The relationship between human resource management practices and manufacturing flexibility: empirical evidence from manufacturing companies in Vietnam

Manufacturing flexibility has been widely considered as an aid to greater productivity, meanwhile, multi-functional employees have been viewed as a great potential source of productivity improvement by avoiding bottlenecks. This study aims to investigate the relationship between human resource management practices and manufacturing flexibility in Vietnamese manufacturing companies. Data were collected from 25 Vietnamese companies belonging to three industries: electronics/electrical, machinery and automobile in 2014. Correlation and regression analyses are applied to explore the relationships among research variables. The results indicate not only a significant linkage between multi-functional employees and manufacturing flexibility but also a positive relationship between management breadth of experience, task-related training for employees and multi-functional employees. The paper enriches the literature of manufacturing flexibility by providing empirical evidence from developing countries, and by providing insights into how Vietnamese manufacturers use internal resources, i.e., human resources, to achieve a higher level of manufacturing flexibility.