How do employees shape HR implementation? Intra-team acceptance of espoused HR practices, frontline managers’ implementation behavior, and team performance

Abstract

This study investigates the critical role of employees in shaping frontline managers’ (FLMs) HR implementation. It goes beyond previous research, which recurrently attributes FLMs’ implementation behavior to the facilitating conditions and FLMs’ personal capabilities, overlooking or downplaying the potential impact of employees during the implementation process. In doing so, we characterize the construct of intra-team acceptance of espoused HR practices as a key force influencing FLMs’ HR enactment. Hence, we hypothesize how intra-team acceptance of espoused HR practices is linked to FLMs’ implementation behavior through FLMs’ performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence. In this narrative, we position team-level HPWS as a direct outcome of FLMs’ implementation behavior. Therefore, we establish that team-level HPWS mediates the relationship between FLMs’ implementation behavior and team performance, underscoring the importance of employees in the HRM variability debate. Conducting a time-lagged study and analyzing data collected from 23 South Korean firms, we found support for our theoretical claims. Our findings recognize employees as significant contributors to the implementation process and challenge the conventional wisdom in which employees are viewed as passive recipients of HR practices. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications and offer directions for future endeavors.