High-performance work systems and thriving at work: the role of cognitive appraisal and servant leadership
ISSN: 0048-3486
Article publication date: 20 July 2021
Issue publication date: 29 August 2022
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
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