Assessing scope and nature of human capital management practised by Zimbabwe’s gold mining sector

Abstract

Orientation: The article focuses on corporate social responsibility in the area of human resources management practised in Zimbabwe’s gold mining sector.

Research purpose: This study aimed to assess socially responsible human resources management practised by Zimbabwe’s gold mining sector. The study also determines which among the five governance systems; local private, government-owned, listed on Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, multinational not listed and listed on foreign stock exchanges leads in this regard.

Motivation for the study: Mining industries are usually labour-intensive. Corporate social responsibility and human resources management are indispensable components of mining companies.

Research approach/ design and method: The study uses a multiple case study design with a population of 35 large-scale gold mining companies that are members of both Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe and Mine Industry Pension Fund. Twenty-three companies participated in the study. The study uses mixed methods approach using a questionnaire and structured interviews to collect quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Kruskal–Wallis rank test was used to test the differences in the governance structures’ performances.

Main findings: The results indicate that gold mining companies exercise socially responsible human resources management and the listed on foreign stock exchanges have the highest index signifying best performance, followed by government-owned.

Practical/managerial implications: The corporates can improve their social responsibility in human resources management by using the balanced scorecard to assess their own performances. The regulation prescribes most human resources management issues in the mining sector. Managers can benefit from the perceptions of the workers concerning how other governance structures implement socially responsible human resources management.

Contribution value-add: This study contributes to the previous literature on socially responsible human resources management by illuminating the possible role played by governance structure in corporate social responsibility adoption. Theoretical perspectives of the firm, which are shareholder, stakeholder and societal, cannot act alone to explain the complex phenomenon of structure-conduct-performance in assessing the nature of socially responsible human resources management. Therefore, future research must combine the principles of these perspectives with concepts of the legal environment, board structure and managerial attitudes as determinants of the nature and scope of socially responsible human resources management.