Examining the effect of high‐performance human resource practices on team performance in development sector projects: Mediating role of trust

• Published date: 01 February 2022
• Author: Sana Hafeez,Sabeen H. Bhatti,Umer Zaman
• Date: 01 February 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2375

ACADEMIC PAPER

Examining the effect of high-performance human resource

practices on team performance in development sector

projects: Mediating role of trust

Sana Hafeez

1

| Sabeen H. Bhatti

1

| Umer Zaman

2

1

Management Studies, School of Business,

Bahria University, Islamabad, Pakistan

2

Endicott College of International Studies,

Woosong University, Daejeon, Republic of

Korea

Correspondence

Umer Zaman, Endicott College of International

Studies, Woosong University, Jayang-Dong,

Dong-gu, Daejeon 34606, South Korea.

Email: umerzaman@endicott.ac.kr

This study aims to analyze the effect of ability, motivation, and opportunity-

enhancing high-performance human resource practices (HPHRP's) on team perfor-

mance in development sector projects, and to explore whether trust mediates this

relationship. Using structured-questionnaire, 192 survey responses were collected

from both managerial and nonmanagerial positions from national and international

NPOs operating in Pakistan. Results showed a positive relationship between ability

motivation opportunity enhancing HPHRP's and team performance, while trust sig-

nificantly mediates the relationship. This study is specifically helpful for HR managers

to recruit personnel who can effectively meet various high-performance needs of the

development sector projects. Also, this study helps to improve policy makers'

decision-making process and outcomes in the development sector, especially in

emerging economies.

1|INTRODUCTION

As the global trend is shifting toward more project-based work and

less of operational and routine tasks, the focus has now shifted

toward team performance and task-oriented efforts (Morrissette &

Kisamore, 2020). Organizations tend to adopt project management

practices so that they can achieve their time bound objectives,

within limited resources (Arbabi, Salehi-Taleshi, & Ghods, 2020).

Project management is a way of carrying out projects in different

steps and using simpler processes through which projects can be

initiated, executed, managed, and controlled to meet specific objec-

tives within the desired time limits. There are certain HR practices

which can enhance employees' ability, motivation, and opportunities

(Ilgen, Hollenbeck, Johnson, & Jundt, 2005) which in turn increase

teams' creativity, innovation, and their performance (Bhatti, Zakariya,

Vrontis, Santoro, & Christofi, 2020). Hence, organizations make a lot

of efforts to keep their workforce satisfied and motivated, by recog-

nizing the human capital value in gaining competitive advantage and

overall success.

High-performance human resource practices (HPHRP's) are an

effective way to improve macro as well as micro level outcomes of an

organization. Macro level outcomes include company performance,

financial performance, productivity and turnover rate, and so on, while

individual outcomes like employee attitudes, behaviors and perfor-

mance, and team outcomes come under the umbrella of micro level

outcomes (Ma, Long, Zhang, Zhang, & Lam, 2017). Macro level out-

comes are usually associated with micro level outcomes in a way that

when micro outcomes are achieved, for example, employees behave

and adopt a work attitude in a specific manner, macro level outcomes

are achieved automatically.

Literature has reinforced the initial findings that HR practices can

enhance firm performance. HR practices in general as well as in spe-

cific forms like ability motivation opportunity (AMO) framework are

proved to be the factor which can be a cause of increased positive

outcomes whether in the form of firm performance, financial out-

comes, or nonfinancial outcomes. AMO framework divides human

resource practices into three subdivisions; ability-enhancing HR

practices (e.g., selective hiring, extensive training, etc.), motivation-

enhancing HR practices (e.g., compensation based on high perfor-

mance, performance appraisal, etc.), and opportunity-enhancing HR

practices (e.g., involvement in decision making, information sharing,

etc.; Jiang, Lepak, Hu, & Baer, 2012). Finally, AMO framework explains

the ability, motivation, and opportunity as drivers for human behavior

(Siemsen, Roth, & Balasubramanian, 2008).

Received: 27 July 2020 Accepted: 9 August 2020

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2375

J Public Affairs. 2022;22:e2375. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 1of9

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2375