Human Resource Management and Organisational Performance: Evidence from an Emerging Economy
Creators: name: ARACHCHIG JAYASINGHE, CHATHUNI BUDDHIKA
Publisher: name: University of Surrey
Year: 2022

description: HR systems foster the development of human resource capability that organisations can leverage to create sustained competitive advantage. Grounded in this notion, the overarching goal of the three papers that comprise this thesis is to understand the processes through which HR systems influence individual and organisational performance in the context of an emerging economy. The first paper integrates the macro/micro divide in SHRM research by examining when and why unit-level high-commitment HR system relates to organisational and individual performance in a service context. Multisource and multi-wave data obtained from the hotel industry in Sri Lanka were used to test the hypothesized relationships. Results of the Mplus analysis reveal that serviced-oriented strategy moderates the unit-level high-commitment HR system-organisational performance relationships such that this relationship is stronger when service-oriented strategy is high but not low. Furthermore, unit-level high-commitment HR relates to emotional performance and supervisor-rated service quality indirectly through justice climate.
description: Multisource and multi-wave data obtained from private sector organisations in Sri Lanka were used to test the hypothesized relationships proposed in the remaining two papers. As the two papers address different issues and are grounded in different theories, they could not be combined into a single paper. Drawing on the Ability, Motivation and Opportunity (AMO) framework, the second paper examines a revised version of the additive and multiplicative models whereby opportunity-enhancing HR system moderates the indirect influence of ability-enhancing and motivation-enhancing HR systems on organisational performance via the dual mediation of human capital and organizational-based psychological ownership. The Mplus results reveal that both HR systems relate to human capital and organisation-based psychological ownership (mediators) but only human capital transmits their respect influence on organisational performance. Furthermore, and contrary to our prediction, opportunity-enhancing HR system did not moderate the influence of the mediators on organisational performance.
description: The third paper draws on social exchange theory to examine whether unit-level high-commitment HR system indirectly relates to operational effectiveness through the serial mediation of psychological need satisfaction and gratitude toward the organization. Additionally, it draws on contingency theory to examine whether organisational structure constitutes a first stage moderator of these relationships. Mplus results reveal that psychological need satisfaction and gratitude toward the organisation serially mediate the relationship between unit-level high-commitment HR system and operational effectiveness. Furthermore, and as predicted, the serial mediation uncovered is conditional upon organisational structure such that these relationships are stronger when structure is high (organic) but not low (mechanistic).