Contribution to the study of the relationship between the perception of human resources management practices and individual performance: proposal of a research model

Abstract

Several studies have examined the nature of the relationship between HRM and performance, through various works carried out since the 1960s. Huselid (1995) and Arthur (1994) are among the pioneers in the field of studies addressing the link between the HRM-performance duo. Our research aims to investigate the relationship between human resources' perception of HRM practices (HRMP) and individual performance (IP) in Moroccan organizations of different sizes and sectors. In order to test our hypotheses, the proposed model examined a mixed sample of 471 Moroccan employees to go beyond the simple perception of HR managers often considered in many studies. Structural equation modeling was applied and the results indicate that three of the five suggested HRMPs are positively related to individual performance. Our work thus provides empirical evidence for the basic models of social exchange theory, highlighting the impact of HRMPs on human resource behaviors and performance, depending on how these practices are received, perceived, and converted by employees. It should be noted that direct linkage models are not sufficiently rich in terms of information to justify the relationship between HRM practices and performance, hence the need to consider intermediate variables in future research.

Keywords: HRM practices; Human resource behavior; Individual performance; Social exchange theory; Moroccan employees.

JEL Classification : J24 ; M12 ; M54

Paper type: Empirical research