| Peer-Reviewed

Recognition Practices and Employee Performance: Understanding Work Engagement as a Mediating Pathway in Kenyan Context

Received: 1 March 2020     Accepted: 16 March 2020     Published: 13 July 2020
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

A number of studies have provided evidence buoying intrinsic rewards as human resource interventions for enhancing performance at individual, functional, and organisational levels. While this evidence abounds mostly in the high-income economies, the direct and indirect pathways through which intrinsic rewards such as recognition practices generate employee’s performance lacked empirical and theoretical investigation in the low-income economies. Using survey data from 106 respondents pursuing MBA and PhD programmes at Kenyatta University, this study investigated the relationship between recognition practices, work engagement, and employees’ performance in Kenyan context. The hypotheses of this study were anchored on Social Exchange Theory, and both descriptive and explanatory research designs were employed. Data were obtained from the respondents through self-administered questionnaires and the study instruments were adapted items. The study’s instruments were subjected to Principal Component Analysis to determine the validity and reliability of the research instruments, and thereafter the direct hypothesised relationship was determined through linear regression method. The findings from the analysis revealed positive and significant effect of recognition practices on employee performance in Kenyan context. Furthermore, this study used PROCESS macro and found partial mediating effect of work engagement on the relationship between recognition practices and employees’ performance. The study offers both theoretical and practical implications which revolve round the need to enhance positive attitudinal outcome (work engagement) that will occasion desired performance at various organisational levels via the design and implementation of employee recognition practices in Kenyan context.

Published in Journal of Human Resource Management (Volume 8, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.17
Page(s) 163-171
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Recognition Practices, Work Engagement, Employee Performance, Social Exchange Theory

References
[1] Saks, A. M. (2006). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. Journal of managerial psychology, 21 (7), 600-619.
[2] Rich, B. L., Lepine, J. A., & Crawford, E. R. (2010). Job engagement: Antecedents and effects on job performance. Academy of management journal, 53 (3), 617-635.
[3] Boselie, P. (2010). High performance work practices in the health care sector: a Dutch case study. International Journal of Manpower, 31 (1), 42-58.
[4] Mostafa, A. M. S. (2016). High-performance HR practices, work stress and quit intentions in the public health sector: Does person–organization fit matter?. Public Management Review, 18 (8), 1218-1237.
[5] Karatepe, O. M., & Olugbade, O. A. (2016). The mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between high-performance work practices and job outcomes of employees in Nigeria. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28 (10), 2350-2371.
[6] Alfes, K., Truss, C., Soane, E. C., Rees, C., & Gatenby, M. (2013). The relationship between line manager behavior, perceived HRM practices, and individual performance: Examining the mediating role of engagement. Human resource management, 52 (6), 839-859.
[7] Karatepe, O. M., & Vatankhah, S. (2015). High-performance work practices, career satisfaction, and service recovery performance: a study of flight attendants. Tourism Review, 70 (1), 56-71.
[8] Brun, J. P., & Dugas, N. (2008). An analysis of employee recognition: Perspectives on human resources practices. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19 (4), 716-730.
[9] Paré, G., & Tremblay, M. (2007). The influence of high-involvement human resources practices, procedural justice, organizational commitment, and citizenship behaviors on information technology professionals' turnover intentions. Group & Organization Management, 32 (3), 326-357.
[10] Ghosh, P., Rai, A., Chauhan, R., Baranwal, G., & Srivastava, D. (2016). Rewards and recognition to engage private bank employees: Exploring the “obligation dimension”. Management Research Review, 39 (12), 1738-1751.
[11] Haines III, V. Y., & St-Onge, S. (2012). Performance management effectiveness: practices or context?. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23 (6), 1158.
[12] Long, R. J., & Shields, J. L. (2010). From pay to praise? Non-cash employee recognition in Canadian and Australian firms. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21 (8), 1145-1172.
[13] Khan, I., Shahid, M., Nawab, S., & Wali, S. S. (2013). Influence of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards on employee performance: The banking sector of Pakistan. Academic Research International, 4 (1), 282.
[14] Abdullah, A. A., & Wan, H. L. (2013). Relationships of non-monetary incentives, job satisfaction and employee job performance. International Review of Management and Business Research, 2 (4), 1085.
[15] Bradler, C., Dur, R., Neckermann, S., & Non, A. (2016). Employee recognition and performance: A field experiment. Management Science, 62 (11), 3085-3099.
[16] Feys, M., Anseel, F., & Wille, B. (2013). Responses to co-workers receiving recognition at work. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 28, 492–510.
[17] Kataria, A., Rastogi, R., & Garg, P. (2013). Organizational effectiveness as a function of employee engagement. South Asian Journal of Management, 20 (4), 56.
[18] Presbitero, A. (2017). How do changes in human resource management practices influence employee engagement? A longitudinal study in a hotel chain in the Philippines. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 16 (1), 56-70.
[19] Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., González-Romá, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness studies, 3 (1), 71-92.
[20] Bakker, A. B., Albrecht, S. L., & Leiter, M. P. (2011). Key questions regarding work engagement. European journal of work and organizational psychology, 20 (1), 4-28.
[21] Rawal, S. (2015). Predictors of employee engagement in public & private insurance companies. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 285-299.
[22] Joshi, R. J., & Sodhi, J. S. (2011). Drivers of employee engagement in Indian organizations. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 162-182.
[23] Xu, J., & Cooper Thomas, H. (2011). How can leaders achieve high employee engagement? Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 32 (4), 399-416.
[24] Mishra, B., Sharma, B. R., & Bhaskar, A. U. (2015). Predictors of employee engagement: the case of an Indian PSU. The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 469-478.
[25] Noronha, S. F., Aquinas, P. G., & Manezes, A. D. (2018). Is Job Performance Better Attributable To Performance Management System Through Work Engagement? Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies, 9 (1), 1-6.
[26] Anitha, J. (2014). Determinants of employee engagement and their impact on employee performance. International journal of productivity and performance management, 63 (3), 308.
[27] Bedarkar, M., & Pandita, D. (2014). A study on the drivers of employee engagement impacting employee performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 133, 106-115.
[28] Cattermole, G., Johnson, J., & Jackson, D. (2014). Employee engagement creates a brighter economic future at Jupiter Hotels. Strategic HR Review, 13 (2), 81-85.
[29] Guest, D. E. (1997). Human resource management and performance: a review and research agenda. International journal of human resource management, 8 (3), 263-276.
[30] Owoeye, I., Kaumbulu, A, K., & Alago, D. (2019). Innovative Employment Practices and Employees’ Performance: Understanding Mediating Effect of Self-efficacy in the Context of Collectivist Economy. Journal of Environmental Sustainability Advancement Research, 5, 96-102.
[31] Blau, P. M. (1964). Social exchange theory. Retrieved September, 3 (2007), 62. 1175.
[32] Owoeye, I., & Muathe, S. M. (2018). Competence-Enhancing Interventions and Organisational Performance: A Theoretical Review. Journal of Human Resource Management, 6 (2), 67-77, doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.20180602.14.
[33] Snape, E., & Redman, T. (2010). HRM practices, organizational citizenship behaviour, and performance: A multi‐level analysis. Journal of management studies, 47 (7), 1219-1247.
[34] Janssen, O., & Van Yperen, N. W. (2004). Employees' goal orientations, the quality of leader-member exchange, and the outcomes of job performance and job satisfaction. Academy of management journal, 47 (3), 368-384.
[35] Pallant, J. (2005). SPSS Statistical Manual, 2nd ed., Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest.
[36] Muli, J. V., Muathe, S., & Muchiri, M. (2014). Human Resource Work-Family Support Services and Employees’ Performance within the Banking Industry in Nairobi County, Kenya. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 4 (7), 158-170.
[37] Hayes, A. F. (2018). The PROCESS macro for SPSS and SAS. Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional PROCESS analysis, second edition: A regression-based approach.
[38] MacKinnon, D. P., Lockwood, C. M., Hoffman, J. M., West, S. G., & Sheets, V. (2002). A comparison of methods to test mediation and other intervening variable effects. Psychological methods, 7 (1), 83.
[39] Lee, J., & Ok, C. M. (2016). Hotel employee work engagement and its consequences. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 25 (2), 133-166.
[40] Karatepe, O. M. (2014). Hope, work engagement, and organizationally valued performance outcomes: an empirical study in the hotel industry. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 23 (6), 678-698.
[41] Ndungu, D. N. (2017). The Effects of Rewards and Recognition on Employee Performance in Public Educational Institutions: A Case of Kenyatta University, Kenya. Global Journal of Management And Business Research.
[42] Njanja, L. W., Maina, R. N., Kibet, L. K., & Njagi, K. (2013). Effect of reward on employee performance: A case of Kenya Power and Lighting Company Ltd., Nakuru, Kenya.
[43] Muogbo, U. S. (2013). The impact of employee motivation on organisational performance (a study of some selected firms in Anambra State Nigeria). The international journal of engineering and science, 2 (7), 70-80.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Idowu Owoeye, David Kiiru, Jedidah Muli. (2020). Recognition Practices and Employee Performance: Understanding Work Engagement as a Mediating Pathway in Kenyan Context. Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(3), 163-171. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.17

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Idowu Owoeye; David Kiiru; Jedidah Muli. Recognition Practices and Employee Performance: Understanding Work Engagement as a Mediating Pathway in Kenyan Context. J. Hum. Resour. Manag. 2020, 8(3), 163-171. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.17

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Idowu Owoeye, David Kiiru, Jedidah Muli. Recognition Practices and Employee Performance: Understanding Work Engagement as a Mediating Pathway in Kenyan Context. J Hum Resour Manag. 2020;8(3):163-171. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.17

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.17,
      author = {Idowu Owoeye and David Kiiru and Jedidah Muli},
      title = {Recognition Practices and Employee Performance: Understanding Work Engagement as a Mediating Pathway in Kenyan Context},
      journal = {Journal of Human Resource Management},
      volume = {8},
      number = {3},
      pages = {163-171},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.17},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.17},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jhrm.201200803.17},
      abstract = {A number of studies have provided evidence buoying intrinsic rewards as human resource interventions for enhancing performance at individual, functional, and organisational levels. While this evidence abounds mostly in the high-income economies, the direct and indirect pathways through which intrinsic rewards such as recognition practices generate employee’s performance lacked empirical and theoretical investigation in the low-income economies. Using survey data from 106 respondents pursuing MBA and PhD programmes at Kenyatta University, this study investigated the relationship between recognition practices, work engagement, and employees’ performance in Kenyan context. The hypotheses of this study were anchored on Social Exchange Theory, and both descriptive and explanatory research designs were employed. Data were obtained from the respondents through self-administered questionnaires and the study instruments were adapted items. The study’s instruments were subjected to Principal Component Analysis to determine the validity and reliability of the research instruments, and thereafter the direct hypothesised relationship was determined through linear regression method. The findings from the analysis revealed positive and significant effect of recognition practices on employee performance in Kenyan context. Furthermore, this study used PROCESS macro and found partial mediating effect of work engagement on the relationship between recognition practices and employees’ performance. The study offers both theoretical and practical implications which revolve round the need to enhance positive attitudinal outcome (work engagement) that will occasion desired performance at various organisational levels via the design and implementation of employee recognition practices in Kenyan context.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Recognition Practices and Employee Performance: Understanding Work Engagement as a Mediating Pathway in Kenyan Context
    AU  - Idowu Owoeye
    AU  - David Kiiru
    AU  - Jedidah Muli
    Y1  - 2020/07/13
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.17
    DO  - 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.17
    T2  - Journal of Human Resource Management
    JF  - Journal of Human Resource Management
    JO  - Journal of Human Resource Management
    SP  - 163
    EP  - 171
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2331-0715
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.17
    AB  - A number of studies have provided evidence buoying intrinsic rewards as human resource interventions for enhancing performance at individual, functional, and organisational levels. While this evidence abounds mostly in the high-income economies, the direct and indirect pathways through which intrinsic rewards such as recognition practices generate employee’s performance lacked empirical and theoretical investigation in the low-income economies. Using survey data from 106 respondents pursuing MBA and PhD programmes at Kenyatta University, this study investigated the relationship between recognition practices, work engagement, and employees’ performance in Kenyan context. The hypotheses of this study were anchored on Social Exchange Theory, and both descriptive and explanatory research designs were employed. Data were obtained from the respondents through self-administered questionnaires and the study instruments were adapted items. The study’s instruments were subjected to Principal Component Analysis to determine the validity and reliability of the research instruments, and thereafter the direct hypothesised relationship was determined through linear regression method. The findings from the analysis revealed positive and significant effect of recognition practices on employee performance in Kenyan context. Furthermore, this study used PROCESS macro and found partial mediating effect of work engagement on the relationship between recognition practices and employees’ performance. The study offers both theoretical and practical implications which revolve round the need to enhance positive attitudinal outcome (work engagement) that will occasion desired performance at various organisational levels via the design and implementation of employee recognition practices in Kenyan context.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Sections