The adoption of high performance work systems in foreign subsidiaries

This study examines the determinants and outcomes of the adoption of high performance work systems (HPWS) in foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs). Region-of-origin of MNCs, headquarters (HQ) influence, and strategic human resource management (SHRM) orientation are expected to determine subsidiaries’ use of HPWS, which affects firm performance via organizational climate. We found that HQ influence, SHRM orientation, and HPWS adoption varied among foreign subsidiaries originating in different regions. HQ influence and SHRM orientation were positively related to the adoption of HPWS. HPWS had a positive effect on subsidiaries’ performance, and this positive effect was partially mediated by organizational climate.     

Leveraging perceived HPWS to improve service encounter quality in high-contact service industries

This study utilizes social exchange theory to explicate how perceived high-performance work systems (perceived HPWS) improve service encounter quality through overall justice and psychological contract fulfillment processes. We amassed survey responses from focal employees and their respective customers in three waves. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the impact of perceived HPWS on service encounter quality via overall justice and psychological contract fulfillment. Results from structural equation modeling affirmed a positive and direct association between perceived HPWS and service encounter quality. Additionally, the positive relationship between perceived HPWS and service encounter quality was uniquely and serially mediated by overall justice and psychological contract fulfillment. The current study makes a novel contribution by revealing how high-contact service organizations can leverage frontline employees' (rather than managers') perception of HPWS to optimize service encounter quality.     

In pursuit of service encounter quality: Will service-oriented high-performance work systems benefit high-contact service industries?

Integrating social exchange and psychological contract theories, this study examines how perceived service-oriented high-performance work systems (service-oriented HPWS) augment high-contact service organizations to improve their service encounter quality. In addition, it also tests the impact of psychological contract fulfillment, innovative work behavior, and prosocial service behavior as parallel and serial mediating variables in the relationship between service-oriented HPWS and service encounter quality. Using survey data collected in three-time lags from 394 full-time frontline employees and their customers across high-contact service contexts, direct and indirect effects of service-oriented HPWS on service encounter quality were tested employing structural equation modeling. The results revealed that service-oriented HPWS is positively associated with service encounter quality via psychological contract fulfillment, innovative work behavior, and prosocial service behavior. The study contributes to the extant literature by integrating social exchange and psychological contract theories in explicating the impact of service-oriented HPWS on service encounter quality.     

High performance work systems and corporate performance: the influence of entrepreneurial orientation and organizational learning

This study investigates the functioning mechanisms of how high performance work systems (HPWS) affect organizational performance. We propose that (HPWS) can positively affect organizational performance through the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation. An organization with high performance work systems can perform better if it enjoys high level of organizational learning. We design and administer a survey questionnaire to high-level executives or founders of companies from manufacturing and service industries and receive 176 valid responses. The results of the empirical data indicate that the relationship between high performance work systems and corporate performance is more positive when organizational learning is stronger. Entrepreneurial orientation partially mediates the relationship between high performance work systems and organizational performance. This study opens new research avenues by extending and incorporating explanations and predictions of HPWS and entrepreneurial orientation, two areas that largely have been considered independently of each other. Implications for practice and directions for future research are provided.     

High performance work systems and corporate performance: the influence of entrepreneurial orientation and organizational learning

This study investigates the functioning mechanisms of how high performance work systems (HPWS) affect organizational performance. We propose that (HPWS) can positively affect organizational performance through the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation. An organization with high performance work systems can perform better if it enjoys high level of organizational learning. We design and administer a survey questionnaire to high-level executives or founders of companies from manufacturing and service industries and receive 176 valid responses. The results of the empirical data indicate that the relationship between high performance work systems and corporate performance is more positive when organizational learning is stronger. Entrepreneurial orientation partially mediates the relationship between high performance work systems and organizational performance. This study opens new research avenues by extending and incorporating explanations and predictions of HPWS and entrepreneurial orientation, two areas that largely have been considered independently of each other. Implications for practice and directions for future research are provided.     

Reducing environmental uncertainty: How high performance work systems moderate the resource dependence‐firm performance relationship

Firm performance is a major concern for all organizations and involves a multitude of antecedents. Reducing environmental uncertainty and dependency through the use of strategic actions in the resource dependency theory (RDT) framework and enhancing work practices through high performance work systems (HPWS) lead to higher levels of firm performance. We reveal the interconnectivity between RDT and HPWS and develop propositions as to how components of HPWS positively moderate the relationship between firm performance and the environmental uncertainty‐reducing strategic actions proposed by RDT such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, boards of directors, political action, and executive succession. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of high-performance work systems in the health-care industry: employee reactions,service quality,customer satisfaction,and customer loyalty

The purpose of this study is to empirically test the effects of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on employee attitude, service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in health-care organisations. The proposed research model was tested using structural equation modelling for hypotheses, based on data collected from 196 pairs of employee–customer respondents in four selected hospitals with more than 500 beds. The results indicate that hospitals can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty through efficient operations, employee engagement, and service quality. One of the key findings of our study is that HPWS in health-care organisations influence employee reaction and service quality.     

Volunteer High Performance Work Systems and Service Performance: An Empirical Study of Beijing Olympic Volunteers

This study examines the key human resources factors that affect volunteers’ service performance from the perspectives of volunteers and managers in the Beijing Summer Olympic Games of 2008. Survey data were collected from 1,727 volunteers and 243 managers at the Beijing Olympics test events held at 10 venues between November 2007 and April 2008. Regression analyses and a moderation test were combined to test the hypotheses. A set of high performance work systems (HPWS) for volunteers in the Beijing Summer Olympic Games were developed which include performance management, training, recognition, teamwork and volunteer participation. Volunteer HPWS were positively related to psychological empowerment, which was in turn positively related to service recovery performance. Moreover, transformational leadership moderates the relationship between volunteer HPWS and psychological empowerment in such a way that the relationship is stronger when transformational leadership is at a higher level than when it is at a lower level. Implications and limitations were also discussed.     

Differentiating the workforce: The performance effects of using contingent labor in a context of high-performance work systems

In this study we focus on the impact of contingent labor on the outcomes of high-performance work systems (HPWS). Building on the emerging research on the social mechanisms linking HRM to organizational effectiveness, we argue that a higher incidence of contingent labor diminishes the productivity payoff associated with the use of HPWS for managing standard employees. We test these arguments using a sample of 229 British firms of different industries. The results support our arguments and help develop a more holistic and critical viewpoint in the analysis of workforce differentiation.     

Abandonment issues: A hazard analysis of high-performance work practices

This study examines usage of high-performance work practices (HPWPs) over time using a unique longitudinal survey of Canadian organizations. Human resource management (HRM) studies tell us HPWPs require long-term commitment but rarely measure it. Using event history analysis this study finds high rates of HPWP abandonment. The study also examines organizational supports for high-performance work system (HPWS). A Cox regression analysis finds rates of abandonment are reduced when HPWPs are accompanied by aligned business strategies and HR professional support. The results inform process research on HRM strategies and raise troubling questions for findings in studies that fail to measure duration. For managers, the findings highlight the importance of ensuring strategic alignment with and organizational support for HPWPs if they are to endure.     

High Performance Work Systems and Employee Creativity： The Mediating Effect of Knowledge Sharing

Employee creativity is both the core element of a firm＇s innovation capabilities and the sources for its growth. To improve an organization＇s ability to innovate, it is necessary to improve the creativity of its employees. Based on theories from strategic human resource management, creativity and organizational learning, this paper investigates the relationship between high performance work systems and employee creativity and explores the role knowledge sharing plays in their relationship. A questionnaire is designed and administered to a group of part-time executive students in the winter of 2012. Two hundred students are invited to answer the survey questions with 117 valid responses. Data are collected and processed by using statistical regressions. The empirical findings reveal that high performance work systems positively affect knowledge sharing and employee creativity. Knowledge sharing plays a mediating role in the relationship between high performance work systems and employee creativity. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Paying before consuming: Examining the robustness of consumers’ preference for prepayment

Prior research on consumers’ preference for timing of payment suggests that consumers prefer to prepay for certain kinds of purchases (e.g., vacations) and postpay for others (e.g., washer dryers). This research extends this finding by first comparing preference for timing of payment for products that vary by type (hedonic vs. utilitarian) and durability (nondurable vs. durable) to reveal that it is only hedonic-nondurable products that elicit a preference for prepayment (study 1). The two studies that follow examine the robustness of the prepayment preference by (1) varying the favorability of the transaction (study 2), and, (2) by eliminating the choice of payment timing from the transaction (study 3). Results reveal that the preference for prepayment for hedonic-nondurable goods is robust when transaction characteristics are favorable but shifts when transaction characteristics are unfavorable. Furthermore, when the choice of payment timing is not offered, consumers become indifferent towards when they prefer to pay for hedonic-nondurable products. The implications of these findings for marketers and retailers are discussed.     

Factors influencing financial strain on elderly people who live alone in the U.S.A.

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors influencing financial strain experienced by elderly persons living alone. Data for this study were drawn from a national survey conducted by Louis Harris and Associates, Inc. in 1986 at the request of The Commonwealth Fund Commission on Elderly People Living Alone to obtain a picture of the resources, problems, needs and preferences of elderly Americans who live alone. For this study, a path model was tested by using multiple regressions. Demographic factors (gender, age and race) were statistically significant factors indirectly influencing financial strain through one economic factor (income) and one health-related factor (physical limitations). Economic factors (income and health insurance coverage) and one health-related factor (physical limitations) were statistically significant factors directly influencing financial strain.     

Extreme internal–external industrial-service flexibilities and interfirm cooperative networks in high-technology machine manufacturing

Most interfirm studies focus only on the strategies of strategic partnerships, such as joint ventures, technology transferring agreements, licensing agreements; the study here provides interfirm-network knowledge protocols for designing interfirm-service processes in the high-technology machinery industry (HTMI) by small-and-medium enterprise (SME) networks from the perspectives of extremely-rapid industrial-service flexibility (X-ISF). Based on the decision system analysis (DSA) method, this study constructs an X-ISF research model consisting of major variables of extremely-rapid internal ISF (X-I ISF), extremely-rapid external ISF (X-E ISF), and cooperative networks. This study applies a mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) research design to understand interfirm-network decision-making and the influence of the antecedent conditions of internal and external X-ISF and cooperative upstream-to-downstream networks on firms' X-ISF performance. The study finds that the mutual relationships between X-I ISF and X-E ISF are substantially unbalanced — the impact on firm X-ISF performance by the external-to-internal (X-in) ISF is substantially greater than the impact from the internal-to-external (X-out) ISF. Recognize the need to lead with external-to-internal X-ISF to sustain the adoption-implementation of superior high-technology is the principal take-away strategy implication.     

Balancing health,harmony and hegemony: Parents' goals and strategies in children's food related consumer socialization

Parents play a pivotal role in socializing their children for healthy eating. The objectives of the present study were (1) to identify food socialization outcomes valued by parents, and (2) to study how parents socialize their children for (healthy) eating at home and during food shopping. Including both parents' perceptions of valued food socialization outcomes and associated processes addresses a significant gap in the food socialization literature. The study used semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews with parents of young children. Data were subsequently analysed by interpretive, thematic procedures. The sample consisted of middle‐ to high‐income families from two cities in Denmark. Findings reveal four main food socialization goals valued by parents: (1) Nutrition and Health, (2) Healthy Relationship with Food, (3) Food Assimilation and (4) Self‐Regulation and Autonomy. Parents prioritized children's acquisition of a healthy relationship with food which included preserving family relations and harmony, more than strictly attending a nutritious diet, contrasting the focus on the nutritional value of diet usually emphasised by public health authorities. The study therefore concludes that parents' notions of what constitutes healthy diets for their children is not completely aligned with common nutrition‐oriented recommendations. Also, fathers were found to play a very active role in their children's food‐related consumer socialization. The findings underline the importance of addressing the priorities and strategies of both mothers and fathers when marketers and policy makers target contemporary families regarding children's food socialization.     

Informal institutions and international entrepreneurship

This study examines the influence of three informal institutions, performance orientation, self-expression and social desirability, on the extent of internationalization by early stage entrepreneurial firms. We employed multi-level modeling techniques using 20,656 individual-level responses obtained from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey for 39 countries from 2001 to 2008, and supplementing with country-level data obtained from the World Values Survey (WVS) and the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) study. The results demonstrate that high performance orientation, high self-expression, and low social desirability of entrepreneurship in societies increase the extent of internationalization by early-stage entrepreneurial firms. The study promotes new theory and empirical findings on the relationship between informal institutions and entrepreneurial agency.     

The phenomenon of purchasing second-hand products by the BOP consumers

This study explores the motivations and consequences of purchasing second-hand (SH) products by the rural and sub-urban (RSU) base of the pyramid (BOP) consumers using a qualitative phenomenological approach. This study has also examined the preferred purchase points for buying SH products by the RSU BOP consumers. Findings revealed that the RSU BOP consumers preferred their personal sources over offline and online retails while buying a SH product. The economic motivations, need for fulfilling aspirations, apathy towards cheap brands, need for social recognition, and pester power of school/college going children were found as the motivations behind the purchase of SH products by the RSU BOP consumers. This study has also identified that increasing consumption of branded SH products results in compensatory consumption, increased consumerism, and overwhelming recurring cost at the RSU BOP. This study has put forth a conceptual model leading to a comprehensive understanding of the purchase points, motivations, and consequences of SH purchase by the RSU BOP consumers. It has advanced the social comparison theory and the theory of compensatory consumption in the context of SH buying by BOP consumers. This study would fill the gap in the literature on consumer behaviour and BOP by examining such a novel issue. The practical and social implications of the study have been discussed.     

Supervisor incivility and frontline employees’ performance amid the COVID-19 pandemic: A multilevel moderated mediation analysis

Underpinned by conservation of resources (COR) theory, the study examines how supervisor incivility affects in- and extra-role performance by assessing the intermediary role of self-efficacy of frontline employees (FLEs) and moderating role of person-job fit (P-J Fit) at the store-level in the COVID-19 context. The study samples 366 FLEs from 48 retail stores in India. The findings show that the association between supervisor incivility and FLEs’ in- and extra-role performance through self-efficacy is only strong when the P-J Fit remains weak. The theoretical model backed by empirical findings provides potential value to the existing literature.