Title: The relationship between human resource management practices and manufacturing flexibility: empirical evidence from manufacturing companies in Vietnam

Authors: Nguyen Ngoc Anh; Trieu Dinh Phuong; Phan Chi Anh; Yoshiki Matsui

Addresses: Graduate School of International Social Sciences, Yokohama National University, 79-4 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan ' Faculty of Economics and Management, Thuy Loi University, 175 Tay Son, Dong Da, Hanoi 116-705, Vietnam ' School of Business Administration, VNU University of Economics and Business, 144 Xuan Thuy, Cau Giay, Hanoi 123-106, Vietnam ' Department of Business Administration, Yokohama National University, 79-4 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan

Abstract: Manufacturing flexibility has been widely considered as an aid to greater productivity, meanwhile, multi-functional employees have been viewed as a great potential source of productivity improvement by avoiding bottlenecks. This study aims to investigate the relationship between human resource management practices and manufacturing flexibility in Vietnamese manufacturing companies. Data were collected from 25 Vietnamese companies belonging to three industries: electronics/electrical, machinery and automobile in 2014. Correlation and regression analyses are applied to explore the relationships among research variables. The results indicate not only a significant linkage between multi-functional employees and manufacturing flexibility but also a positive relationship between management breadth of experience, task-related training for employees and multi-functional employees. The paper enriches the literature of manufacturing flexibility by providing empirical evidence from developing countries, and by providing insights into how Vietnamese manufacturers use internal resources, i.e., human resources, to achieve a higher level of manufacturing flexibility.

Keywords: manufacturing flexibility; human resource management; HRM; competitive performance; empirical study; Vietnamese manufacturing companies; Vietnam.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2019.099623

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2019 Vol.26 No.4, pp.394 - 416

Received: 10 Aug 2017
Accepted: 18 Feb 2018
Published online: 15 May 2019 *

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