Effect of Individual Skills and Performance on Humanitarian Organisations: A Structural Equation Model

Shanaka Rajakaruna, Alge Wattage Wijeratne, Tim Mann and Chen Yan
Additional contact information
Shanaka Rajakaruna: Dalian Maritime University, No: 1 Linghai Rd, Ganjingzi, Dalian 116026, Liaoning, China
Alge Wattage Wijeratne: Department of Agribusiness Management, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya 70140, Sri Lanka
Tim Mann: Henley Business School, Greenlands Campus, University of Reading, Henley-on-Thames, Reading RG6 6UD, UK
Chen Yan: Dalian Maritime University, No: 1 Linghai Rd, Ganjingzi, Dalian 116026, Liaoning, China

Logistics, 2017, vol. 1, issue 1, 1-21

Abstract: The significance of Humanitarian Logistics (HL) skills as basic requirements for employment and career development within the HL field has been demonstrated in previous research by the authors. This research showed a strong relationship between recognised HL skills, individual performance and the HL supply chain. With the increasing number of humanitarian disasters globally, it is essential to determine the correlation between individual performance and humanitarian organisational performance. As with previous research, this paper focuses on HL in the Sri Lankan context. Some limited research has already been undertaken on the subject. However, there were a number of major issues identified during this early research that need to be addressed regarding the effective and efficient operation of humanitarian supply chains. These issues include selecting the right personnel for the job, assessing their performance and building and maintaining measurement indicators to evaluate the performance of the humanitarian organisations. A conceptual model based on a Structural Equation Analysis was deduced from an extensive literature survey and was employed to answer these three interconnected issues. The resultant Structural Equation Model (SEM) was used to analyse the conceptual framework with data being gathered from HL practitioners across Sri Lanka by questionnaire. The existence of a relationship between individual skills and HL performance has been demonstrated previously, but not all skills contribute to individual or organisational performance. This research helps prove earlier theories by other researchers regarding the significance of specific skills for performance. The paper also suggests possible areas of future research.

Keywords: HL; structural equation modelling; Sri Lanka; skills; performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L8 L80 L81 L86 L87 L9 L90 L91 L92 L93 L98 L99 M1 M10 M11 M16 M19 R4 R40 R41 R49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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