The relationship between human resource practices and firm performance: an empirical assessment of firms in Malaysia

Purpose – The objective of this study is to gain more insight into Malaysian human resource management, in terms of its history and current HR practices. Also, this paper also intends to examine the impact of implementing HR practices on the overall organization's performance based on a sample of 217 Malaysian based companies. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via questionnaires from human resource managers and top executives responsible for the managing human resources in their respective organizations. A sample of 217 Malaysian firms participated in this study. Using SPSS, a regression analysis was used to measure the impact of human resource practices on organizational performance. Findings – The key finding of this study is that HR practices do have a significant impact on the performance of Malaysian organizations. In a nutshell the results of this study suggest a positive association between HR practices and firm performance. Originality/value – This study contributes to the understanding of how Malaysian companies perceive the importance of human resource practices on overall organizational performance. HR practitioners can use the findings to support the case for implementing HR practices in organizations.