Hostname: page-component-7b9c58cd5d-nzzs5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-15T16:44:38.463Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ability–motivation–opportunity enhancing human resource practices and firm performance: Evidence from India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2016

Subhash C. Kundu  and
Neha Gahlawat
Subhash C. Kundu*
Affiliation:
Haryana School of Business, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar, Haryana, India
Neha Gahlawat
Affiliation:
Haryana School of Business, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar, Haryana, India
*
Corresponding author: sckundu@yahoo.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study investigates the diverse performance outcomes related to the bundles/components of high-performance work systems on the basis of ability–motivation–opportunity model. Using the primary data from 563 employees of 204 firms operating in India (collected during the time period between March, 2012 and January, 2013), the study has indicated that employees’ perceptions regarding the applicability of ability-enhancing, motivation-enhancing, and opportunity-enhancing human resource practices result in enhanced affective commitment and superior firm performance. The results have revealed that affective commitment fully mediates the relationship of opportunity-enhancing human resource practices with firm performance and partially mediates the relationships of ability-enhancing and motivation-enhancing human resource practices with firm performance. The study contributes in unlocking the ‘black box’ related to the high-performance work systems and firm performance relationship by stressing upon the importance of affective commitment as a mediator. Managerial implications and directions for future research are also discussed.

Keywords

affective commitmentabilitymotivationopportunity modelfirm performancehigh-performance work systemsIndia
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 24 , Special Issue 5: Contextualizing Diversity Within Islam , September 2018 , pp. 730 - 747
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agarwala, T. (2003). Innovative human resource practices and organizational commitment: An empirical investigation. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14, 175–198. doi:10.1080/0958519021000029072.Google Scholar
Ahmad, S., & Schroeder, R. G. (2003). The impact of human resource management practices on operational performance: Recognizing country and industry differences. Journal of Operations Management, 21, 19–43. doi:10.1016/S0272-6963(02)00056-6.Google Scholar
Allen, N. J., & Meyer, J. P. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63, 1–18. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8325.1990.tb00506.x.Google Scholar
Appelbaum, E., Bailey, T., Berg, P., & Kalleberg, A. (2000). Manufacturing advantage: Why high-performance work systems pay off. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Arthur, J. B. (1994). Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 670–687. doi:10.2307/256705.Google Scholar
Bae, J. S., & Lawler, J. J. (2000). Organizational and HRM strategies in Korea: Impact on firm performance in an emerging economy. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 502–517. doi:10.2307/1556407.Google Scholar
Bardoel, E. A., De Cieri, H., & Mayson, S. (2008). Bridging the research-practice gap: Developing a measurement framework for work-life initiatives. Journal of Management and Organization, 14, 239–258.Google Scholar
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17, 99–120. doi:10.1177/014920639101700108.Google Scholar
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173.Google Scholar
Becker, B., & Gerhart, B. (1996). The impact of human resource management on organizational performance: Progress and prospects. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 779–801. doi:10.2307/256712.Google Scholar
Bello-Pintado, A. (2015). Bundles of HRM practices and performance: Empirical evidence from a Latin American context. Human Resource Management Journal, 25, 311–330. doi:10.1111/1748-8583.12067.Google Scholar
Birdi, K., Clegg, C., Patterson, M., Robinson, A., Stride, C., Wall, T., & Wood, S. (2008). The impact of human resource and operational management practices on company productivity: A longitudinal study. Personnel Psychology, 61, 467–501. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2008.00136.x.Google Scholar
Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and power in social life . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Bollen, K. A. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Boselie, P. (2010). High performance work practices in the health care sector: A Dutch case study. International Journal of Manpower, 31, 42–58. doi:10.1108/01437721011031685.Google Scholar
Boselie, P. (2011). Strategic human resource management: A balanced approach (1st ed.), New Delhi: Tata Mcgraw Hill.Google Scholar
Boselie, P., Dietz, G., & Boon, C. (2005). Commonalities and contradictions in research on human resource management and performance. Human Resource Management Journal, 15, 67–94. doi:10.1111/j.1748-8583.2005.tb00154.x.Google Scholar
Boxall, P., & Macky, K. (2009). Research and theory on high-performance work systems: Processing the high involvement stream. Human Resource Management Journal, 19, 3–23. doi:10.1111/j.1748-8583.2008.00082.x.Google Scholar
Budhwar, P., & Varma, A. (2011). Emerging HR management trends in India and the way forward. Organizational Dynamics, 40, 317–325. doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2011.07.009.Google Scholar
Datta, D. K., Guthrie, J. P., & Wright, P. M. (2005). Human resource management and labor productivity: Does industry matter? Academy of Management Journal, 48, 135–145. doi:10.5465/AMJ.2005.15993158.Google Scholar
Delery, J. E., & Doty, D. H. (1996). Modes of theorizing strategic human management: Tests universalistic, contingency, performance predictions. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 802–835. doi:10.2307/256713.Google Scholar
Edralin, D. M. (2008). Innovative human resource management (HRM) practices as predictors of employee job involvement and organizational commitment. Asian Journal of Technology Innovation, 16, 67–81. doi:10.1080/19761597.2008.9668657.Google Scholar
Ellemers, N., De Gilder, D., & Van Den Heuvel, H. (1998). Career-oriented versus team-oriented commitment and behavior at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 717–730. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.83.5.717.Google Scholar
Fey, C. F., & Bjorkman, I. (2001). The effect of human resource management practices on MNC subsidiary performance in Russia. Journal of International Business Studies, 32, 59–76. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490938.Google Scholar
García-Morales, V. J., Matías-Reche, F., & Verdú-Jover, A. J (2011). Influence of internal communication on technological proactivity, organizational learning, and organizational innovation in the pharmaceutical sector. Journal of Communication, 61, 150–177. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2010.01530.x.Google Scholar
Gardner, T. M., Wright, P. M., & Moynihan, L. M. (2011). The impact of motivation, empowerment, and skill-enhancing practices on aggregate voluntary turnover: The mediating effect of collective affective commitment. Personnel Psychology, 64, 315–350. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01212.x.Google Scholar
Gong, Y., Chang, S., & Cheung, S. Y. (2010). High performance work system and collective OCB: A collective social exchange perspective. Human Resource Management Journal, 20, 119–137. doi:10.1111/j.1748-8583.2010.00123.x.Google Scholar
Gong, Y., Law, K. S., Chang, S., & Xin, K. R. (2009). Human resources management and firm performance: The differential role of managerial affective and continuance commitment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 263–275. doi:10.1037/a0013116.Google Scholar
Gooderham, P., Parry, E., & Ringdal, K. (2008). The impact of bundles of strategic human resource management practices on the performance of European firms. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19, 2041–2056. doi:10.1080/09585190802404296.Google Scholar
Hair, J. F. Jr., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. C., & Black, W. C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Harman, H. H. (1976). Modern factor analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Hoskisson, R. E., Eden, L., Lau, C. M., & Wright, M. (2000). Strategy in emerging economies. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 249–267. doi:10.2307/1556394.Google Scholar
Huselid, M. (1995). The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity and corporate financial performance. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 635–672. doi:10.2307/256741.Google Scholar
International Monetary Fund (2015). World economic outlook (WEO) update January 2015: Cross currents. Retrieved April 2, 2015 fromhttp://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2015/update/01/pdf/0115.pdf.Google Scholar
Jiang, K., Lepak, D. P., Hu, J., & Baer, J. C. (2012). How does human resource management influence organizational outcomes? a meta-analytic investigation of mediating mechanism. Academy of Management Journal, 55, 1264–1294. doi:10.5465/amj.2011.0088.Google Scholar
Johnston, M. W., Pasuraman, A., Futrell, C. M., & Black, W. C. (1990). A longitudinal assessment of the impact of selected organizational influences on salespeople’s organizational commitment during early employment. Journal of Marketing Research, 27, 333–344. doi:10.2307/3172590.Google Scholar
Jose, J., & Mampilly, S. R. (2012). Satisfaction with HR practice and employee engagement: A social exchange perspective. Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, 4, 423–430.Google Scholar
Khandwalla, P. N. (1977). The design of organizations. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Kinnie, N., Hutchinson, S., Purcell, J., & Swart, J. (2006). Human resource management and organizational performance. In T. Edman, & A. Wilkinson (Eds.), Contemporary human resource management: Texts and cases (2nd ed., pp. 26–64). London: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Kuipers, B. S., & Stoker, J. I. (2009). Development and performance of self-managing work teams: A theoretical and empirical examination. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20, 399–419. doi:10.1080/09585190802670797.Google Scholar
Kundu, S. C. (2008). Comparative human resource management practices: A case of China and India. International Journal of Management Theory and Practices, 9, 43–68.Google Scholar
Kundu, S. C., & Gahlawat, N. (2015). Socially responsible HR practices and employees’ intention to quit: The mediating role of job satisfaction. Human Resource Development International, 18, 387–406. doi:10.1080/13678868.2015.1056500.Google Scholar
Kundu, S. C., & Gahlawat, N. (2016). Effects of employee retention practices on perceived firm and innovation performance. International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 19, 25–43. doi:10.1504/IJIL.2016.073287.Google Scholar
MacDuffie, J. P. (1995). Human resource bundles and manufacturing performance: Organisational logic and flexible production systems in the world auto industry. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 48, 197–221.Google Scholar
MacKenzie, S. B., Podsakoff, P. M., & Jarvis, C. B. (2005). The problem of measurement model misspecification in behavioral and organizational research and some recommended solutions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 4, 710–730. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.90.4.710.Google Scholar
Macky, K., & Boxall, P. (2007). The relationship between high-performance work practices and employee attitudes: An investigation of additive and interaction effects. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18, 537–567. doi:10.1080/09585190601178745.Google Scholar
Mansour, N., Gara, E., & Gaha, C. (2014). Getting inside the black box: HR practices and firm performance within the Tunisian financial services industry. Personnel Review, 43, 490–514. doi:10.1108/PR-03-2013-0052.Google Scholar
Mao, N., Song, H., & Han, Y. (2013). High-performance work systems and influence processes on employees’ attitudes: Perspectives from China. International Journal of Manpower, 34, 736–752. doi:10.1108/IJM-07-2013-0157.Google Scholar
Menard, S. (1995). Applied logistic regression analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Meyer, J., & Allen, N. J. (1997). Commitment in the workplace: theory, research and application. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication.Google Scholar
Meyer, J. P., Paunonen, S. V., Gellately, I. R., Goffin, R. D., & Jackson, D. N. (1989). Organizational commitment and job performance: It’s the nature of the commitment that count. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 152–156. doi:10.1037//0021-9010.74.1.152.Google Scholar
Meyer, J. P., & Smith, C. A. (2000). HRM practices and organization commitment: Test of a mediation model. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 17, 319–331. doi:10.1111/j.1936-4490.2000.tb00231.x.Google Scholar
Paauwe, J. (2004). HRM and performance: achieving long term viability. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Park, R. (2015). Employee participation and outcomes: Organizational strategy does matter. Employee Relations, 37, 604–622. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ER-09-2014-0107.Google Scholar
Parker, S. K., Williams, H., & Turner, N. (2006). Modeling the antecedents of proactive behavior at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 636–652. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.91.3.636.Google Scholar
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2012). Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 539–569. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100452.Google Scholar
Preuss, G. A. (2003). High performance work systems and organizational outcomes: The mediating role of information quality. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 56, 590–605.Google Scholar
Purcell, J., Kinnie, N., Hutchinson, S., Rayton, B., & Swart, J. (2003). Understanding the people and performance link: Unlocking the black box . London: CIPD.Google Scholar
Rao, S. A. (2007). Effectiveness of performance management systems: An empirical study in Indian companies. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18, 1812–1840. doi:10.1080/09585190701570973.Google Scholar
Reed, K. K., Lubatkin, M., & Srinivasan, N. (2006). Proposing and testing an intellectual capital-based view of the firm. Journal of Management Studies, 43, 867–893. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00614.x.Google Scholar
Shih, H., Chiang, Y., & Hsu, C. (2006). Can high performance work systems really lead to better performance? International Journal of Manpower, 27, 741–763. doi:10.1108/01437720610713530.Google Scholar
Snell, S. A., & Dean, J. A. Jr (1992). Integrated manufacturing and human resource management: A human capital perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 35, 467–504. doi:10.2307/256484.Google Scholar
Sobel, M. E. (1982). Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equations models. In S. Leinhart (Ed.), Sociological Methodology (pp. 290–312). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Som, A. (2008). Innovative human resource management and corporate performance in the context of economic liberalization in India. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19, 1278–1297. doi:10.1080/09585190802110075.Google Scholar
Subramony, M. (2009). A meta-analytic investigation of the relationship between HRM bundles and firm performance. Human Resource Management, 48, 745–768. doi:10.1002/hrm.20315.Google Scholar
Wall, T. D., Michie, J., Patterson, M., Wood, S. J., Sheehan, M., Clegg, C. W., & West, M. (2004). On the validity of subjective measures of company performance. Personnel Psychology, 57, 95–119. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2004.tb02485.x.Google Scholar
Whitener, E. M. (2001). Do high commitment human resource practices affect employee commitment? a cross-level analysis using hierarchical linear modeling. Journal of Management, 27, 515–535. doi:10.1177/014920630102700502.Google Scholar
Wright, P. M., & McMahan, G. C. (1992). Theoretical perspectives for strategic human resource management. Journal of Management, 18, 295–320. doi:10.1177/014920639201800205.Google Scholar
Wright, P. M., & Nishii, L. H. (2013). Strategic HRM and organizational behavior: Integrating multiple levels of analysis. In J. Paauwe, D. E. Guest, & P. W. Wright (Eds.), HRM and performance: Achievements and challenges. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Wu, L., Wei, L., Zhang, Y., & Han, T. (2011). Employee experienced HPWPs and job performance: Roles of person-job fit and intrinsic motivation. Frontier of Business Research in China, 5, 344–363. doi:10.1007/s11782-011-0134-3.Google Scholar
Zhang, B., & Morris, J. L. (2014). High performance work systems and organizational performance: Testing the mediation role of employee outcomes using evidence from PR China. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25, 68–90. doi:10.1080/09585192.2013.781524.Google Scholar