Introduction

Literature review and hypothesis development

Methods

Analytic approach

Results

Discussion

Limitations and suggestions for future study

References

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of employee competencies in the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach – An integrated research model was developed by combining principal factors from existing literature. Data were collected through questionnaire from 600 employees of the selected hotels. The validity of the model and hypotheses was tested using structural equation modeling. The reliability and validity of the dimensions are established through confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings – The results indicate that some HRM practices impact organizational performance through their influence on employee competencies. The study further revealed that employee competencies mediate the relationship between HRM practices and organizational performance.
Research limitations/implications – The research was undertaken in the hotel industry and the analysis based on cross-sectional data which cannot be generalized across a broader range of sectors and international environment.
Practical implications – The findings of the study have the potential to help policy makers, stakeholders and management of hotels in adopting proper and well-articulated HRM practices in building human capital and stimulating the necessary behaviors that create advantage for the organization.
Originality/value – This study extends the literature by empirically adducing evidence that employee competencies mediated the relationship between HRM practices and organizational performance of the hotel industry in Ghana.

Introduction

In today’s hyper-competitive arena, organizations stakeholders are demanding that all functional areas within the firm including human resources functions clearly demonstrate their contributions to overall organization’s performance and ensure that a firm’s human capital contribute to the achievement of its business objective (Baird and Meshoulam, 1998; D’Aveni, 1994; Jackson and Schuler, 1995). Such resources take on special relevance when dealing with labor-intensive service industries, especially, the hospitality industry where the accomplishment of the business is contingent predominantly on the social and technical skills of its personnel, their ingenuity and hard work, their commitment and attitude for competitive success (Gabriel, 1988). Creating competitive advantage through people requires careful attention to the practices that best leverage these assets. Human resource management (HRM) practices are a set of internally consistent policies and practices designed and implemented to ensure that a firm’s human capital contribute to the achievement of its business objectives (Delery and Doty, 1996). The hospitality industry encompasses different activities and purposes including lodging, catering and other establishments besides hotels. However, Dittmer (2002) argued that the hotel industry represents a key segment of the hospitality industry. Several other authors (Enz, 2009; Poulston, 2008) deliberate that the hotel industry is a people industry.