International Studies Review Vol. 13 No.1 June 2012

pages: 1-18

Research in the field of strategic human resource management
has attracted a great deal of interest because of its likely
impact on bottom line outcomes. Recent work in this area
posits that organizational commitment can mediate the relationship
between human resource management (HRM)practices
and organizational performance. However, most of the
studies conducted in this area were concentrated on samples
gathered from private organizations, and mainly in western
countries. In this paper, the impact of HRM on organizational
performance is assessed. Furthermore, this research attempts
to shed more light on the ‘black box’ between human resource
practices and organizational performance by investigating the
mediating function of organizational commitment in two public
sector entities within the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The mediating factor was tested through regression of the
data collected from a sample of 371 workers who are employed
within the two aforementioned public sector entities. The
main findings are in line with the outcomes of earlier HRM-performance
studies conducted in western public and private
sectors, where employers can expect improved organizational
performance when their employees' perceptions of the HRM
practices within the organization tend to foster an increase
in their organizational commitment.