The impact of employees’ perceptions of HR practices on identification with the company and citizenship behavior. A moderated mediation model
| Published date | 07 October 2019 |
| Pages | 1238-1255 |
| Date | 07 October 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-08-2018-0217 |
| Author | Charles Chih,Chieh-Peng Lin |
| Subject Matter | Hr & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
The impact of employees’
perceptions of HR practices
on identification with the
company and citizenship behavior
A moderated mediation model
Charles Chih and Chieh-Peng Lin
Institute of Business and Management,
National Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to review two work groups’(local vs foreign) perceptions, attitudes
and behavior and propose a moderated mediation model to examine perceived HR practices’impact on
identification with the company and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB).
Design/methodology/approach –This paper selects 320 local and foreign production operators at
high-tech firms in Taiwan. The hypotheses are tested using SEM-AMOS, and the mediation effects are
analyzed by Sobel test with bootstrapping.
Findings –Results show that: first, the relationship influence between identification with the company and
OCB is stronger for foreign workers than for local workers; and, second, the moderated mediation of work
status exists in perceived practice of rewards for the whole worker model.
Research limitations/implications –To concentrate on research objective, the authors only consider the
same characteristics in local and foreign workers’job environment, neglecting differences in employment
conditions, living environment and cultural background.
Practical implications –Two major implications are that: first, different perceptions on HR practices
are based on employees’work status; and, second, in addition to adopting appreciative HR practices for the
target group, firms should help employees develop a stronger identification with the company in order to
encourage OCB.
Originality/value –This paper studies employees’perception on HR practices, compares a three-variable
model between local and foreign workers, and proposes a moderated mediation model to handle HR practices’
effects on identification with the company and OCB.
Keywords Human resource practices, Organizational citizenship behaviour, Foreign worker,
Identification with the company
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The purpose of this research is to review how different work groups (local vs foreign)
exhibit different perceptions, attitudes and behavior. Based on this review, we propose a
moderated mediation model to examine the impact of perceived human resources (HR)
practices on identification with the company and organizational citizenship behavior
(OCB). Several researchers (e.g. Kehoe and Wright, 2013; Boon et al., 2011; Kuvaas, 2008;
Ang et al., 2003; Stamper and Masterson, 2002; Moorman et al., 1998; Einsenberger et al.,
1997) have investigated organizational behavior and HR by focusing on the relationship
between perceptions and outcomes, such as organizational justice, perceived
organizational support (POS), perceived insider status, work behavior and attitudes, job
performance and work satisfaction. In addition to the above cause-effect relationships,
some scholars (e.g. Wilkin, 2013; Krjukova et al., 2009; Holtom et al., 2002; Van Dyne and
Ang, 1998) have compared workforces under different work status scenarios, such as
full-time vs part-time, regular vs temporary, permanent vs contingent and traditional vs
non-traditional. Overall, research on the relationship between specific HR practice and
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 41 No. 6, 2019
pp. 1238-1255
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-08-2018-0217
Received 12 August 2018
Revised 30 March 2019
Accepted 1 April 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
1238
ER
41,6
employee behaviors for both foreign employees and local employees in the same
workplace is a bit lacking in the academic arena.
Many organizations in the last decadehave hired large numbers of non-traditional workers
to engage in non-core businesstasks and sometimes to replacepermanent employees in order
to meet a varietyof business needs. Among these non-traditionalemployees, foreign workers
have played a very important role at improvingcompetitiveness in manufacturing industries,
because theycost less than local workers. Many companiesalso hire foreign workersto meet a
manpower shortage, increasing the number of foreign workers dramatically. For example, in
Taiwan the number of foreign workers ros e from 438,643 in the beginning of 2007 to 1,092,232
by the end of 2017 (source: WorkforceDevelopment Agency, Ministry of Labor, Taiwan).It is
quite common for foreign and local workers to work side by side, but because of different
terms of employment and constraints from appliedlabor laws, such foreign workers might be
offered fewer inducements and less support in a company compared with other types of
workers. This raises the question of how workstatus (foreign employees vs local employees)
affects employees’respective perceptions, attitudes and behavior.
According to the social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) and the norm of reciprocity
(Gouldner, 1960), when foreign workers perceive that they receive few erin ducements to work,
they will contribute less to the company.Drawing on the above theories,this study looks to fill
the theoretical gap in the literature by examining the impact of the relationship between HR
practices and employees’OCB with a mediator of the employees’organizationalidentification
for both foreign and local workers. Findings should help researchers understand how the
respective HR practices influenceemployees’organizationalbehavior and motivate managers
and HR practitioners to pay more attentionto the development of policies and procedures for
dealing with issues that arise when foreign and local employees work together.
Theoretical background and research framework
Status of foreign workers
Because of the shortage of local labor and the rapid growth of labor rights awareness, many
countries have opened their job markets to foreign workers, including, but not limited to,
management executives, professionals with specific skills, operators in the manufacturing
and construction industries, nurses and domestic helpers. To manage diverse workforces,
countries have introduced measures to regulate the employment of foreign workers and to
control the numbers employed based on staffing demands and the need to protect the rights
of local workers. A company can only hire a certain ratio of foreign workers and must pay a
monthly levy for each worker hired. The levy is a mechanism that regulates the number of
foreign workers. To make up for the shortage of local workers, many manufacturing
companies hire workers from developing or low-income countries to work in low-skilled and
labor-intensive operations. Companies may also hire highly skilled professionals from
overseas or locally to fill gaps in the skills and competencies of their workforce. To attract
and retain those top foreign professionals, firms have developed many competitive
compensation and benefit programs. Compared with these white-collar professionals
(expatriates or locally hired foreigners), foreign workers are hired directly from their home
countries without the sponsorship of a company in their own countries. Generally, their
tasks are the same as their local peers, and they participate in all company-wide activities
together with other local colleagues, such as outings, family days, year-end parties and
employee clubs, but they receive lower pay and benefits than local employees and have
limited resources and chances for career development. In most countries, employers only
give fixed-term employment contracts to low-skilled foreign workers with no opportunities
for them to become permanent employees due to local regulations. Because they are
classified as temporary employees, foreign workers must return home at the end of their
contracts. Without a long-term commitment from their employers as most of them are
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The impact of
employees’
perceptions
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