A Study on the Process of Non-regular Workers’ Utilization on Firm Performance: The Mediating Effect of Employee Competence

Purpose - The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effect of employee competence on the relationship between the utilization of non-regular workers and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach - This study utilized 427 firm level data from HCCP. The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and the multiple regression analysis were conducted to verify the hypotheses. Findings - We found that the utilization of non-regular workers is not significantly related to firm performance. However, the utilization of non-regular workers had a negative relationship with employee competence, and that employee competence mediated the relationship between the utilization of non-regular workers and firm performance. Research implications or Originality - As environmental uncertainty and competition between firms intensify, more and more firms are utilizing non-regular workers. Research on the relationship between the utilization of non-regular workers and firm performance is continuously conducted, but research on the process of explaining the specific relationship between them is still insufficient. Our study contributes the related research area by identifying the mediating role of employee competence on the utilization of non-regular workers and firm performance relationship.