High-performance work systems and organizational identification. The mediating role of organizational justice and the moderating role of supervisor support
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-10-2018-0382 |
| Pages | 939-955 |
| Published date | 13 November 2019 |
| Date | 13 November 2019 |
| Author | Fang Liu,Irene Hau-Siu Chow,Man Huang |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
High-performance work systems
and organizational identification
The mediating role of organizational justice
and the moderating role of supervisor support
Fang Liu
School of Management, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
Irene Hau-Siu Chow
Department of Management,
Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, and
Man Huang
School of Management, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
Abstract
Purpose –Drawing on both social identity theory (SIT) and social exchange theory (SET), the purpose of this
paper is to theorize a moderated mediation model that links perceived high-performance work systems
(employee-HPWS) to organizational identification (OID).
Design/methodology/approach –Findings are based on two-waved time-lagged data from a sample of
306 employees in four major state-owned commercial banks in South China. Hierarchical regression analyses
and bootstrapping were used to analyze the data.
Findings –Distributive, procedural and interpersonal justice mediated the positive relationship between
employee-HPWS and OID. Besides, perceived supervisor support moderated the relationship between
employee-HPWS and organizational justice, the relationship between procedural justice and OID, and the
indirect effect of employee-HPWS on OID through procedural justice.
Originality/value –This study considers the mediating and moderating mechanisms that link HPWS to
OID, highlights differences between firm-level management-HPWS and individual-level employee-HPWS, and
examines the antecedents of employee OID based on both SET and SIT.
Keywords Quantitative, Organizational identification, Organizational justice,
High-performance work systems (HPWS), Perceived supervisor support
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Organizational identification (OID) involves the very fundamental definition of entities
(i.e. individual and organizational identities) (Mael and Ashforth, 1992), and uniquely
influences employee attitudes and behaviors, such as job involvement, job satisfaction,
affective organizational commitment, in-role performance and extra-role performance
(Lee et al., 2015). Understanding how high-performance work systems (HPWS) and
supervisors both contribute to employees’sense of identity is critical to find ways to
connect employees to the organization psychologically. The relationships between HPWS
and performance outcomes at both individual and organizational levels were extensively
studied in the past two decades. Relative few empirical studies are available on the
HPWS-OID linkage. However, HPWS likely leads to greater identity and develops social
identification by increasing employees’sense of belonging and attachment to the
Personnel Review
Vol. 49 No. 4, 2020
pp. 939-955
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-10-2018-0382
Received 3 October 2018
Revised 18 June 2019
Accepted 8 September 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.
71802063, 71502043), the 13th Five-Year Plan Project of Philosophy and Social Sciences of Guangdong
Province (Grant No. GD17CGL03), and the Philosophy and Social Science 13th Five-Year Planning
Project of Guangzhou, China (Grant No. 2017GZYB47).
939
HPWS
and OID
organization and willingness to contribute (Bartram et al., 2014). For example, training
and information sharing facilitate communication and understanding of their common
goals, attitudes and behaviors. Vigorous staffing focuses on the person-job/organization
fit leading to greater social identity. Participation and decentralization making create a
feeling of trust and respect that further enhances the sense of belonging and shared social
identity. Autonomous teams and information sharing are associated with social cohesion,
which is a crucial element of OID.
The mechanisms underlying the HPWS-OID linkage remain relatively under-researched
in the HPWS literature and neglected by the HPWS researchers. HPWS was also
criticized for some adverse outcomes, such as work intensification and stress (Ehrnrooth
and Björkman, 2012). Whether employees are used as a tool to boost organizational
performance and being abusive, their perceptions of justice matter. Employees’
perceptions of fairness and justice play an essential role in the HPWS–outcome
relationship (Heffernan and Dundon, 2016). Besides, the perceived support from supervisor
also makes the difference in the HPWS-OID relationship (Dukerich et al., 2002). The HPWS–
OID relationship through justice depends on the level of perceived supervisor support (PSS).
The implementation of HPWS sets the basis for OID. Justice and perceived support exert a
powerful image influencing the degree to which employees identify with their organization.
Employees who believe that they are treated with fairness and justice likely enhance
their OID. PSS develops a sense of value, support and care by inducing the norms of
reciprocity that magnify the relationship. This study offers a broader and alternative view
on the HPWS-OID linkage by integrating three types of justices as mediators and PSS
as a moderator.
This study aims to investigate the relationship between employees’subjectiveperceptions
and experiences of the implementation of HPWS (employee-HPWS; Aryee et al., 2012;
Liao et al., 2009) and OID, as well as its underlying mechanism of organizational justice and
boundary condition of support bysupervisor. We further postulatethat organizational justice
mediates the HPWS-OID linkage. In addition, PSS moderates the HPWS-OID linkage, the
HPWS-justice linkage, the justice-OID linkage and the HPWS-justice-OID linkage. Figure 1
depicts the conceptual model.
This study contributes to the literature as follow: first, we focus on an important but
relatively neglected employee reaction in HPWS literature –OID –as the outcome of
employee-HPWS. By integrating the literature on HPWS and that on OID, we identify the
positive HPWS-OID relationship. Second, by drawing on both social identity theory
(SIT; Tajfel, 1978; Tajfel and Turner, 1985) and social exchange theory (SET; Blau, 1964), we
provide a more integrated perspective of how employee-HPWS affects OID through justice
and how the role of supervisors shapes such effect. Our results show that distributive,
procedural and interpersonal justice mediated the HPWS-OID linkage. Furthermore,
PSS amplifies the HPWS-justice linkage, the procedural justice-OID linkage and the
HPWS-procedural justice-OID linkage, respectively.
Employee-HPWS Organizational
identification
Distributive justice
Procedural justice
Interpersonal justice
Perceived
supervisor support
Figure 1.
Theoretical framework
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