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This study evaluated the effects of two employment practices, namely work flexibility and firm internal labor markets on affective and continuance organizational commitment. In addition, it examined whether such effects were gender‐specific. Survey data were obtained from a sample of 772 business executives in Hong Kong. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that, although the two employment practices had significant and positive effects on both affective and continuance organizational commitment, they are not affected by gender.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships among Chinese traditionality, job attitudes, and job performance. Chinese traditionality, an indigenous cultural variable, is expected to enhance employees’ organizational commitment and job satisfaction, which in turn affect their job performance.

Data were collected via employee survey from 399 workers in two large firms in China. The HR department helped the authors to distribute a self-administered questionnaire to the respondents. The authors assured them of confidentiality and protected their anonymity. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.

The results show that Chinese traditionality is positively related to organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The authors also find that the positive effect of Chinese traditionality on employees’ job performance is mediated by organizational commitment, but not by job satisfaction.

Based on the findings, Chinese firms should pay attention to cultural values, which play an important role in affecting employees’ job attitudes and performance.

This study contributes to the literature in two ways. First, it provides evidence about the significant positive effect of Chinese traditionality on organizational commitment and job attitudes. Second, it reveals a key mechanism through which Chinese traditionality enhances employees’ job performance.

The purpose of this study is to examine how gender role orientation (i.e. masculinity and femininity) and career/family role salience affect individuals’ organizational identification (OID) and intention to leave. Alternative models were developed to specify different relationships among the study variables.

Data were collected via a questionnaire survey of 362 employees from three large companies in China. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate alternative models and test the hypotheses.

This paper found that masculinity was positively related to career role salience, whereas femininity was positively related to family role salience. Career role salience, but not family role salience, was positively related to OID, which in turn was negatively related to intention to leave. A positive relationship was also found between femininity and OID, as well as between family role salience and intention to leave.

The cross-sectional nature of the data of this study precludes any definitive inferences about causality and directionality. The use of self-report measures also invites the potential threat of common method variance. The generalizability of results has been restricted, given that the respondents were drawn from three large companies.

Organizations may provide more resources and support for their employees so as to increase their career role salience, which in turn enhances their level of OID. For employees who are high in femininity, employers may offer family-friendly programs to help them address resource drain from family to work, and hence to retain them.

This study provided evidence for the linkage between gender role orientation with career/family role salience. It also revealed the impacts of career/family role salience on OID and intention to leave. Some gender differences in this regard were highlighted.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model that investigates volition and self-efficacy as antecedents, and work engagement and job satisfaction as outcomes of perceived employability. It also evaluates the moderating role of job insecurity on the relationships between perceived employability and the two employee outcomes.

The data were collected via a random sampling survey on living conditions of Hong Kong citizens in 2014. The final sample consists of 414 Chinese working adults. The authors employ structural equation modeling and moderated regression analysis to test the hypotheses.

Results show that volition and self-efficacy are positively related to perceived employability, and perceived employability in turn positively relates to work engagement and job satisfaction. Besides, perceived employability fully mediates the effect of volition and partially mediates the effect of self-efficacy, on the two outcome variables. The authors also find that job insecurity acts as a significant moderator on the relationships between perceived employability and the outcomes.

Limitations of this study include self-reported data, cross-sectional research design, and selected respondents with a large proportion of recent immigrants. By delineating the process through which perceived employability affects employees’ work engagement and job satisfaction, this study provides some implications for research and practice.

This study introduces a conceptual model that includes both antecedents and consequences of perceived employability. It examines the relationships among volition, perceived employability, and work engagement, which has not been studied before. By identifying job insecurity as an important moderator, it reveals a boundary condition of perceived employability on employee outcomes.

This study examined the effect of professional identification on several job attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and career satisfaction), and explored the moderating roles of gender and organizational tenure on these relationships. Informed by social identity theory, gender role theory, and organizational socialization theory, several hypotheses were developed and tested with a data set consisting of 309 salaried lawyers collected in Hong Kong. Regression analysis revealed that (1) professional identification had a significant positive effect on both job satisfaction and organizational commitment, (2) gender moderated the relationship between professional identification—job satisfaction and professional identification—organizational commitment, and (3) organizational tenure moderated the relationship between professional identification and job satisfaction as well as the relationship between professional identification and career satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to investigate the relationship between human resource management (HRM) competency and firm performance. Drawn upon the resource-based view and alignment theory, HRM competency is expected to be related to the adoption of high performance work systems (HPWS) and the achievement of external fit in HRM, which in turn contribute to firm performance.

The data for this study were collected via a survey of in 157 Chinese enterprises located in the high technology development zone of three large cities. Two different respondents from each firm provided information about organizational characteristics, HRM policy and practices, and firm performance. Multiple regressions were used to test the hypotheses.

Results indicate that HRM competency has a significant and positive effect on firm performance. Such an effect is found to be mediated by the achievement of external fit, but not the adoption of HPWS.

Limitations of the study include cross-sectional data, perceptual measure of firm performance, omission of external variables, and restricted sample. This study highlights the importance of HRM competency in strategic HRM, and provides evidence about how this construct is linked to firm performance.

This is the first study that explores the effect of HRM competency on the adoption of HPWS and the achievement of external fit. It further reveals that the achievement of external fit mediates the relationship between HRM competency and firm performance, and hence contributes to the HRM literature.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Chinese traditionality (an individual-level cultural variable) and subjective career success in the Chinese context. It explores whether Chinese traditionality influences employees’ perceptions of procedural justice and job insecurity, which in turn affect their job and career satisfaction.

Data were collected via employee survey from 482 workers in three large companies in China. The HR department helped us to distribute a self-administered questionnaire to the respondents. The authors assured them of confidentiality and protected their anonymity. Path analysis was used to evaluate the relationships in the conceptual model. For testing the mediating hypotheses, the authors employed Sobel tests and bootstrapping.

The results indicate that Chinese traditionality is related to procedural justice and perceived job insecurity. The authors further found that Chinese traditionality exerts a significant effect on both job and career satisfaction, and such effects are fully mediated by procedural justice and perceived job insecurity.

Based on the findings, Chinese firms should pay attention to employees’ cultural values and their perceptions of work context, which significantly affect their job and career satisfaction. It is also important to ensure a high level of procedural justice and job security as perceived by the employees.

This study is the first exploration of the relationship between Chinese traditonality and subjective career success. It also reveals the mediating role of procedural justice and perceived job insecurity in the above relationship. The new findings add to the cross-cultural research on careers.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of gender and strength of gender identification on employees’ perception of gender discrimination. It also explores whether gender comparison and perceived gender bias against women act as mediators in the above relationships. It aims to advance the understanding of the processes leading to individual’s perception of gender discrimination in the Chinese workplace.

Data were collected from 362 workers via an employee survey in three large companies in China. The human resource staff helped us to distribute a self-administered questionnaire to the employees, and the authors assured them of confidentiality and protected their anonymity. To test the hypotheses, the authors employed structural equation modeling. The authors first conducted confirmatory factor analysis on the measurement model, and then the authors estimated three nested structural models to test the mediating hypotheses.

The results reveal that gender and strength of gender identification are related to perceived gender discrimination. The authors further found that gender comparison and perceived gender bias against women partially mediated the relationship between gender and perceived gender discrimination, while gender comparison fully mediated the relationship between strength of gender identification and perceived gender discrimination.

The study helps managers understand why and how their subordinates form perceptions of gender discrimination. Given the findings, they should be aware of the importance of gender identity, gender comparison, and gender bias in organizational practices in affecting such perceptions.

This study is the first exploration of the complex relationships among gender, gender identification, gender comparison, perceived gender bias against women, and perceived gender discrimination. It shows the salient role of gender comparison and gender bias against women in shaping employees’ perceptions of gender discrimination, apart from the direct effects of gender and strength of gender identification.

This study examines the factors affecting joint venture employees’ affective commitment in the Peoples’ Republic of China. Three theoretical frameworks (i.e. the justice framework, the job security framework and the trust framework) are employed to study the antecedents and the consequence of workers’ affective commitment. The proposed mediation model includes: distributive justice, procedural justice and perceived job security as the antecedents of affective commitment; trust in organization as the mediator; and turnover intention as the outcome variable. The results supported this mediation model. It has been found that trust in organization mediates the relationships between distributive justice, procedural justice, perceived job security and affective commitment. In addition, perceived job security and affective commitment have significant effects on the turnover intention of workers. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of the present study are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the underlying exchange mechanisms between ethical leadership behavior and affective commitment. The authors hypothesized that ethical leadership behavior enhances perceived organizational support (POS), which then raises employee affective commitment. The authors further predicted that economic exchange weakens such indirect effect of ethical leadership on affective commitment via POS.

Using a two-phase survey, the authors tested the hypotheses with a sample of 176 bank employees in Macau using hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrapping.

POS was found to mediate the relationship between ethical leadership behavior and affective commitment, whereas economic exchange was found to moderate the ethical leadership behavior – POS relationship as well as its indirect effect on affective commitment via POS.

By identifying POS as the mediator and economic exchange as the moderator, this study enhances our knowledge of the dynamics of multiple exchange mechanisms linking ethical leadership behavior to affective commitment.