Instrumental work values and responses to HR practices. A study of job satisfaction in a Chinese manufacturer

Pages60-73
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/PR-01-2017-0015
Published date05 February 2018
Date05 February 2018
AuthorMeng-Long Huo,Peter Boxall
Subject MatterHR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM
Instrumental work values and
responses to HR practices
A study of job satisfaction in a
Chinese manufacturer
Meng-Long Huo and Peter Boxall
Department of Management and International Business, University of Auckland,
Auckland, New Zealand
Abstract
Purpose Grounded in the theory of person-organisation fit, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the
extent to which instrumental work values influence the relationship between HR practices and employee
well-being (measured by job satisfaction) in a sample of Chinese workers.
Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire data for this cross-sectional, quantitative study were
collected from 371 front-line workers in a Chinese manufacturer. Structural equation modelling was used to
test the hypotheses.
Findings The results show that work instrumentalism significantly reduces the positive effect of training
on job satisfaction while boosting the positive effect of remuneration on job satisfaction. In contrast, there is
no evidence for an interaction between instrumentalism and employee involvement.
Practical implications The results imply that the degree to which HR practices are effective in promoting
job satisfaction among these Chinese workers depends both on their work-value orientations and on the
implications of the particular HR practice. Managers concerned about job satisfaction in China need to
consider the impact of work values and the goals of particular HR practices.
Originality/value China makes an enormously important contribution to world manufacturing output but
the authors need a better understanding of how Chinese workers are likely to interpret and respond to HR
practices if employee well-being in Chinese enterprises is to be fostered.
Keywords Employee involvement, Job satisfaction, Advanced statistical,
High performance work systems (HPWS), Person-organization fit, Instrumentalism
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
A fundamental assumption underlying the theory of person-organisation (P-O) fit is that the
match between employee preferences or needs and organisational supplies of resources is a
significant predictor of employee well-being, including outcomes such as job satisfaction
and organisational commitment (Chatman, 1989; Kristof, 1996). In this perspective,
the extent to which employees value intrinsic or extrinsic rewards constitutes one of the
most important individual moderators of the effects of organisational characteristics on
work-related attitudes and behaviours (Rynes et al., 2004). Intrinsic work values are defined
as the extent to which employees attach importance to the quality of their work tasks, such
as the extent to which they find them meaningful and a good use of their skills. Extrinsic
work values concern the degree to which employees consider the material benefits of work
as important (e.g. income and job security) (Taris and Feij, 2001).
In line with this theoretical tradition, the current study aims to examine the moderating
role of an instrumentalist value orientation on the relationship between various human
resource (HR) practices and employee job satisfaction. Instrumentalism is the belief that
work is a means of acquiring the income necessary to support a valued way of life of which
work itself is not an integral part(Goldthorpe et al., 1968, p. 38). In contrast to those
favouring an intrinsic work orientation, employees with an instrumental view of
employment consider it as an unavoidable way of earning economic rewards, rather than a
central life interest. Instrumentally oriented employees are mainly interested in the levels of
Personnel Review
Vol. 47 No. 1, 2018
pp. 60-73
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-01-2017-0015
Received 19 January 2017
Revised 27 April 2017
Accepted 30 May 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
60
PR
47,1

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