The link between perceived high-performance work practices, employee attitudes and service quality. The mediating and moderating role of trust
| Pages | 801-821 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-08-2017-0201 |
| Published date | 06 August 2018 |
| Date | 06 August 2018 |
| Author | Panagiotis V. Kloutsiniotis,Dimitrios M. Mihail |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
The link between perceived
high-performance work practices,
employee attitudes and
service quality
The mediating and moderating role of trust
Panagiotis V. Kloutsiniotis and Dimitrios M. Mihail
Human Resource Management Lab, Department of Business Administration,
University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to focus on the Greek banking sector and examine the indirect effects
of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on service quality. Specifically, this study examines the effects of
employees’perceptions of HPWS on their trust toward their managers, as well as on service quality, through
the mediating role of employee outcomes (measured by job satisfaction and affective commitment).
In addition, trust is also tested for its role as a potential mediator and moderator in the relationship between
HPWS and employee outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach –Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used on a
sample of 350 front-line employees working in the Greek banking sector.
Findings –The findings showed that employee outcomes mediated the relationship between HPWS and
service quality. On the other hand, although trust mediated the relationship between HPWS and employee
outcomes,no support was found for its moderatingeffect. Finally, although not includedin the initial analysis,
trust wasfound to play a mediating and moderatingrole in the relationshipbetween HPWS and servicequality.
Practical implications –This study highlights the vital role that a “trusting”work environment has to
play on employee attitudes and outcomes. As this study shows, the positive employee behaviors along with
their willingness to accept and support organizational goals influence their level of productivity.
Originality/value –This study sheds lights on the mediating and moderating role of trust in the
relationship between HPWS, employee outcomes, and service quality. Finally, implications are drawn for
organizations, managers, and practitioners.
Keywords Greece, Trust, Banks, High-performance work systems, HPWS, Employee outcomes
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Over the last two decades, there has been a vast amount of research link ing
high-performance work systems (HPWS) with various firm-level performance outcomes
(e.g. Huselid, 1995) across different industries and regions (e.g. Messersmith and Guthrie,
2010). Taking a look at the past two years, HPWS research still lies at the forefront of the
strategic human resource management (SHRM) literature (e.g. Chang, 2015; Cooke et al.,
2016; Van de Voorde et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2016). On the other hand, and despite the
positive effects with which HPWS has been attributed, there is still a gap in the literature
with regard to the mechanism through which HRM practices influence performance
(Takeuchi et al., 2007, p. 1069). In more detail, researchers suggest that there is a need to
understand not only the “what”and the “why”of the impact of HRM, but also the “how,”
which is known as “the black box”problem (Messersmith et al., 2011). The latter is
considered as one of the key issues requiring further attention in the field of HRM. Thus,
researchers call for more theory and research on the intervening mechanisms that may
contribute to explaining the impact of HRM practices on organizational outcomes (Innocenti
et al., 2011, p. 304; see also Van de Voorde and Beijer, 2015, p. 62).
Employee Relations
Vol. 40 No. 5, 2018
pp. 801-821
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-08-2017-0201
Received 30 August 2017
Revised 5 December 2017
5 February 2018
Accepted 8 February 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
801
Employee
attitudes and
service quality
With regard to the latter criticism, several dominant perspectives have been used by
researchers to explain the “black box,”such as the human capital path, and the behavior
motivation approach (see Jiang et al., 2012). Based on the latter approach, authors (e.g. Ang
et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2013) emphasized the antecedent processes that contribute to the
development of the employee attitudes, such as the social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) and
the norm of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960). However, and despite the usefulness of these
theories, the mediating role of trust between employees and managers as an antecedent
process has been largely neglected, with few exceptions (e.g. Innocenti et al., 2011; Kalleberg
et al., 2004; Zacharatos et al., 2005; Zhang et al., 2016).
Trust in the employer is an increasingly important element for organizations to develop
and maintain themselves, as it can be a critical variable affecting the effectiveness, efficiency,
and performance of organizations, while it can be highly significant in the fostering of
desirable work-related behaviors. The basic logic is that employees that trust the
organizations they work with, stay there longer, put in more effort and work more
cooperativelyin contrast to those who do not share thesame amount of trust. In other words,
trust in an organization can provide a competitive advantage for firms (Searle et al., 2011,
p. 1069). Hence,in explaining the association betweenHRM practices and employee outcomes,
it would be wise to choose a mediating variable that can represent the “holistic view of an
individual self”(Alfes et al., 2012; Kundu and Gahlawat, 2016, p. 1688), such as trust.
Taking all of the above into consideration, this study uses as a framework the empirical
study of Kalleberg et al. (2004), who examined the role of trust as a mediating variable in the
relationships between HPWS, employee outcomes and productivity performance.
The contribution of this study to the broader SHRM literature is threefold. First, and
using data obtained from employees working in the Greek banking sector, this study
examines the direct relationships between HPWS, trust, employee outcomes (measured by
job satisfaction and affective commitment), and service quality. In addition, this study
explores the direct effects of employee outcomes on service quality, as well their mediating
effects in the HPWS –service quality relationship. To the best of our knowledge, research
examining the HPWS paradigm in the banking sector is extremely limited (Chang, 2015;
Cooke et al., 2016; Liao et al., 2009). Second, an additional objective of the present study is the
examination of the mediating role that trust has to play in the relationship between HPWS
and employee outcomes. Although previous studies have used various theories in
examining the positive HPWS effects on employee attitudes and behaviors that are
essentially based on “trust”–such as the “social exchange”and the reciprocity theories
(Blau, 1964), and the “psychological contract”theory (Rousseau, 1990) –the actual role of
trust between employees and employers has been largely neglected. Last but not least, this
study moves a step further and examines the moderating role of trust in the relationship
between HPWS and employee outcomes. Despite the vast amount of empirical studies
examining the effects of HRM practices to the development of positive attitudes at work, the
majority has privileged the analysis of mediating variables, such as “organizational climate”
(e.g. Bowen and Ostroff, 2004), “social and economic exchange”(e.g. Zhang et al., 2013),
“organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)”(e.g. Messersmith et al., 2011) or other
employee-related attitudes (e.g. Ramsay et al., 2000). However, less developed is the stream
of research that analyses for any possible moderating effects. To our knowledge, only a
handful of studies examined the moderating effect of trust across the HRM literature,
highlighting its importance (e.g. Alfes et al., 2012, p. 409; Farndale et al., 2011; Innocenti et al.,
2011; Tremblay et al., 2010). Hence, our effort goes to this direction and answers the calls for
further exploration. Finally, the present study takes place in the Greek context. Taking into
consideration that the context in which organizations operate may indeed limit or enhance
the HPWS usefulness and success (see Boxall and Macky, 2009; Den Hartog and Verburg,
2004), it would be interesting to examine the role of HPWS in the Greek banking sector,
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