scholarly journals The role of relational coordination in the relationship between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and organizational performance

Author(s):  
Muhammad Siddique ◽  
Stephen Procter ◽  
Jody Hoffer Gittell

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to look at the role relational coordination might play in understanding the relationship between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach Research was conducted in a large financial services provider in Pakistan. Across 120 branches of the bank, data on relational coordination and on the practices making up HPWS were obtained from employees by means of a questionnaire survey. Data on branch-level performance were obtained independently of this, from the bank itself. Findings Analysis shows relational coordination to be a mediating variable between HPWS and branch performance. Relational coordination is also a mediating variable for each of the three component parts of HPWS: ability-enhancing, motivation-enhancing and opportunity-enhancing HR practices. Practical implications These results have important implications from two points of view. From the point of view of relational coordination, they show how the concept might apply in a previously under-researched sector, and also how relational coordination might act as a mediator for HR practices other than those aimed directly at enhancing employee opportunities. Breaking down HPWS into its component parts suggests that individual employee ability and motivation might also play a role. Originality/value This suggests that the ability-motivation-opportunity model needs to place greater emphasis on opportunity, and also that more account needs to be taken of the structural aspect of work – in particular, the degree of interdependence.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia Katou

PurposeThis paper aims to theoretically propose and empirically test a research framework that investigates the relationship between high-performance work systems (HPWSs) and organizational performance through the serially mediating mechanisms of employee HPWS-experience attributions of well-being and exploitation, attitudes, and behaviors.Design/methodology/approachMultilevel structural equation modeling through Mplus was applied to a sample of 1,112 employees working at 158 Greek organizations.FindingsThe modeling's findings indicate that the serially mediating mechanism of employee HPWS-experience attributions of well-being, attitudes and behaviors improves organizational performance. Meanwhile, the serially mediating mechanism of employee HPWS-experience attributions of exploitation, attitudes and behaviors was found to weaken organizational performance.Practical implicationsThis study shows that, to improve employees' well-being and weaken employee exploitation through employees' HPWS-experience attributions, senior and line managers should gain competencies and communication skills through training and development programs, successfully communicating HPWS messages to employees.Originality/valueThis study may be the first study to elucidate the serially mediating mechanisms of employees' well-being and exploitation through employees' HPWS-experience attributions, attitudes and behaviors in the relationship between HPWSs and organizational performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jola-Ade Ashiru ◽  
Galip Erzat Erdil ◽  
Dokun Oluwajana

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of high performance work systems (HPWSs) on employee voice, employee innovation and organization performance in a service organization. The study examines the mediating roles of employee voice on HPWSs and organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was distributed to 600 professional staff and a total number of 360 respondents returned the survey. The hypotheses are tested through the use of the variance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) technique.FindingsThese findings indicate that the HPWS has a significant impact on employee innovation and organization performance. The empirical evidence does not support the relationship between HPWS and employee voice and also employee voice does not mediate the relationship between HPWS and organization performance in a human resource (HR) service organization.Research limitations/implicationsEmployee voice does not empirically mediate the relationship between HPWS and organization performance; other factors can be further explored. Future research should employ other theories of strategic human resource management (SHRM) to further explore more factors that influence the HPWS on employee innovation, employee voice and organization performance.Practical implicationsThe organization should respond to employee voice through aforementioned rather than the use of traditional, strategic and operational methods or tools believed to be the best approach to employee issues.Originality/valueThis study builds a solid empirical investigation that contributes to the HPWS existing body of knowledge. It is also significant as it is one of the few studies that examine the link between HPWS and job outcomes, like employee voice, employee innovation and organizational performance, in an HR service organization and also employee voice as a mediator on HPWS and organizational performance.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  

Purpose This paper examines the relationship between business strategies and employees’ intention to leave (ITL), through the mediating role of high-performance work system (HPWS). Design/methodology/approach To test their hypotheses, the authors used self-administered questionnaires. They drew up a list of 600 organizations of different nature and structure operating in India that were listed by the Federation of Indian Chambers and Industry. They approved 192 organizations and sent the surveys to 960 executives. They aimed to receive a minimum of one response from an HR executive and two from non-HR executives from each one. In the end, they received 572 useable responses. Findings The study found that high-performance work systems (HPWS) mediate the relationship between business strategy and employees’ intention to leave (ITL). The two effective approaches were “quality management” and “innovation strategy”, both of which reinforced the adoption of HPWS. But a third approach, a “cost-reduction strategy”, was not shown to be positively correlated with HPWS. Another important finding was that the influence on ITL did not vary across the types, or ownership structures, of the firms. Originality/value The data has lessons for HR departments. First, it shows it is advantageous for firms hoping to retain more employees to invest in HPWS that are consistent with the values of their organizations. A second practical finding is that firms need to take into account the Indian context. A third lesson is HR practitioners should make strong efforts to communicate the goals of the HPWS to employees The study also shows firms adopting cost-reduction strategies should focus more on treating employees as resources.


2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Unai Elorza ◽  
Christopher Harris ◽  
Aitor Aritzeta ◽  
Nekane Balluerka

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how management and employee perspectives of high-performance work systems (HPWS) relate to employee discretionary behaviour. In addition, the paper examines to what extent the relationship between employees’ perception of the HPWS and discretionary behaviour varies among different organizations/groups. Design/methodology/approach – Two samples were used in the study. The first sample included data from 51 managers and 1,023 employees from 26 manufacturing companies. The second sample included 52 managers and 6,382 employees from 42 manufacturing companies. Findings – The study shows that employee rated HPWS mediates the relationship between management rated HPWS and individual-level discretionary behaviour. Moreover, results showed that the effect of employee rated HPWS on discretionary behaviour varies among different organizations/groups. Practical implications – Results show that employee perceptions of the HPWS more strongly predict employees’ discretionary behaviour than management rated HPWS. Moreover, it shows that employees’ perceptions of the same HPWS, but operating in different organizational contexts exhibit different levels of discretionary behaviour. Originality/value – The study differentiates between management and employee perspectives of the HPWS. It also examines the variability of the relationship between HPWS and discretionary behaviour. Multilevel structural equation modelling is used to test the hypotheses.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia A. Katou

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on organizational performance through the mediating role of human resources (HR) flexibility (expressed by functional flexibility, skills malleability and behavioural flexibility).Design/methodology/approachThe study examines theoretical relationships in the Greek context, which reflects changing economic and financial crisis, based on multilevel structural equation modelling estimation, using three waves of sample data collected in years 2014, 2016 and 2018 from organizations operating in the private sector.FindingsThe study finds that although HPWS positively influences all three HR flexibility dimensions, this positive effect is not transferred equally to organizational performance. The dominant effect on organizational performance is attributed to skills malleability, a smaller effect to behavioural flexibility and a negligible effect to functional flexibility.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the data collected refer to three different years, most of the companies and individuals responded to sampling were different. As such, the study does not allow for dynamic causal inferences due to its quasi-longitudinal nature.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study may influence managerial decisions in developing bundles of HPWS policies and practices in relation to HR flexibility attributes.Originality/valueSince most studies consider HR flexibility as an aggregated construct, this study is possibly one of the very few studies that is examining the differential impact of the HR flexibility dimensions on organizational performance in turbulent times.


2020 ◽  
Vol 120 (8) ◽  
pp. 1441-1457
Author(s):  
Jia Zheng ◽  
Hefu Liu ◽  
Jingmei Zhou

PurposeThis study aims to explore the impact of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on open innovation and the moderating role of information technology (IT) capability on the relationship between HPWS and open innovation.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted a questionnaire survey in the industrial parks of the Yangzi River Delta in China and obtained 108 useful responses.FindingsHPWS positively impacts open innovation. IT exploration capability strengthens the relationship between HPWS and open innovation, whereas IT exploitation capability and ambidexterity do not strengthen such relationship.Research limitations/implicationsFirms should use HPWS to improve employees' motivation of external learning and searching for enhancing innovation openness. They should acknowledge the enabling role of IT exploration capability in facilitating employees' learning and searching toward open innovation and discreetly develop IT exploitation capability and ambidexterity during external knowledge searching, which may not achieve the desired facilitation purpose.Originality/valueThis study contributes to human resource management (HRM) by suggesting that a new antecedent, which is HPWS in our case, should be taken into account when considering the influence of HRM in the process of open innovation. This study has important implications for HPWS, IT capability and open innovation; open innovation can be improved by using HPWS and IT capability. This study also expands IT ambidexterity to HRM and innovation studies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 977-1000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khuram Shahzad ◽  
Pia Arenius ◽  
Alan Muller ◽  
Muhammad Athar Rasheed ◽  
Sami Ullah Bajwa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the black box between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and innovation performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Through application of the ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO) framework, the study examines the mediating roles of innovation-specific ability, motivation and voice behaviors between HPWS and SMEs’ innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses are tested on data collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 237 SMEs in Pakistan. Findings Findings indicate that human capital, motivation and employee voice fully mediate the relationship between HPWS and innovation performance in SMEs. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional research design and self-reported measures warrant caution for the interpretation of findings. Future research may consider a longitudinal research design and objective measures. Practical implications SMEs need to invest in the adoption and implementation of HPWS that will develop innovation-specific abilities, motivation and voice behaviors simultaneously among employees that will lead to higher innovation performance. Originality/value This is the first study of its kind utilizing an AMO framework to investigate the underlying mechanism through which HPWS affect innovation performance in SMEs.


2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 693-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun Pichler ◽  
Arup Varma ◽  
Andrew Yu ◽  
Gerard Beenen ◽  
Shahin Davoudpour

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and test hypotheses about the independent relationships between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and high-performance work cultures (HPWC) and employee turnover. Given the growth of women in the workforce, the authors also develop competing predictions about how organizational gender demography (i.e. a higher percentage of women) may either strengthen or weaken the relationship of HPWSs to turnover. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 171 human resource (HR) executives across organizations of various sizes and industries in the Chicago metropolitan area in the USA was conducted. Findings – The authors found that HPWS and HPWC are associated with lower turnover, though the relationship between HPWC and turnover was stronger. Results also indicate that HPWS are more strongly related to lower turnover among organizations that employ relatively more women. Research limitations/implications – The results indicates that HPWS may not be universalistic in terms of their effectiveness specifically as related to turnover. This was a cross-sectional study; it would be useful for future research to use a longitudinal research design. Practical implications – The findings suggest that organizations should consider how their cultures, use of high-performance work practices, and gender demography are related to important HR metrics such as turnover. Social implications – This paper represents an important contribution to understanding the importance and implications of changes in the workforce demographic characteristics. Originality/value – This is the first study to integrate an organizational demography perspective with HPWS.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 451-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romina García-Chas ◽  
Edelmira Neira-Fontela ◽  
Concepción Varela-Neira

Purpose – The purpose of this investigation is to analyze the role of perceived organizational support (POS) and intrinsic motivation in the relationship between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – The sample used in this study consists of 180 engineers from 25 companies. The model entails a cross-level moderated mediation process that was tested using multilevel structural equation modeling. Findings – This research shows that the effect of HPWS via POS on job satisfaction is stronger among engineers with low intrinsic motivation than engineers with high intrinsic motivation. Practical implications – Given the findings of this paper, organizations are advised to consider the importance of HPWS perceptions and intrinsic motivation to help strengthen engineer satisfaction. Originality/value – This is the first study to provide evidence for the mediating effect of POS in the relationship between employees’ shared perceptions of the HPWS implemented at their companies and their job satisfaction, and the moderating role of employee intrinsic motivation in the relationship between POS resulting from HPWS and job satisfaction.


2019 ◽  
Vol IV (II) ◽  
pp. 88-95
Author(s):  
Muhammad Siddique ◽  
Owais Mufti ◽  
Shah Wali Khan

This study analyses the influence of high-performance work systems on organizational performance. As, previous studies have mostly focused on individual HR practices in determining the influence of HR practices on performance so research is needed to analyze the combined effect of HRM practices as system to understand the importance of HR on performance. Based on AMO framework, this study investigated the effect of HR system on organizational performance using employees’ perspectives in highly interdependent work settings. In this study, primary data was obtained from 218 bank branches in collaboration with Institute of bankers Pakistan and bank management in the form of managers’ and employees’ perceptions about HPWS and its effect on performance. Results suggest that HPWS was significantly linked to deposits, advances and unit level profitability. Results pointed out new insights to HPWSperformance literature from employees perspectives.


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