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The flexible HRM and firm performance nexus: Can empowering leadership play any contingent role?

Purpose: The purpose of this empirical research was to investigate the individual effects of three dimensions of flexible human resource management (HRM) practices – skill flexibility, behavioral flexibility and human practice flexibility on firm performance and to what extent these relationships ar...

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Main Authors: Pahi, Munwar Hussain, Ahmed, Umair, Imroz, Sohel M., Shah, Syed Mir Muhammad, Yong, Irene Seok Ching
Format: Article
Published: Emerald Publishing 2024
Subjects:
Business
Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/44797/
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spelling my.um.eprints.447972024-07-11T02:57:32Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/44797/ The flexible HRM and firm performance nexus: Can empowering leadership play any contingent role? Pahi, Munwar Hussain Ahmed, Umair Imroz, Sohel M. Shah, Syed Mir Muhammad Yong, Irene Seok Ching Business Purpose: The purpose of this empirical research was to investigate the individual effects of three dimensions of flexible human resource management (HRM) practices – skill flexibility, behavioral flexibility and human practice flexibility on firm performance and to what extent these relationships are strengthened/weakened when there was the moderation of empowering leadership in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected from chief executive officers (CEOs) through a questionnaire survey method to test the hypothesized relationships. A final dataset of 315 valid responses was utilized for data analysis, and results were analyzed using the Smart partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. Findings: The findings revealed positive effects of skill flexibility, behavioral flexibility and human practice flexibility on firm performance. The moderating role of empowering leadership further strengthened the effects of employee skill flexibility and employee behavioral flexibility had on firm performance. However, empowering leadership did not pose any moderating effect on human practice flexibility and firm performance relationship. Research limitations/implications: This paper offers implications for theories on HRM and leadership. It also provides valuable insights for organizations and leaders seeking to boost firm performance across SMEs. Practical implications: This paper offers implications for theories on HRM and leadership and also contributes in the understanding of the modern managers. Originality/value: This paper investigated the effects of flexible HRM practices on firm performance and the role of empowering leadership across SMEs in Bahrain. It also explored how the performance of SMEs can be improved using flexible HRM practices followed by the presence of empowering leadership. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited. Emerald Publishing 2024 Article PeerReviewed Pahi, Munwar Hussain and Ahmed, Umair and Imroz, Sohel M. and Shah, Syed Mir Muhammad and Yong, Irene Seok Ching (2024) The flexible HRM and firm performance nexus: Can empowering leadership play any contingent role? International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 73 (2). 629 – 647. ISSN 1741-0401, DOI https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-06-2021-0360 <https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-06-2021-0360>. 10.1108/IJPPM-06-2021-0360
institution Universiti Malaya
building UM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaya
content_source UM Research Repository
url_provider http://eprints.um.edu.my/
topic Business
spellingShingle Business
Pahi, Munwar Hussain
Ahmed, Umair
Imroz, Sohel M.
Shah, Syed Mir Muhammad
Yong, Irene Seok Ching
The flexible HRM and firm performance nexus: Can empowering leadership play any contingent role?
description Purpose: The purpose of this empirical research was to investigate the individual effects of three dimensions of flexible human resource management (HRM) practices – skill flexibility, behavioral flexibility and human practice flexibility on firm performance and to what extent these relationships are strengthened/weakened when there was the moderation of empowering leadership in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected from chief executive officers (CEOs) through a questionnaire survey method to test the hypothesized relationships. A final dataset of 315 valid responses was utilized for data analysis, and results were analyzed using the Smart partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. Findings: The findings revealed positive effects of skill flexibility, behavioral flexibility and human practice flexibility on firm performance. The moderating role of empowering leadership further strengthened the effects of employee skill flexibility and employee behavioral flexibility had on firm performance. However, empowering leadership did not pose any moderating effect on human practice flexibility and firm performance relationship. Research limitations/implications: This paper offers implications for theories on HRM and leadership. It also provides valuable insights for organizations and leaders seeking to boost firm performance across SMEs. Practical implications: This paper offers implications for theories on HRM and leadership and also contributes in the understanding of the modern managers. Originality/value: This paper investigated the effects of flexible HRM practices on firm performance and the role of empowering leadership across SMEs in Bahrain. It also explored how the performance of SMEs can be improved using flexible HRM practices followed by the presence of empowering leadership. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
format Article
author Pahi, Munwar Hussain
Ahmed, Umair
Imroz, Sohel M.
Shah, Syed Mir Muhammad
Yong, Irene Seok Ching
author_facet Pahi, Munwar Hussain
Ahmed, Umair
Imroz, Sohel M.
Shah, Syed Mir Muhammad
Yong, Irene Seok Ching
author_sort Pahi, Munwar Hussain
title The flexible HRM and firm performance nexus: Can empowering leadership play any contingent role?
title_short The flexible HRM and firm performance nexus: Can empowering leadership play any contingent role?
title_full The flexible HRM and firm performance nexus: Can empowering leadership play any contingent role?
title_fullStr The flexible HRM and firm performance nexus: Can empowering leadership play any contingent role?
title_full_unstemmed The flexible HRM and firm performance nexus: Can empowering leadership play any contingent role?
title_sort flexible hrm and firm performance nexus: can empowering leadership play any contingent role?
publisher Emerald Publishing
publishDate 2024
url http://eprints.um.edu.my/44797/
_version_ 1805881168565895168
score 13.211869

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