Human Capital Elements and their Influence on Performance: Evidence from Uganda’s Manufacturing Firms

Abstract

Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to establish the elements of human capital that are influential in steering the performance of medium and large manufacturing firms (MLMC). Design/methodology /approach: A valid research instrument was utilized to conduct a survey on 359 MLMCs (256 Medium firms and 103 large manufacturing companies) and 897 respondents that are representative of 397 MLMCs and 1,087 respondents. Correlation and regression analysis were conducted to ascertain the validity of the hypotheses. Findings- It was established that human capital elements (employee educational level, experience and motivation) are associated with MLMC`s performance. Furthermore, human capital as a whole accounts for 55.9 percent of the variation in performance Uganda`s MLMCs. Research limitations/implications- Only a single research methodological approach was employed, future research through interviews could be undertaken to triangulate. Multiple respondents in MLMCs (CEO, finance manager and human & administrative manager and senior employees) were studied neglecting others. Furthermore, the study used the cross-sectional approach- a longitudinal approach should be employed to study the trend over years. Finally, human capital was studied and by the virtual of the results, there are other factors that contribute to MLMC`s performance that were not part of this study.