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Employee mental health is a central issue in today's global workplace. This paper analyzes the effect of high performance work systems (HPWSs) on employee mental health. We integrate HPWS concepts with job demands‐resources (JD‐R) theory to examine competing theoretical perspectives—a positive HPWS influence and a negative HPWS influence on employee mental health. We examine employees' perceptions of psychological empowerment as an indicator of the motivational pathway of the JD‐R and work‐role overload as an indicator of the strain pathway to explain the differential effect of HPWSs on mental health. We also incorporate organizational identification theory to demonstrate how one's identification with the organization can either accentuate or attenuate feelings of both psychological empowerment and work‐role overload. Findings from a study of 999 employees in 174 South Korean organizations indicate that HPWSs are positively associated with employee mental health via employee perceptions of empowerment and that HPWSs are negatively associated with employee mental health through perceptions of work‐role overload. Furthermore, the study finds that organizational identification attenuates the relationship between HPWS and both empowerment and overload. Practice‐level post hoc analyses also reveal that the job design characteristics, pay level, and participative decision‐making are linked to empowerment. In addition, participative decision‐making is most strongly associated with work overload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leveraging data on organizational social distancing initiatives (SDIs) this paper examines the link between SDI implementation and perceived organizational support (POS). The paper discusses and tests the intended beneficiary heuristic to help explain why and when employment practices may induce POS. We suggest that SDIs, involving various ways to separate employees to keep them safe, have the important secondary benefit of increasing employees' perception that the organization cares about their well-being and values their contributions. Using the intended beneficiary heuristic we argue that such favorable treatment as SDIs relates positively to POS most when employees attribute their implementation to the organization's concern for the welfare of employees. Results of two studies, a cross-sectional study with 121 employees in the United States and a longitudinal study with 103 employees in South Korea, indicate that SDIs were positively associated with employees' POS, which in turn improved their job satisfaction (Studies 1 and 2), affective organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior (Study 2). The results also show that these relationships were stronger when employees perceived SDIs to be implemented to protect their welfare rather than as a means of protecting the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating the literatures on strategic human resource management and organizational support theory, we examine the cross‐level relationship between high performance work systems (HPWS) at the team‐level and individual perceptions of organizational support (i.e., POS). In addition, we introduce a critical boundary condition, the HR department's organizational embodiment (HROE), which involves the extent to which employees identify the HR department with the organization. We propose that the cross‐level HPWS–POS relationship is moderated by HROE, such that the linkage between HPWS and POS is stronger when HROE is high. With a sample of 103 teams and 399 employees in South Korea, we find that HPWS utilization increases POS and that this relationship is stronger when HROE is high. We also find that HR department status and the favorable attitude of the HR head are antecedents to HROE. These findings suggest that HROE is a critical boundary condition for the relationship between HPWS and POS with subsequent effects on organizational commitment and job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertical pay dispersion (VPD), a hierarchical pay structure used to motivate employees, has traditionally been studied separately from high‐performance work systems (HPWSs). As a component of HPWSs, incentive‐based compensation schemes focus on employee‐ or team‐level incentives. However, the influence of the simultaneous utilization of VPD and HPWS on performance remains understudied. This study addresses the question of whether these approaches to managing human capital serve as complements or substitutes to one another. VPD and HPWS are argued to substitute for one another with respect to motivation‐ and skill‐enhancing practices. The opposite notion is true in regard to opportunity‐enhancing HPWSs, which serve to amplify the effectiveness of VPD. In a multisource, longitudinal sample of South Korean firms, the hypothesized predictions are supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing research on organizational slack and the stereotype content model, the antecedents and consequences of high‐performance work system (HPWS) utilization are assessed in a sample of 108 small and medium‐sized enterprises in South Korea. The paper advances theory to demonstrate that organizational slack drives HPWS adoption, but only when the chief executive officer (CEO) views employees as worth the investment. A social psychology lens is used to illustrate the significance of CEO perceptions of employee warmth and competence as moderators of the relationship between slack resources and HPWS adoption in small firms. CEOs with available financial resources who also hold a high view of employee trustworthiness (i.e., warmth) and ability (i.e., competence) are likely to utilize higher levels of HPWS. Further, employee perceptions of CEO warmth and competence moderate the relationship between HPWS utilization and firm performance, such that high levels of perceived CEO warmth and competence enhance the efficacy of HPWS. The results serve to highlight the significance of perceptual factors in both the antecedents and outcomes of HPWS adoption, particularly in smaller firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging firms are the foundation for economic growth in today's business world. Yet relatively little is known about the factors that contribute to the success or failure of developing organizations. This research study addresses this broad question by examining the role that high performance work systems (HPWS) play in the performance of high-tech new ventures. Using the resource-based and dynamic capability perspectives, this research project examines the links between HPWS and firm performance. Results indicate that HPWS utilization is positively associated with sales growth and innovation; however, a hypothesized mediating role for employee voluntary turn over was not supported. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing employee benefits is costly for new ventures, yet offering such inducements is often essential to developing human capital. While a broad combination of employee benefits could yield synergistic effects, adopting a large number of benefits may not be feasible for resource constrained ventures. To ensure survival, while limiting misallocation of scarce resources towards benefits that have lower returns, entrepreneurs must be selective in choosing the benefits that generate the most ‘bang for the buck’. Our study assesses the effects of employee benefit offerings on venture survival odds. Based on a longitudinal sample of 1012 US-based ventures from the Kauffman Firm Survey and leveraging, signalling and motivation theories, we find that offering health insurance, flexible work schedules, paid vacation, or paid sick leave increase the odds of survival. However, offering employee stock ownership plans or tuition reimbursement has no significant influence on the odds of survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HRM systems are an organization-level construct that affect outcomes at the firm, unit, and individual levels of analysis. The multilevel nature of the field creates a need for both theoretical and empirical modeling that cuts across levels to effectively understand the linkages between HRM systems and various operational and financial performance outcomes. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression which is designed to analyze the same level of data is not suited for analyzing such hierarchal data. Multilevel modeling accounts for variance among variables at different levels; dealing with sources of errors more rigorously than OLS. Multilevel structural equation modeling separately estimates between and within effects, takes into account measurement errors and allows for criterion variables that are situated at higher levels. Thus, multilevel modeling significantly advances HRM research by more accurately predicting HRM effects and estimating complex HRM models. The articles included in this collection demonstrate the value and application of multilevel modeling, both theoretically and empirically, to HRM research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- A number of studies have identified a relationship between the positive psychological capital (PsyCap) of employees and desirable outcomes. Given current and projected shortages of truck drivers that could become the "Achilles heel" of the global supply chain, the purpose of this paper is to test whether and how drivers' attitudes and PsyCap relates to their intentions to quit. Design/methodology/approach -- Using survey data from truckload drivers (n = 251) from two major transportation firms, correlation, regression, and path analysis were conducted to assess the relationship between job satisfaction, organizational commitment, PsyCap, and intentions to quit. Findings -- Results of this study indicate strong positive relationships between PsyCap and job satisfaction and organizational commitment and a strong negative correlation with intentions to quit. Structural equation modeling suggests that job satisfaction and organizational commitment mediate the relationship between PsyCap and turnover intentions. Practical implications -- Managerial implications for recognizing, understanding, and developing PsyCap in the transportation industry are derived from this study. Specific training guidelines are provided. Originality/value -- The major contribution of this paper is that it provides, for the first time, empirical evidence that PsyCap can be utilized to improve retention rates for truckload drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines relationships among high-performance work systems (HPWS), job control, employee anxiety, role overload, and turnover intentions. Building on theory that challenges the rhetoric versus reality of HPWS, the authors explore a potential “dark side” of HPWS that suggests that HPWS, which are aimed at creating a competitive advantage for organizations, do so at the expense of workers, thus resulting in negative consequences for individual employees. However, the authors argue that these consequences may be tempered when HPWS are also implemented with a sufficient amount of job control, or discretion given to employees in determining how to implement job responsibilities. The authors draw on job demands–control theory and the stress literatures to hypothesize moderated-mediation relationships relating the interaction of HPWS utilization and job control to anxiety and role overload, with subsequent effects on turnover intentions. The authors examine these relationships in a multilevel sample of 1,592 government workers nested in 87 departments from the country of Wales. Results support their hypotheses, which highlight several negative consequences when HPWS are implemented with low levels of job control. They discuss their findings in light of the critique in the literature toward the utilization of HPWS in organizations and offer suggestions for future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a theoretical model in which the distinctive characteristics of professional services firms both enable and drive Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE). Prior research has shown that CE enhances firm performance, but the phenomenon remains unexplored in the professional service industry. This lack of inclusion is unfortunate, because professional service firms (PSFs) play a vital role in the US and global economy. In addition, PSFs differ markedly from traditional non-professional firms in their structure and management, resulting in a unique expression of CE within this context that has not yet been captured. This paper maps the distinct characteristics of PSFs to the well-established domains of CE. This paper further proposes that a firm's level of professionalism is predictive of CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the effects of managerial practice and philosophy variables – high-performance work systems (HPWS) and partnership philosophy – on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and sales growth. The results from a sample of 119 young high-technology firms indicate a non-significant relationship between EO and firm growth. However, firms combining HPWS or partnership philosophy with EO realized significantly higher levels of growth. Specifically, the results suggest that the promise of EO as a means of enhancing the growth trajectories of young firms depends on the extent to which these organizations embrace and establish certain human resource practices and philosophies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]