Moderating Effect of Perceived Career Opportunity on the Relationship between Aspects of HRM Practices and Employee Job Performance

Empirical studies on the relationship between Aspects of HRM practices and employee’s job performance revealed mixed findings, thus suggesting the need for introducing a moderating variable. This study examined the moderating effect of perceived career opportunity on the relationship between aspects of HRM practices (specifically, compensation, job autonomy and career planning) and job performance. Based on 296 data from local government employees in northern Nigeria, our findings (from the first model) using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) revealed that compensation, job autonomy and career planning practices are all positively and significantly related with employees’ job performance. Also, the results of the interaction model (when the moderator was introduced) revealed that compensation, job autonomy and career planning practices relate to employees’ job performance when the employees perceived high career opportunities within the organization. The study further demonstrates that Career Motivation Theory (CMT) explained when and how (under what condition) do these HRM practices relate with employees’ job performance.