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High-performance work systems and thriving at work: the role of cognitive appraisal and servant leadership

Zhining Wang, Shuang Ren, Lijun Meng

Personnel Review

ISSN: 0048-3486

Article publication date: 20 July 2021

Issue publication date: 29 August 2022

2759

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a balanced and nuanced understanding of the relationship between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and employee thriving at work by aiming to consider the “dark-side” of HPWS and to uncover the “black box.”

Design/methodology/approach

This research draws from data from 377 employees nested in 77 work teams and tests a multilevel moderated mediation model using multilevel path analysis.

Findings

The findings indicate that employees appraise HPWS as both a challenge and a hindrance simultaneously. The challenge appraisal associated with HPWS positively influences employees' thriving at work whereas hindrance appraisal of HPWS negatively influences thriving experience. The results also support the hypothesized relationships in which servant leadership moderates the indirect effect of HPWS on employee thriving via challenge and hindrance appraisals accordingly.

Originality/value

This research demonstrates both positive and negative sides of HPWS as evaluated by employees in relation to an important employee outcome of thriving at work. It enriches the strategic HRM literature by identifying the “black box” of HPWS-employee outcomes and associated boundary condition from the theoretical perspective of cognitive appraisals.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: This research is supported by The Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities in China (Grant No. 2017XKQY087), The Social Science Research Funds of Jiangsu province of China (Grant No. 19GLB014), Humanity and Social Science Major Foundation of Education Committee of Anhui province of China (Grant No. SK2019ZD07), and The Double First-Class Initiative Project for Cultural Evolution and Creation of China University of Mining and Technology (Grant No. 2018WHCC03/05).

Citation

Wang, Z., Ren, S. and Meng, L. (2022), "High-performance work systems and thriving at work: the role of cognitive appraisal and servant leadership", Personnel Review, Vol. 51 No. 7, pp. 1749-1771. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-10-2019-0561

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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