Relationship between flexible work practices and organisational performance: a survey of advertising agencies in Kenya

Abstract

It has been argued in the literature that flexible work practices affect organisational performance. However, no examination of the relationship among these has been performed in the Kenyan context. The objective of the study was to understand this relationship and illustrate the potential impact of the theoretical development of flexible work practices in practice. Investing in 'progressive' human resource practices have been shown to lead to a greater degree of commitment and motivation amongst the workforce as well as increased ability and greater opportunities to work more productively. In this paper based on a field study of 11 advertising agencies in the service industries we sought to find out the relationship, if any, between flexible work practices and organisational performance. Data was collected using questionnaires, which were completed by the General Managers, Managing Directors or the Human Resources Manager. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings provide no evidence of a relationship between flexible work practices and organisational performance in locally owned agencies, but a positive relationship in foreign owned agencies. At the same time, it was clearly evident that the dimensions of flexible work practices that were embraced by foreign agencies were different from those embraced by local agencies. Plausible explanations could be that most African organisations do not engage in participative forms of management practices, most are authoritarian, insensitive and personalised, characteristics that are opposite of flexible work practices. Consequently, it is important to note that flexible work practices are implemented in different ways depending on the internal structure of organisations.