Factors affecting employee performance: an empirical approach

Abstract

Purpose Nowadays, the phenomenon of increased competition between firms and their need to respond effectively to rapidly changing operational conditions, as well as to personnel requirements, has escalated the necessity to identify those factors that affect employee performance (EP). The purpose of this paper is to examine the interrelations between firm/environment-related factors (training culture, management support, environmental dynamism and organizational climate), job-related factors (job environment, job autonomy, job communication) and employee-related factors (intrinsic motivation, skill flexibility, skill level, proactivity, adaptability, commitment) and their impact on EP. Design/methodology/approach A new research model that examines the relationships between these factors and EP is proposed utilizing the structural equation modeling approach. Findings The results indicate that job environment and management support have the strongest impacts (direct and indirect) on job performance, while adaptability and intrinsic motivation directly affect job performance. Research limitations/implications A potential limitation of this research is that it is not focused only on one business sector (i.e. the sample is heterogeneous). Originality/value In this study, firm/environmental-related factors, job-related factors, employee-related factors and EP are incorporated in a single model using data from small- and medium-sized enterprises. Overall, the final model can explain 27 percent of EP variance (first-level analysis) and 42 percent of EP variance (second-level analysis).