Spender, J. C. (1996). Making knowledge the basis of dynamic knowledge of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17, 45-62. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250171106
Subramaniam, M., & Youndt, M.A. (2005). The influence of intellectual capital on the types of innovative capabilities. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 450–463. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2005.17407911
Takeuchi, R., Chen, G. & Lepak, D. P. (2009). Through the looking glass of a social system: cross-level effects of high-performance work systems on employees’ attitudes. Personnel Psychology, 62, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2008.01127.x
Wageman, R. (1997). Critical success factors for creating superb self-managing teams. Organizational Dynamics, 26, 49–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-2616(97)90027-9
Waterman, R., Waterman, J. & Collard, B.A. (1994). Towards a career resilient workforce'. Harvard Business Review, July- August, pp. 87-95. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/1994/07/toward-a-career-resilient-workforce
Wright, P. M. & McMahan, G. C. (1992). Theoretical perspectives for strategic human resource management. Journal of Management, 18, 295–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639201800205
Wright, P.M., McMahan, G.C. & McWilliams, A. (1994). Human resources and sustained competitive advantage: a resource-based perspective”, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 5,301-326. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585199400000020
Wu, J.H.C., Lin, Y.C. & Hsu, F.S. (2008). An empirical analysis of synthesizing the effects of service quality, perceived value, corporate image and customer satisfaction on behavioral intentions in the transport industry: a case of Taiwan high-speed rail. Innovative Marketing, 7,83-100. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2011
Yamao, S., Cieri, H.D. & Hutchings, K. (2009). Transferring subsidiary knowledge to global headquarters: subsidiary senior executives’ perceptions of the role of HR configurations in the development of knowledge stocks. Human Resource Management, 48, 531-554. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.20297
Yang, S. B., & Guy, M. E. (2004). Self-managed work teams: who uses them? what makes them successful? Public Performance & Management Review, 27, 60-79. 10.1080/15309576.2004.11051799
Yang, S.B., & Guy, M.E. (2011). The effectiveness of self-managed work teams in government organizations. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26,531–541. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-010-9205-2
Yang, C., & Lin, C. Y. (2009). Does intellectual capital mediate the relationship between HRM and organizational performance? Perspective of a healthcare industry in Taiwan. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20: 1965–1984. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190903142415
Yates, T., & Finikiotis, S. N. (2010). Self-directed leadership teams: a case study on e-services
Africa's dynamic people process. Organization Development Journal, 28, 57-66. Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.odu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=58080576&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Youndt, M.A. & Snell, S.A. (2004). Human resource configurations, intellectual capital and organizational performance. Journal of Managerial Issues XVI, 337–360. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40604485
Zahid A, C, Sareeta, T. & Manisha, B. (2015). Impact of human capital variables on the effectiveness of the organizations, Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 9,228-240. Retrieved from: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Impact-of-human-capital-variables-on-the-of-the-Channar-Talreja/dae9e3f3b683cb61d3efbb949a5cc45c85f2e8c9
Zhang, Z., Wan, D. & Jia, M. (2008). Do high-performance human resource practices help corporate entrepreneurship: the mediating of organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of High Technology Management Research, 19(2),128-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hitech.2008.10.005
Downloads
Published
Versions
- 2022-07-07 (2)
- 2022-06-29 (1)
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Frank Otoo, Manpreet Kuar , Evelyn Otoo

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
For all articles published in IJRBS, copyright is retained by the authors. Articles are licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, meaning that anyone may download and read the paper for free. In addition, the article may be reused and quoted provided that the original published version is cited. These conditions allow for maximum use and exposure of the work, while ensuring that the authors receive proper credit.