The impact of high performance work practices on project performance in selected construction companies in Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of four High Performance Work Practices (HPWPs) on project performance in selected construction companies in Cape Town, South Africa. The four HPWPs comprised: recruitment and selection (RS); performance appraisal (PA); training and development (TD); and compensation system (CS). The study employed a positivist philosophy utilizing the survey method to collect data from 70 employees who were drawn from a select group of multi-project construction companies in Cape Town, South Africa. The respondents comprised employees who worked as project team members and line staff/ administrative staff. Non-probability sampling procedure in the form of convenience sampling technique was used for the selection of five (5) construction organisations in Cape Town, South Africa. Probability sampling procedure in the form of stratified sampling technique was employed in the selection of the respondents to complete the questionnaire.Collected data was captured and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. The main research question of the study was: What is the relationship between the four HPWPs and project performance? The results indicate that CS has a weak positive relationship with project performance, whereas TD, PA and RS have weak negative relationships with project performance. It also emerged that there are other factors that significantly affect project performance other than the HPWPs investigated.The results of this study are significant because they provide a unique view of the work environment that has been insufficiently examined. Also, very few studies have focused on the above four universal HPWPs, which this study was earmarked for. The results that are obtained from this study significantly add to the overall body of knowledge pertaining to theories and their application in HRM, project performance and multi-project environments issues.