Conditional altruism: Effects of HRM practices on the willingness of host‐country nationals to help expatriates

Abstract

The assistance of host-country nationals (HCNs) both within the workplace and in the external environment plays a significant role in expatriate adjustment and work performance on international assignments. Extant research exploring antecedents of HCNs' attitudes and behaviors toward expatriates focuses on personal and intrapersonal factors but overlooks organizational contextual effects. In this study, we propose and test a model that HCNs' willingness to help expatriates is influenced by HRM practices in international subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs). Results of analyzing data collected from Chinese subsidiaries of South Korean MNEs showed that high-commitment HRM practices directly and indirectly influence HCNs' willingness to help expatriates through the mediation of perceived organizational support (POS). Socially responsible HRM indirectly influences the criterion variable through the mediation of organizational identification. Moreover, POS and organizational identification sequentially mediate the effect of high-commitment HRM on HCNs' willingness to help expatriates.These findings shed some light on organizational antecedents that go beyond personal and intrapersonal factors of HCN attitudes and behavior toward expatriates.

Still in search of strategic human resource management? A review and suggestions for future research with China as an example

“…Alfes, Truss, Soane, Rees, and Gatenby (2013); Barber, Huselid, and Becker (1999); Boon and Kalshoven (2014); Bulter and Teagarden (1993); Foss, Pedersen, Reinholt Fosgaard, and Stea (2015); Hoque, Wass, Bacon, and Jones (2018); Kilroy, Flood, Bosak, and Chênevert (2017); McCowan, Bowen, Huselid, and Becker (1999); Messersmith, Kim, and Patel (2018); Neves, Almeida, and Velez (2018); Sanders and Yang (2016); Shen, Kang, and Dowling (2018)…”

The effect of socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) on frontline employees’ knowledge sharing

“…Trust plays a critical role in social exchange for the fact that when one person provides a benefit to another, he or she must trust that the other person will reciprocate (DeConinck, 2010). In the process of organizational social exchange, in case an employee believes that others are benevolent, and have integrity and ability, this employee has a propensity to support and believe in others (Shen et al , 2018; Yoon et al , 2016).…”

“…In addition, earlier scholarly work has also taken factors that are related to one’s individual characteristics into account, such as self-efficacy and personality, and inter-personal factors like trust and lead-member exchange (Burmeister et al , 2018; Serenko et al , 2016; see for an exemplary review Wang and Noe, 2010). Some scholars have focused on the impact of socially responsible human resource management (hereafter SRHRM), and their research has shown that companies conducting HRM practices in socially responsible ways have enhanced the well-being of their employees (Shen and Benson, 2016; Shen et al , 2018). According to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature, SRHRM can foster organizational trust and identification (Farooq et al , 2017; Shen and Benson, 2016).…”

Responsible Leadership Fuels Innovative Behavior: The Mediating Roles of Socially Responsible Human Resource Management and Organizational Pride

“…Therefore, social identity theory is appropriate here to explain how responsible leadership and SRHRM affects employee outcomes. Additionally, social exchange theory posits that individuals' voluntary actions are motivated by the returns they expect from others (Blau, 1964), explaining the social and psychological process underlying the relationship between employees and their organizations (Shen et al, 2018). Based on the norm of reciprocity, it suggests that the investments and inducements that organizations provide for employees through HR practices inspire employees to reciprocate by engaging in extra-role work behaviors that directly benefit the organization (Gould-Williams, 2007).…”