Business Strategy, Organizational Structure, Human Resource Strategic Orientation and Performance of Large Private Manufacturing Firms in Kenya

Abstract

This research was done in Kenya and focused on the private manufacturing firms that are registered members of Kenya Association of Manufacturers. The study set out to investigate the moderating effect of business strategy and organizational structure on the relationship between human resource strategic orientation and performance of large private manufacturing firms in Kenya. This study relied on primary data which was collected using a structured questionnaire. The respondents were senior managers drawn from the departments of human resources management, finance and corporate planning. The questionnaires were self-administered. A total of 108 questionnaires were administered but only 75 questionnaires were completed. Prior to processing the responses, the filled questionnaires were edited and checked for completeness and consistency. The questionnaires were coded and entered into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Both correlation and regression analysis were used in hypothesis testing. All the hypotheses were confirmed. The research findings revealed that there was high positive correlation between human resource strategic orientation and firm performance. It was further established that there was moderate positive effect of organizational structure on the relationship between human resource strategic orientation and firm performance. The researcher recommends that large private manufacturing firms in Kenya should align their business strategy and organizational structure with human resource strategic orientation since it ensures performance. As for the direction for further study, the researcher recommends that future research in human resource strategic orientation should focus on public manufacturing firms and for the sake of knowledge, consider the use of longitudinal research design as opposed to the survey research designed. Longitudinal research design provides the researcher with in-depth understanding of cause and effect regarding a phenomenon