The relationship between high performance work systems and firm performance: examining causal order and the moderating roles of HR staff-employee interaction

The current dissertation study examines causal directions between High Performance Work Systems (HPWSs) and firm performance, and the roles played by HR Staff-employee interactions in implementation processes of HPWSs, in two separate but interrelated studies. In the field of strategic human resource management, extensive research efforts have been exerted in examination of the relationship between HPWSs and firm performance, returning only evidence of positive associations between them, but the causal directions of the positive associations have not been revealed. Thus, the first study of the current dissertation focuses on investigating the unrevealed causal mechanisms in HPWSs-firm performance relationship. The current study proposed reciprocal causality between HPWSs and firm performance, and then examined the causal directions with two waves of panel data collected from 225 South Korean firms in various industries, by utilizing a cross-lagged effect model. The findings showed that HPWSs and productivity resulted in each other, simultaneously. However, only HPWSs resulted in ROS and ROE without reversed causations. Further, no causal direction was found from the analyses with ROA. In addition, the current study also proposed and examined a moderating role played by the prior level of HPWS utilization in the causal relationship between the prior firm performance and HPWS utilization, but the result did not support the moderation. In addition to the causal directions in HPWSs-firm performance relationship, the conditions for effective implementation of HPWSs were mostly unrevealed. Thus, the second study of the current dissertation focused on implementation processes of HPWS. The current study proposed the moderating roles played by HR staff-employee communication, employee perception of HR staff as strategic partners, and employee perception of HR staff as change agents in HPWSs-firm performance relationship, and, then, examined the moderating effects with two waves of panel data collected through management survey and employee survey from 176 South Korean firms in various industries. The results of the study showed that the proposed moderators, which were found to be highly inter-correlated, moderated HPWSs-productivity relationship and HPWSs-ROS relationship in positive ways, as one moderating factor. In addition, the current study also found causal relationship between HPWSs and the moderating factor.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Human Res & Industrial Rels

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Lew, Joon Yeol

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lawler, John J.
• Aguilera, Ruth V.
• Avgar, Ariel
• Shin, Taekjin

• High Performance Work Systems
• Firm Performance
• Causal Order
• Human Resources Strategy Implementation
• Human Resources Staff-Employee Interaction
• Reciprocal Effects

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2013 Joon Yeol Lew

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/44790

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/44790