Toward the implementation model of high performance work systems

Abstract

Recently, high performance work systems (HPWS) have been regarded as a matter of implementation. Such trend has emerged because: 1) a consensus has not been reached as to the positive effects of HPWS on organizational performance

and 2) within-organization variability (e.g., decoupling between espoused and realized HR practices) over the implementation phase has increasingly been recognized. However, the review of the HPWS literature reveals that the accumulated body of studies has failed to clearly address implementation issues in its endeavor. That is, the current research is somewhat confined to measuring HPWS within the organization (e.g., unit, individual) and investigating the effects of such within-organization levels of HPWS on corresponding outcomes. In other words, a systematic approach still lacks examining why variability is observed in the organization over the implementation of HPWS. Indeed, several studies have recently proposed process models of strategic human resource management (SHRM). But, these are, by nature, review studies simply introducing potential factors that may hinder or facilitate HPWS implementation. Therefore, they do not have much to say about what needs to be done in order to ensure the effective implementation of HPWS. To fill such void, this thesis extends the current literature in three ways. To begin with, it is established that the implementation of HR practices is primarily team-level phenomena. Thus, the paper attempts to conceptualize HPWS at the team-level, and directs its attention to HR roles of team managers. It is widely accepted that team managers as agents for the organization play a pivotal role by assuming responsibility of enforcing espoused HR practices in their work groups. In this light, the implementation intensity of HPWS in a team could mainly be a product of the extent to which the team manager enforces HR practices in accordance with intended rules and procedures. Therefore, this paper hypothesizes that team managers implementation behavior toward espoused HR practices is associated with HPWS intensity, which is, in turn, related to team performance. Indeed, recognizing the importance of team managers HR role in the SHRM literature is not new. However, a systematic investigation of factors that cause variance in team managers commitment in the enforcement phase is rather scant. Here, this thesis draws on theory of planned behavior to explicate team managers implementation of espoused HR practices. Specifically, this paper expects that: 1) when a team manager believes that the enforcement of intended HR practices could improve team outcomes (i.e., performance expectancy)

2) when he/she believes that HR enforcement is an easy-to-deal-with process (i.e., effort expectance

and 3) when he/she perceives a strong normative pressure from important others with regard to a rigorous implementation of espoused HR practices (i.e., social influence), it is likely to enhance team managers commitment to HR roles, thereby frequently displaying implementation behaviors in an intended manner. Although theory of planned behavior offers a meaningful framework of cognitive evaluation that determines implementation behaviors, it is still insufficient to suggest what to do to improve the enforcement process. This thesis expects that, by exploring HRM-specific situational factors that affect team managers cognitive belief, a comprehensive model of HPWS implementation could be put forward. First, developing HR practices in a way that properly match characteristics of teams (i.e., HRM-work compatibility) is proposed to influence team managers implementation of espoused HR practices, and the relationship is mediated by performance expectancy. Second, HR departments support and coordination over the enforcement phase (i.e., HR departments facilitation) improves effort expectancy, which subsequently influences implementation behaviors. Third, top management team (TMT)s continuous emphasis on HRM and sponsorship (i.e., TMTs HR orientation) motivate team managers to display implementation behaviors by enhancing social influence. Last, it is hypothesized that a shared climate among members of teams for HPWS implementation has holistic influence on team managers cognitive belief, which, in turn, affects implementation of espoused HR practices. Hypotheses were tested with 334 employees in 63 teams from 19 Korean companies. The results showed general support for the proposed model. Thus, the current study contributes the extant literature in several ways. To begin with, this study established team-level HPWS intensity and suggested team managers implementation of espoused HR practices as its direct antecedent. The integrative approach is a meaningful pursuit since HPWS and team manager studies have evolved in separate research streams in the SHRM literature. In addition, this thesis attempted to explicate team managers commitment to HR roles predicated upon technology acceptance models, thereby providing potential sources for variance in implementation behaviors. Last but not least, the current study proposed the implementation model of HPWS by indentifying HRM-specific contextual factors that exert influence on cognitive evaluation toward intended HR practices. The proposed model adds to the HPWS literature: 1) by detailing process models of SHRM

and 2) as an integrated framework that explains necessary factors in order to ensure the effective implementation of HPWS.