| Summary: | Recently in Bahraini private universities there has been an increased focus on the importance of HR practices. This research examined the link between HR practices and staff perceptions of organisational performance. The research explored staff perceptions of the link directly and also examined the effect of mediating variables – organisational culture, employee commitment and employee retention. The researcher developed a model, based on an extensive review of the literature and using the resource-based view and contingency theory. Within the model a set of HRM practices and mediators including organisational culture were suggested as determinants of organisational performance. A set of research hypotheses concerning the links between variables were formulated. Data was gathered using a set of questionnaires to measure staff perceptions. The questionnaires were designed to take cultural considerations into account and the survey was conducted ethically and objectively. The questionnaire survey was targeted at 300 academic and administrative staff employed by five Bahraini private universities. Stratified sampling was used and two hundred and eighty usable responses were received. The results were analysed to determine the relationship between variables in the model using PLS (Partial Least Squares). SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) was used for statistical analysis of the responses to the questionnaire which gave further insights into the use of specific HR practices. The research findings indicated that there was a direct relationship between HR practices and staff perceptions of organisational performance and this was also mediated by organisational culture, employee retention and employee commitment. This study contributes to the body of knowledge of HRM by providing new insights into the interplay between adoption of SHRM practices and organisational performance of private universities in a developing country. This contributes to the literature on the effects of HRM on organisational performance, which are currently drawn mainly from a Western context.
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