Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of human resource management (HRM) practices on organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 300 employees from a public university comprising of both academicians and support staff responded to the survey. The survey questionnaire had 46 items covering selected HRM practices and university performance. Findings – The study has found that human resource practices: recruitment, training, performance appraisal, career planning, employee participation, job definition and compensation have a significant relationship with university performance. Research limitations/implications – The results come from a cross-sectional study which was done at the convenience of the researcher. The results may not be generalized across the country. The application of the results to other universities must be done with maximum care. Practical implications – If the university is to increase its performance to higher levels, it should emphasize more on job definition, training and employee participation. Some improvement needs to be done on the other HRM practices-recruitment, performance appraisal, career planning and compensation in order to increase their effectiveness on the university performance. Originality/value – Most studies on impact of HRM practices on firm performance have focussed on private sectors in Malaysia. In other countries, the studies have focussed only on academicians as a sample. This study has attempted to add to the body of knowledge on the impact of HRM practices on university performance in Malaysia combining both the academicians and administration staff.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of preparation level of heirs and the relationship between family and business members on the performance of family business in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research design involving the use of a survey questionnaire was implemented to investigate the influences of succession planning factors on the performance of family business in SMEs. The survey was conducted on 50 family business successors in Malaysian SMEs. Findings The result showed that the two studied factors – preparation level of heirs and the relationship between family and business members – have a positive impact on the performance of family business. Research limitations/implications The research concentrated on the performance of family business in SMEs in Malaysia’s southern region. The generalization therefore must be made very cautiously to the overall Malaysian SMEs. Practical implications The findings help family businesses to better understand the importance of the preparation level of heirs and the relationship between family and business members on business performance. This study shows the importance of key factors influencing succession planning so that the successor to the family business can bring the family firm to the next stage of success. Originality/value This study serves as a reference or guide for the management of family businesses to better understand the important factors for effective succession planning. It considers the best possible preparation and family-related factors affecting the end results of business, particularly in Malaysian SMEs.

Purpose This paper aims to identify the influence of business strategy on enterprise risk management (ERM) adoption and organizational performance (OP). In addition, the mediation effect of ERM on the relationship between business strategy and OP is assessed. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional analysis of primary data gathered from 174 public listed companies in Malaysian Bourse through survey was conducted. Findings Companies with cost leadership business strategy are more eager to implement ERM compared to companies with differentiation strategy. The results also indicate that ERM implementation has a significant positive impact on OP. Though ERM is a partial mediator of the relationship between cost leadership strategy and OP, it does not mediate the relationship between differentiation strategy and OP. Research limitations/implications One of the limitations of this study was the small number of respondents, comprising only 174 public listed companies. In addition, the manifest variables adopted from previous studies may not be the best indicators to measure latent variables. Nonetheless, this study fills the gaps in ERM studies by determining the impact of different kinds of strategy on ERM adoption and investigating the mediating effect of ERM on the relationship between business strategy and OP. Practical implications Although the trend in Malaysia seems to move toward ERM adoption, evidence shows that it is not widely practiced among Malaysian firms. Directors of Malaysian companies can understand better the impact of enterprise business strategy on the adoption of risk management and how ERM influences OP. The results of this study also provide valuable insights for the corporate governance regulatory authorities. Originality/value This paper is among the few to assess the impact of firm’s strategy on ERM adoption and to determine the mediation effect of ERM on the relationship between business strategy and OP.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate existing studies on the relationship of corporate governance with firm performance in different regions and address the need for similar analysis for the Gulf Coperation Council (GCC) sector. The banking sector comprises the conventional and Islamic banks in the GCC sector and is important due to their ability to bring stability to this region. Existing studies that measure the relationship of GCC sector conventional banks and firm performance are limited. This study proposes a need for future research on corporate governance in the GCC region. Design/methodology/approach – This paper will review and analyze the different empirical and theoretical contributions in establishing the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance. Findings – This paper will create a focus for future research of measuring the impact of corporate governance mechanism on firm performance. The regulators will be encouraged to focus on more research studies for the GCC sector development in the field of corporate governance of the banking sector. Research limitations/implications – The existing studies are valid and practicable for the region under study, and the results need not be applicable for other business environments. In addition, the evolving business and economic environment have always brought about inconsistent conclusions; thus, the period of study can always give varied results. Practical implications – The analysis undertaken in this paper will address the literature gaps for the GCC banking sector and play an instrumental role for future studies by theoreticians and regulators. Originality/value – This paper identifies the literature gaps for the GCC region and analyses the most applicable existing studies that can be useful for the banking sector corporate governance improvement. This paper will create opportunities for the future researchers.

Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.