The effect of high-performance work systems on risk-taking and organizational citizenship behaviors: the mediating role of perceived safety climate
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-05-2021-0211 |
| Published date | 09 June 2022 |
| Date | 09 June 2022 |
| Pages | 1428-1447 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Mohammed Aboramadan,Yasir Mansoor Kundi,Eissa Elhamalawy,Belal Albashiti |
The effect of high-performance
work systems on risk-taking and
organizational citizenship
behaviors: the mediating role of
perceived safety climate
Mohammed Aboramadan
Department of Economics, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
Yasir Mansoor Kundi
School of Business Studies, Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi,
Karachi, Pakistan
Eissa Elhamalawy
School of Management, Aix-Marseille Universit
e, Aix en Provence, France, and
Belal Albashiti
Department of Economics and Administrative Science, Al Azhar University –Gaza,
Gaza, Palestine
Abstract
Purpose –Building on the social exchange theory and the norm of reciprocity, this study examines the effect
of high-performance work systems (HPWS) during the COVID-19 pandemic on employee’s risk-taking
behavior and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Among the aforementioned links, perceived safety
climate was theorized as a mediating mechanism.
Design/methodology/approach –Multisource and time-lagged data were gathered from a sample of
employees and their supervisors working in Palestinian nonprofit organizations.
Findings –HPWS were shown to boost risk-taking behavior during COVID-19 pandemic. The direct effect
between HPWS and OCB was not significant. Furthermore, safety climate mediated the effect of HPWS on both
risk-taking behavior and OCB.
Practical implications –The study’s findings can be used by managers with regard to the utility of HPWS
during times of crises and their impact on important behavioral outcomes.
Originality/value –HRM scholars have started to look at how HR practices can be useful in helping to
overcome a pandemic. However,limited empirical knowledge is available on the effects of HPWS on employees’
work outcomes during crises. The study is aimed at addressing the aforementioned gap.
Keywords HPWS, Risk-taking behavior, OCB, Safety climate
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The COVID-19 crisis has caused organizations around the globe serious problems, including
declines in productivity and organizational performance (Adikaram et al., 2021;Cooke et al.,
2021;Shen et al., 2020) and increases in retention levels (Caligiuri et al., 2020). Specifically,
Shen et al. (2020) found that COVID-19 has negatively influenced firm performance among
Chinese companies. Bailey and Breslin (2021) have raised the concern that this pandemic
could negatively influence employees’wellbeing and mental health. Others such as Carnevale
ER
44,6
1428
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that no conflicts of interest associated with this study and no
funding is provided or obtained.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm
Received 18 May 2021
Revised 1 September 2021
3 February 2022
24 April 2022
Accepted 20 May 2022
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 44 No. 6, 2022
pp. 1428-1447
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-05-2021-0211
and Hatak (2020) have argued that the crisis caused by COVID-19 has created a work
environment that is characterized by challenges (e.g. remote working) and uncertainty (e.g.
performance adjustment), in which HRM practitioners need to effectively assist personnel to
cope with such challenges. Such challenges have also raised HR scholars’attention with
regard to the emerging HR practices that are needed to help deal with crises. Thus, HRM
experts and professionals are invited to redefine their role to include crisis management into
their practices (Yeung et al., 2008).
Although several efforts have been carried out to look at those HR efforts during crises
(Minbaeva, 2021;Cooke et al., 2021), research on the usefulness of HRM under the effects of a
crisis (as here, with the COVID-19 pandemic) is still limited (Adikaram et al., 2021). Among the
limited studies, Caligiuri et al. (2020) have highlighted the role of HRM practices, such as
staffing, training, and development, and employee safety, in reducing the negative COVID-19
associated problems. Carnevale and Hatak (2020) also discussed the implications of COVID-
19 for HRM practices and how these practices can address employees’fit with the
environment and their work-family conflict issues during the pandemic. Despite these efforts,
and with the exceptions of just a few studies (i.e. Adikaram et al., 2021;De Leon, 2020),
research in this domain remains relatively conceptual and theoretical in nature (Adikaram
et al., 2021).
In this study, the authors explore a set of HRM practices and their usefulness in managing
a crisis such as COVID-19 and how such practices can contribute to positive work-related
outcomes in such a situation. In general, high performance work systems (HPWS) are defined
as a set of HRM practices (i.e. staffing, training, compensation, performance appraisal,
employee participation, job security, etc.) designed to improve employees’skills, motivation,
and commitment in efforts to increase organizational performance (Datta et al., 2005;Miao
et al., 2021;Pham-Thai et al., 2018). Although HPWS have demonstrated their effectiveness in
generating positive work-related outcomes in normal situations (Aboramadan, 2022a;
Kloutsiniotis and Mihail, 2020;Kaushik and Mukherjee, 2021), initial evidence from COVID-
19 research suggests that bundling HRM practices is highly effective in terms of managing
employees during crises. For instance, Adikaram et al. (2021) found in their study that a
bundle of interrelated HRM practices, such as health and safety and cost-saving, represents
an effective and successful approach to manage employees during crises.
This initial evidence opens the door to examine the role of other bundles of HRM practices
(i.e. staffing, training, rewarding, etc.) in contributing to positive work-related outcomes
during times of crises. In general, it has been argued that HRM practices such as recruitment,
training, development, compensations are viewed as important practices which can support
crises and reduce their negative impacts (De Sisto et al., 2019). Therefore, effective
management of personnel and planning for HR readiness to manage crises can lead to better
overall management of crises when they ultimately arise (Brandsen and Pestoff, 2006)
through the allocation of skilled, trained, and experienced human capital (Becker and Huselid,
2006;Sheehan and Cooper, 2011;Wei Tian et al., 2016). With this in mind, this research
proposes that the utilization of HPWS under the effect of a pandemic can contribute to
positive work-related outcomes. Given this and in efforts to understand how HPWS can be
effective in fostering positive work-related behaviors, this paper aims at examining a model
of the impact of HPWS on two employees’behavioral outcomes, namely, risk-taking behavior
and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Risk-taking behavior reflects an employee’s
ability to persevere in the face of uncertainty and blunders and confront exceedingly difficult
situations (Neves and Eisenberger, 2014). OCB, on the other hand, is a discretionary behavior
that goes beyond the job requirement of an individual such as helping colleagues and taking
extra tasks (Organ, 1988). This model also theorizes perceived safety climate as a mediating
variable among the aforementioned links. Safety climate reflects employees’perceptions of
safety in the workplace (Zohar, 1980). While a safety climate is viewed as an important
High-
performance
work systems
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