The impact of cultural value orientations on individual HRM preferences indeveloping countries: lessons from Kenyan organizations

The intention of the study is to examine the impact that individual nationa l culture value orientations have on the preference for the design of HR po licies and practices. The Value orientation structure and preferences for t hirty-four HR design choices are studied in a sample of 274 Kenyan employee s from eight multinational, state and private domestic firms operating in t he manufacturing and processing sector. The study shows that the HR design choices of Kenyan employees reflect the following picture across four facto rs: high HR involvement/participation : high predictability of rewards; per formance rather than loyalty-based policies; and moderate levels of HR empo werment. Kenyan employee value orientations reflect: activity thinking over activity doing; individual over collective relationships; relationship to nature mastery over relationship to nature harmony; low subjugation to natu re; and human nature evil (manipulative). More importantly, three out of th e four HR preference factors are values-related, i.e. the individual's valu e orientation is highly predictive of their preference for the design of HR policies and practices. From 9 per cent to 19 per cent of the variance in preferences for involvement, empowerment and predictability of rewards is a ccounted for by national culture value orientations. KR involvement prefere nces are related to activity thinking values. Predictability of rewards is related to high activity doing. Empowerment HR is related to low relationsh ips hierarchical values. Preferences for performance versus loyalty-based H RM are intriguingly values-free judgements, although ethnic factors play a role here.