Assessing the Moderating Effect of Competition Intensity on HRM Practices and Organizational Performance Link: The Experience of Malaysian R&D Companies

Nowadays, firms in R&D sector face many challenges in enhancing performance. To perform, these firms need to develop strong internal workforce to address increasing environmental challenges. Based on the contingency theory, this paper examined the moderating effect of competition intensity on the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and organizational performance. Using data from 64 R&D companies, the hierarchical regression analysis however failed to show significant moderating effect of competition intensity on such relationship. Several plausible causes are discussed. Given that, this study offers good insights about the practice of HRM in this sector