Unlocking the black box: Exploring the link between high-performance work systems and performance.

Abstract

With a growing body of literature linking systems of high-performance work practices to organizational performance outcomes, recent research has pushed for examinations of the underlying mechanisms that enable this connection. In this study, based on a large sample of Welsh public-sector employees, we explored the role of several individual-level attitudinal factors--job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and psychological empowerment--as well as organizational citizenship behaviors that have the potential to provide insights into how human resource systems influence the performance of organizational units. The results support a unit-level path model, such that department-level, high-performance work system utilization is associated with enhanced levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and psychological empowerment. In turn, these attitudinal variables were found to be positively linked to enhanced organizational citizenship behaviors, which are further related to a second-order construct measuring departmental performance.

Stimulating teachers’ team performance through team-oriented HR practices: the roles of affective team commitment and information processing

“…This reasoning is consistent with findings presented in the generic HRM literature in which scholars have found employees' attitudes and behaviours mediate the relationship between HR practice and performance (e.g. Messersmith, Patel, Lepak, & Gould-Williams, 2011;Nishii, Lepak, & Schneider, 2008). Further, there is emerging context specific evidence which also suggests that teachers' attachment to the team and engagement in information processing leads to improved team performance (Vangrieken, Dochy, & Raes, 2016).…”

“…While many studies have already focused on associations between HR practices, individual employee responses and outcomes such as organisational commitment, job satisfaction, empowerment and organisational citizenship behaviour (e.g. Kehoe & Wright, 2013;Messersmith et al, 2011) and organisational outcomes such as financial outcomes (e.g. Jiang et al, 2012), our results suggest that employee perceptions of HR practices also affect team responses and outcomes.…”

Deconstructing AMO framework: a systematic review

“…Also, there is not a clear consensus for explaining the precise mechanisms of how HR systems work to reach the objectives (Block & Pickl, 2014;Demortier et al, 2014;Guest, 2011;Messersmith, Patel & Lepak, 2011). This mystery is popularly known as the "black box" of HRM (Gerhart, 2005;Harney & Jordan, 2008;Innocenti, Pilati & Peluso, 2011).…”

The role of VET Colleges in stimulating teachers’ engagement in team learning

“…This reasoning is consistent with findings presented in the generic HRM literature in which scholars have found employees' attitudes and behaviours mediate the relationship between HR practice and performance (e.g. Messersmith, Patel, Lepak, & Gould-Williams, 2011;Nishii, Lepak, & Schneider, 2008). Further, there is emerging context specific evidence which also suggests that teachers' attachment to the team and engagement in information processing leads to improved team performance (Vangrieken et al, 2016).…”