HRM reforms and job-related well-being of academics
| Pages | 597-619 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-05-2018-0188 |
| Published date | 15 November 2019 |
| Date | 15 November 2019 |
| Author | Jie Xia,Mingqiong Mike Zhang,Jiuhua Cherrie Zhu,Di Fan,Ramanie Samaratunge |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
HRM reforms and job-related
well-being of academics
Jie Xia, Mingqiong Mike Zhang and Jiuhua Cherrie Zhu
Department of Management, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Di Fan
Business School, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia, and
Ramanie Samaratunge
Department of Management, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of human resource management (HRM)
reforms on job-related well-being of academics in Chinese universities. It also tests the mediating effect of
work intensification (WI) and affective commitment (AC), and the moderating effect of perceived
organizational justice (OJ) on the HRM‒well-being relationship to understand the influence mechanisms and
boundary conditions.
Design/methodology/approach –A questionnaire survey was conducted in 25 Chinese universities,
obtaining 638 usable questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used as the analytical
technique to examine the model fit and test hypotheses.
Findings –The findings reveal that the relationship of HRM and well-being is neither direct nor
unconditional, and a win‒win scenario for both management and employee well-being is possible when
organizations pursue HRM innovations.
Research limitations/implications –The limitations of this study are that data were collected at once and
at a defined time, with no time lag being involved. In addition, all variables were self-reported.
Practical implications –Commitment-oriented HRM practices can create a win‒win scenario; when
control-oriented HRM practices are necessary, managers should ensure OJ to offset their negative influence
on employees.
Originality/value –This study is among the first to examine the impact of HRM on employee well-beingin
the context of Chinese higher education, contributing to the limited studies on HRM in Chinese public sector
and the on-going debate on the nature of HRM in China.
Keywords Quantitative, Human resource management, Affective commitment, Organizational justice,
Work intensification, Job-related well-being
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Understanding the effects of human resource management (HRM) has been a central
concern in HRM research. In recent decades, studies on the effects of HRM systems have
exhibited some characteristics that shape the global HRM inquiry. The first feature of the
mainstream HRM research is the narrow research horizon confined to the business sector.
HRM research generally targets the efficiency improvement and financial performance of
business organizations, whereas the effects of HRM in the public sector have received little
scholarly attention (Huang et al., 2016; Warner, 2014; Wang et al., 2017). It is difficult to map
and understand the whole picture of HRM in one country without analyzing the HRM in its
public sector (Cooke, 2009; Warner, 2014). Moreover, under the influence of the “new public
management movement”that pursues efficiency in the public sector, many private sector
management models and “business-like”approaches have been introduced into the public
sector in many countries (Pollitt and Bouckaert, 2011). The HRM practices sprung from the
business sector have significantly changed the way of managing people in the public sector.
Such changes and the consequences are worthy of further scholarly attention.
The second feature of the mainstream HRM research is that it has been dominated by
studies examining the influence of HRM practices on organizational performance, but the
Personnel Review
Vol. 49 No. 2, 2020
pp. 597-619
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-05-2018-0188
Received 23 May 2018
Revised 25 October 2018
7 May 2019
Accepted 28 July 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
597
HRM reforms
and job-related
well-being
relationship between HRM and employee outcomes (e.g. employee job-related well-being)
has been relatively downplayed (Beer et al., 2015; Boxall et al., 2016; Farndale et al., 2011;
Guest, 2017). Although studies exploring the effects of HRM systems on employee outcomes
are on the rise in recent years (Franco-Santos and Doherty, 2017; Van De Voorde and Beijer,
2015), research on the HRM‒well-being linkage is insufficient (e.g. Beer et al., 2015; Boxall
et al., 2016; Cañibano, 2013; Guest, 2017; Van De Voorde and Beijer, 2015). As a result, the
mechanisms through wh ich HRM practices impact e mployee well-being are s till
inconclusive, and hence have not been well understood (Kowalski and Loretto, 2017;
Van de Voorde et al., 2016). Given that the employee is one of important stakeholders of
organizations and is crucial for organizational success, improving employee well-being
should be an important goal for any organizations (Bakker and Demerouti, 2018). More
studies should be conducted to examine the linkage of HRM and employee well-being
(Cañibano, 2013; Delbridge and Keenoy, 2010; Guest, 2017).
The third feature is that many researchers tend to adopt a universalistic perspective and
assume that a bundle of HR “best practice”can be effective in all organizations, industries
and cultures, and all organizations in any countries should adopt such practices regardless
of context (Huselid, 1995; Pfeffer, 1998; Rauch and Hatak, 2016). According to this
perspective, organizations in developed and even developing countries will only adopt the
universal best practices that constitute a pure HRM system (e.g. the high performance work
system (HPWS)). Therefore, when examining the HRM effect iveness based on a
questionnaire survey, many researchers will find an HRM measurement scale published
in a top-ranked journal, they will then include the scale in their questionnaires without any
adaptation and finally conduct surveys in accessible countries and companies. Such a
research practice could be problematic since it ignores the impact of institutional context
upon HRM systems. According to the “socially embedded HRM”perspective (Zhang et al.,
2010), institutional environments such as local labor regulations and cultural norms restrict
managerial determination and shape HRM adoption (Sheldon and Sanders, 2016; Zhu and
Warner, 2019). In practice, according to the contingency perspective of HRM (Guest, 1997),
organizations may not just adopt the so-called HR best practices, they may select whatever
HRM practices best fit their context and business strategies instead (Purcell, 1999). The best
fit HRM approach may lead to a hybrid HRM configuration within one organization,
involving both indigenous and imported foreign HRM practices, and both commitment-
oriented and control-oriented HRM policies (Iles and Zhang, 2013; Warner, 2014; Zhu and
Warner, 2019).
These limitations of the mainstream HRM research have necessitated “a more balanced
approach”in HRM research (Paauwe, 2009, p.130). HRM research should pay attention to
both business and non-business sectors, and both financial performance and employee
outcomes, and examine HRM configurations from theoretical perspectives of both “best
fit”and “best practice”(e.g. Cooke, 2009; Delbridge and Keenoy, 2010; Franco-Santos and
Doherty, 2017; Iles and Zhang, 2013; Warner, 2014). In response, this study sets out to
narrow the gaps in the literature through examining the impact of HRM reforms on the
job-related psychological well-being of academic staff in Chinese higher education sector.
Since it is impossible that the effects of HRM practices on employee well-being is
straightforward and unconditional, this research introduces WI and affective commitment
(AC) as mediators and OJ as a moderator. Introducing these mediators and moderators
advances our understanding of the mechanisms and boundary conditions of the
HRM‒well-being relationship.
This study contributes to the literature in several ways. First, it is among the first to
examine the impact of HRM on employee well-being in the context of Chinese higher
education, contributing to the insufficient studies on HRM in public sector. The existing
studies on HRM in China generally focused on the HRM in the business field; few studies
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