Effects Of High-performance Work Systems Research Articles

The Trickle-Down Effect of High-Performance Work Systems

Despite a burgeoning body of multilevel research on high-performance work systems (HPWS), scant studies have investigated how a shared perception of team members mediates the effects of HPWS on employee attitudes and behaviors. To fill this gap, this research examines the mediating role of the shared perception of clan culture at the team-level in the relationship between HPWS at the firm-level and affective commitment and communication at the employee-level. Results from three-level analyses, based data obtained from 61 firms, 349 teams, and 2522 employees in South Korea, indicates that team members' shared perception of clan culture mediates the positive relationships between HPWS and affective commitment and communication. By shedding light on the social mechanism at the team-level, this research serves to sophisticate the causal mechanisms between HPWS and employee outcomes.

Do high performance work systems enhance business performance? Examining the mediating influence of total quality management

This paper analyses the effect of High-Performance Work Systems (HPWS) and Total Quality Management (TQM) on business performance. An extensive literature review made it possible to establish four hypotheses, along with a comprehensive path model of relationships tested by means of structural equation modelling (SEM) using the partial least squares (PLS) technique. The results show that HPWS positively influence business performance and TQM which, in return, directly improves business performance and mediates in the HPWS-business performance relationship. Upon considering these conclusions, we can, therefore, state that the integration of both human resource management and total quality management is a key strategy for a company.

Implemented and perceived high-performance work system and its effect on branch performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on unit performance relative to the mediating roles of collective human capital (CHC) at the unit level and perceived HPWS at the employee level.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 181 branch managers and 504 employees. The proposed path model was tested using the statistical package M-plus (v. 7) using a 2-1-2 multilevel approach for mediation analysis.FindingsGenerally, branch managers actively implement HPWS, and employees perceive a fairly high level of HPWS. Further, the path model indicated that CHC at the unit level and perceived HPWS at the employee level partially mediate the relationship between implemented HPWS and unit performance.Originality/valueThis study is the first to explore multilevel mediating mechanisms in the context of the largest four state-owned banks in China. A 2-1-2 multilevel analysis procedure was used to separate measurement error into relevant employee- and branch-level components to create more precise assessments of multivariate associations. Such analyses have not yet been conducted in research on HPWS prior to this study of the Chinese banking sector, but they are essential for teasing out the micro- and macro-level effects of HPWS.

High-Performance Work System, Work Well-Being, and Employee Creativity: Cross-Level Moderating Role of Transformational Leadership.

Under the new normal, the economic development mode and growth momentum of China has brought about fundamental changes, which means that the development of enterprises has gradually shifted from being factor-and investment-driven to being innovation-and talent-driven. As the foundation of corporate innovation, employee creativity plays an important role in this process. In the field of strategic human resource management, high-performance work system is the embodiment of its core competence. Although some research has begun to try to explore the impact of high-performance work system on employee creativity, the underlying mechanism and the boundary condition is not yet fully understood. According to the Job demands-resources (JD-R) model, this study theorized and examined whether and when high-performance work system stimulate employee creativity. Using a sample of large and medium-sized enterprises in China, we collected data, which are time-lagged and multilevel, from 266 employees in 61 departments. Results of the hierarchical linear model found that (1) High-performance work system is positively related to employee creativity; (2) High-performance work system positively affects employee work well-being; (3) Work well-being positively affects employee creativity; (4) Employee work well-being partially mediates the relationship between high-performance work system and creativity; (5) Transformational leadership, which represents an important contextual variable in the workplace, moderates the relationship between work well-being and employee creativity; (6) Moreover, we have also revealed that transformational leadership can moderate the indirect effect of high-performance work system on employee creativity. We discussed the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

High Performance Work Systems and Public Sector Workplace Performance in Britain

Using nationally representative surveys of workplaces with 50 or more employees we find the adoption of High-Performance Work Systems (HPWS) in the public sector are positively correlated with workplace financial performance and the implementation of workplace organizational change. The associations are stable in 2004 and 2011, despite the intervening recession and cuts in public finance. The results are thus broadly consistent with studies finding similar positive correlations between HPWS and workplace performance in the private sector. There was little heterogeneity in effects across sectors within the public sector, with the exception of health services where the effects of HPWS on workplace change were lower.

Entrepreneurial leadership moderating high performance work system and employee creativity on employee performance

This study aims to examine and analyze the role of variable entrepreneurial leadership as a moderator on the influence of high-performance work systems and employee creativity on employee performance. In addition, this study also aims to analyze and examine the effect of high-performance work systems on employee creativity, and employee performance, and the effect of employee creativity on employee performance. The study was conducted on cooperative employees in Timor Leste. The number of cooperative employees in Timor Leste is 400 people, taken as a sample of 200 employees. Determination of the number of samples is based on the Slovin formula with a precision of 5%. Determination of the number of samples of employees in each cooperative is carried out proportionally, while the determination of the respondents of the study was conducted randomly. Data analysis was performed with the Smartpls 3.0 program. The results of data analysis show that high-performance work system has a significant positive effect on employee creativity and employee performance, and employee creativity also has a significant positive effect on employee performance. The results of the analysis also found that entrepreneurial leadership plays a role as a moderator of the relationship of high-performance work systems and employee creativity to employee performance

Are high-performance work systems (HPWS) appreciated by everyone? The role of management position and gender on the relationship between HPWS and affective commitment

PurposeAlthough most studies on HPWS focus on various firm-level outcomes, there has been an increasing interest in how employees are affected by HPWS. However, most of these studies use social exchange theory and, based on an idea of reciprocal exchange, implicitly assume that all employees become more affectively committed to organizations using HPWS. Based on social identity theory, the authors argue that management position and gender likely influence how individuals respond to HPWS. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine how HPWS affects AC among managers, subordinates, men and women.Design/methodology/approachHierarchical linear model analysis of 356 employees in 26 Swedish small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies.FindingsIn the sample examined, managers and women show increased affective commitment (AC) in organizations using HPWS. For men with non-managerial positions, the results indicate a reversed relationship, i.e. HPWS could actually reduce AC.Originality/valueThe findings indicate the need to consider individual differences when examining the effect of HPWS, and highlight the usefulness of relational-oriented theories when studying the employee outcomes of HRM-systems.

The Effect of High-Performance Work Systems on Work Outcomes of Healthcare Professionals

This study examines the mediating role of basic need (autonomy-need, relatedness-need, and competence-need) satisfaction in the relationship between high-performance work systems and work outcomes ...

The link between perceived high-performance work practices, employee attitudes and service quality

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on the Greek banking sector and examine the indirect effects of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on service quality. Specifically, this study examines the effects of employees’ perceptions of HPWS on their trust toward their managers, as well as on service quality, through the mediating role of employee outcomes (measured by job satisfaction and affective commitment). In addition, trust is also tested for its role as a potential mediator and moderator in the relationship between HPWS and employee outcomes.Design/methodology/approachPartial least squares structural equation modeling was used on a sample of 350 front-line employees working in the Greek banking sector.FindingsThe findings showed that employee outcomes mediated the relationship between HPWS and service quality. On the other hand, although trust mediated the relationship between HPWS and employee outcomes, no support was found for its moderating effect. Finally, although not included in the initial analysis, trust was found to play a mediating and moderating role in the relationship between HPWS and service quality.Practical implicationsThis study highlights the vital role that a “trusting” work environment has to play on employee attitudes and outcomes. As this study shows, the positive employee behaviors along with their willingness to accept and support organizational goals influence their level of productivity.Originality/valueThis study sheds lights on the mediating and moderating role of trust in the relationship between HPWS, employee outcomes, and service quality. Finally, implications are drawn for organizations, managers, and practitioners.

HPWS and unethical pro-organizational behavior: a moderated mediation model

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of employees’ perceptions of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB), and explores the mediating role of psychological ownership and the moderating role of moral identity.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses were tested by using two-wave survey data that were collected from 306 employees in Chinese enterprises.FindingsThis study found that HPWS were positively related to UPB, and psychological ownership partially mediated this relationship. Results also revealed that moral identity negatively moderated the relationship between psychological ownership and UPB, and the indirect effect of HPWS on UPB via psychological ownership was weaker for employees high in moral identity.Research limitations/implicationsThe generalizability of the findings is limited, and the cross-sectional data cannot draw any clear causal inference among variables.Practical implicationsManagers should pay attention to the “dark side” of HPWS and incorporate ethics in the HPWS. Moreover, organizations should provide correct guidance for their pro-organizational behaviors to avoid employees doing bad things for good reasons.Originality/valueThis study first extends HPWS research to employee’s UPB, uncovers employees’ psychological ownership toward organizations as the pivotal mechanism underlying this relationship, and indicated moral identity can regulate employees unethical behavior.

High-performance work systems and employee outcomes in Indian call centres: a mediation approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationships between high-performance work systems (HPWSs) and four employee outcomes – job satisfaction, employee engagement, presenteeism and well-being – in Indian call centres.Design/methodology/approachA path model is developed to investigate the direct and mediation effects between the assessed variables. The study utilised a survey of 250 call centre employees working in five business process management firms based in India.FindingsThe findings indicate that HPWSs have a positive relationship with job satisfaction, engagement and well-being. Job satisfaction also had a positive relationship with engagement and presenteeism, and engagement was positively related to presenteeism and well-being. However, there was no significant direct effect of HPWS on presenteeism. Mediation analysis showed that HPWS has an indirect effect on well-being via engagement and also via job satisfaction and engagement combined.Research limitations/implicationsHPWS significantly increases job satisfaction and employee engagement and indirectly influences employee well-being via these outcomes. However, job satisfaction and employee engagement was also found to increase presenteeism, which, in turn, can reduce employee well-being. These findings contribute to the HPWS theory and the literature on employee well-being, and have implications for HR personnel and call centre management.Originality/valueGiven the well-established challenges with employee retention in Indian call centre environments, one solution may be the adoption of a more strategic approach to HRM using HPWS. Such an approach may enhance employees’ perceptions that HPWS practices would have a positive influence on job satisfaction, employee engagement and employee well-being.

Learning, innovation and high performance in knowledge-based firms

Although employee management research has established significant relations between high performance work systems (HPWSs) and financial and market performance, few studies have considered the important role of HPWS in other organizational functions such as learning and innovation. Whereas, accordin g to literature, both innovation and learning which are of the most important factors for firm’s survival, generally result from employees’ behavior. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore potential impacts of HPWSs on organizational learning (OL) and innovation. A set of research hypotheses are tested using sample data collected from 112 employees of electricity distribution companies of Isfahan province. The proposed HPWS consists training and development, pay for performance, career development, participation in decision making, and job security, while innovation includes product, process and administrative innovation and OL is a four dimensional construct of knowledge acquisition, knowledge distribution, knowledge interpretation, and organizational memory. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) reveals that HPWS positively affects OL and innovation. Moreover, the research results show that there is an indirect effect of HPWS on innovation through OL.

Effects of high‐performance work systems on transformational leadership and team performance: Investigating the moderating roles of organizational orientations

This study integrates strategic human resource management (SHRM) and transformational leadership (TFL) literatures to address gaps in each of the two literatures. Building on the concept of strategically targeted HRM systems and the contingency perspective in SHRM, we propose that an organization's high‐performance work system (HPWS) affects team managers' TFL, and that the emergence of TFL and the effectiveness of TFL on team performance are contingent on organizational adaptation and efficiency orientations. Analyses of multilevel data from 179 teams in 44 organizations revealed a positive relationship between HPWS and TFL, which was positively and negatively moderated by adaptation and efficiency orientations, respectively. Further, TFL was positively related to team performance and negatively moderated by efficiency orientation. Finally, the results supported a multilevel, moderated mediation effect with the indirect effect of HPWS on team performance via TFL varying significantly as a function of adaptation and efficiency orientations. Implications for the SHRM and leadership literatures and practice are discussed.

High‐performance work systems, job demands, and employee well‐being in Pakistan's insurance industry

A study of the effects of high‐performance work systems (HPWS) on 828 employees in Pakistan's insurance industry focuses on their well‐being—evidenced by job satisfaction and organizational commitment—as an outcome, rather than as merely a means to improving organizational performance. Its examination of both the positive and negative effects of HPWS also found that companies that implement them without adding undue pressure to work harder are likely to enhance employee well‐being. In fostering a better understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying performance, the study offers guidance to both organizational researchers and practitioners.

High-Performance Work Systems And Firm Performance: Moderating Effects Of Organizational Communication

This study examines the relationship between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and organizational performance and how the relationship differs by type of communication within organizations. Using data on publicly traded manufacturing firms in Korea from the Human Capital Corporate Panel survey, we find that HPWS are positively related to organizational performance, and importantly, this relationship varies by the level of vertical and horizontal communication. The positive effect of HPWS on organizational performance is more apparent when vertical and horizontal communications are relatively high. These results emphasize the role of internal communication as an important organizational context for the implementation of HPWS.

Effects of high-performance work systems on employee knowledge sharing and task performance

Inconclusive findings in the strategic human resource management (SHRM) have recently led researchers to examining employee perception of HR practices and its impact on various outcomes. Behind is that individuals’ interpretive patterns toward actual HR practices may assume an important mediating role between strategically adopted (i.e., organizational level) HRM systems and intended performance. Our review revealed that studies examining individual-level high-performance work systems (HPWS) has mainly focused on unraveling mediating mechanisms in explaining variance in outcomes variables, and thus we have limited knowledge of how contextual factors systematically manipulate the relationship between HPWS and individual performance. In this light, we extended the current literature by investigating the moderating role of leader-member exchange (LMX) and interactional (i.e., informational and interpersonal) justice. Our choice of moderating variables reflects on the quality of daily interaction between first- line managers and their subordinates – an important factor known for improving employees’ attitudes and behavior. Our analysis with 160 matched data demonstrated that individual-level HPWS is positively associated with both knowledge sharing and task performance. Interestingly, we found the effects of HPWS on task performance become salient only when LMX and interactional justice are low rather than high. We discuss implications from our analysis, limitations, and future research directions.

How and when service-oriented high-performance work systems foster employee service performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how and when service-oriented high-performance work systems (HPWS) impact employees’ service performance.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data was obtained from 568 frontline service employees and their supervisors across 92 branches of a large bank in China. The hypotheses were tested with hierarchical linear modeling.FindingsThe results suggested that service-oriented HPWS affected employee service performance via its simultaneous impact on employees’ service ability, customer orientation, and service climate perception. Moreover, the indirect effects of HPWS on service performance via service ability and customer orientation were significant only when service-oriented HPWS consensus was high.Practical implicationsTo elicit employees’ provision of excellent service, organizations should invest in service-oriented HRM practices to improve all of their service ability, customer orientation, and service climate perception, making them able to, willing to, and having the chance to perform high-quality service performance. Organizations should also pay attention to the variability in employees’ HRM perceptions within the same group.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the extant literature by presenting a more complete understanding of how service-oriented HPWS elicits employee service performance, and when this HPWS is and is not effective.

Linking innovative human resource practices, employee attitudes and intention to leave in healthcare services

PurposeFollowing an “employee-centric” approach, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on employees’ work engagement and job satisfaction, and the mediating effect of these variables on employees’ affective commitment and intention of leaving their hospital.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modeling was used on a sample of 296 clinicians (doctors and nurses) across seven Greek regional hospitals.FindingsThe findings indicate a strong positive effect of HPWS on employees’ job satisfaction, affective commitment, and work engagement and a negative effect on their intention to leave. In addition, employees’ engagement and job satisfaction positively mediate the HPWS effects on employees’ affective commitment and negatively on their intention to leave.Practical implicationsThe findings not only validate previous studies’ conclusions, but also provide evidence for the potential fruitfulness of the HPWS approach in improving employees’ outcomes and well-being in turbulent times.Originality/valueAlthough the argument that HPWS has a positive effect on organizational performance and productivity is well established, there are considerably fewer studies that examine the positive effects of HPWS specifically on employees’ job attitudes and outcomes, and the processes through which HPWS influences health-related outcomes. Finally, this study confirms the argument that HPWS can be a fruitful approach even in a country severely affected by Europe’s debt crisis over the last five years.

Perceived High-performance Work System and Employee Performance: Role of Self-efficacy and Learning Orientation

The present study focuses on exploring the role of self-efficacy between high-performance work system (HPWS) and learning orientation. Further, the role of learning orientation between HPWS and employee performance (EP) has also been evaluated. Additionally, the impact of HPWS on employee performance when moderated by self-efficacy and mediated by learning orientation has been studied. The model has been tested in the service sector (banking sector). The data obtained have been duly validated with the help of confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modeling has been used for hypotheses testing. The results indicate that self-efficacy moderates the relationship between the HPWS and learning orientation. In addition, learning orientation mediates the relationship between the HPWS and employee performance relationship. The results further reveal that the learning orientation mediates the interaction effect of HPWS and self-efficacy on employee performance (moderated mediation). Finally, the managerial implications, limitations and scope for future research have been discussed.

The effects of high performance work system on employee attitudes: A study of international organization

In the last three decades, a growing body of research has suggested that using a mix or system of Human Resources Management (HRM) practices would lead to superior organizational performance. These practices (such as selective recruitment and hiring procedures, performance-based compensation systems, employee participation, and training and development) have been referred to as High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) and originated from the study of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM), where researchers have examined the effects of adopting HPWS on organizational performance. Although there is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the effects of HPWS on organizational performance, there is less evidence evaluating the effects of adopting HPWS in international organization and particularly Intergovernmental Organization (IGO). IGOs, such as United Nations (UN), World Bank (WB), and International Monetary Fund (IMF), are international bodies that serve different mandates and aim at maintaining global socioeconomic stability between member states' governments. Despite the increasing interest among IGOs' managers in adopting HPWS, research in this unique organizational context lags behind which reveals significant gap in HRM literature. This mixed methods-research study seeks to address this gap by reporting the results of a staff survey and follow-up interviews conducted on a cross-section of one of the largest IGOs in the region. The results have shown different effects of the bundles of HPWS practices on organizational performance. The results are discussed in light of HRM theory to explore the importance of organizational context on the link between human resource management and organizational performance. The results raise issues about the universal applicability of HRM-performance research and have implications for the standardization of HRM policies and practices within intergovernmental organization.