Effect of Human Resource Capabilities on Sustainable Organizational Competitiveness of Mobile Phone Service Providers in Kenya: A Moderating Role of Work Arrangements

Abstract

In a rapidly changing and competitive environment, Human Resource Management practitioners are striving to deal with the emerging challenges. The emergent non-standard and non-routine work arrangements contribute to attraction and retention of talents for sustainable organizational competitiveness. Several past studies focused on human resource capabilities, work arrangements and sustainable organizational competitiveness but did not address the issues studied in this research particularly the effect of human resource capabilities on sustainable organizational competitiveness: moderating role of work arrangements. The study was grounded on Resource Based View, Social Exchange and Performance theories. Explanatory research design guided by pragmatism philosophical paradigm was adopted.Multistage sampling design which included stratified random sampling, proportionate sampling and random sampling were used to get the actual respondents studied. Targeted population was 1279 drawn from 3 mobile phone service provider firms in Kenya. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from 258 respondent’s determined using Taro Yamane sample size formula. Data was Analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics which included; Factor analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple hierarchical regression analysis. The findings were analyzed at p< 0.05 which showed a positive relationship between human resource competencies and sustainable organizational competitiveness (β = 0.135, p < 0.05). Human capital processes and sustainable organizational competitiveness also showed a positive relationship (β = 0.105, p < 0.05) and between human resource management practices and sustainable organizational competitiveness (β = 0.749, p < 0.05). The moderator variable had a positive significant relationship (β = 0.095, p < 0.05) on sustainable organizational competitiveness. Subsequently, when independent variables were moderated with work arrangements the findings indicated that human resource competencies had a positive significant effect on sustainable organizational competitiveness (β = 0.234, P < 0.05) with human resource management practices having negative significant effect on sustainable organizational competitiveness (β = 0.214, P < 0.05). However, human capital processes had a positive insignificant effect on sustainable organizational competitiveness (β = 0.026, P > 0.05). Similarly, overall test of significance with F-test values confirmed a high significant effect of work arrangements on the relationship between human resource capabilities and sustainable organizational competitiveness F {(7, 250) = 329.576, P < 0.05}.The findings of the study confirmed the significant effect of Human Resource capabilities on sustainable organizational competitiveness and it was therefore concluded that there is a moderating role of work arrangements on the relationship between human resource capabilities and sustainable organizational competitiveness. The findings support the use of Resource Based View, Performance and Social Exchange theories. The study recommends that mobile phone service provider firms should promote interest of employees whenever undertaking human resource management so as to win their support as this has effect on their competitiveness. Further research to be done on other aspects of human resource capabilities, moderating role of work arrangements on human capital processes and sustainable organizational competitiveness as it exhibited insignificant results.