Employee participation and outcomes: organizational strategy does matter
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role of perceived organizational support (POS) in the relationship between employee participation and organizational commitment, and the moderating role of organizational strategy in those relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed hypotheses were tested by multilevel analyses with data from surveys of 1,105 employees and 49 managers in 49 companies located throughout South Korea.
Findings
The results demonstrated that POS mediated the relationship between employee participation and organizational commitment, and that participation practices were related more strongly to POS and organizational commitment in companies with a prospector or analyzer strategy than in companies with a defender strategy.
Research limitations/implications
Organizational-level variables were measured by one manager in each company. This study provides important implications regarding the fit between participation practices and organizational strategy.
Practical implications
Managers in prospector or the most innovative companies should provide employees with more opportunities to make decisions and to receive financial incentives for their contributions.
Originality/value
This study is unique in that it simultaneously examined the horizontal fit and the vertical fit while focussing on individual employees’ outcomes rather than organizational performance.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Research Fund of 2015.
Citation
Park, R. (2015), "Employee participation and outcomes: organizational strategy does matter", Employee Relations, Vol. 37 No. 5, pp. 604-622. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-09-2014-0107
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited