Team‐level high involvement work practices: investigating the role of knowledge sharing and perspective taking

• Published date: 01 April 2016
• Author: Matthew T. Luth,Pingshu Li,Clint Chadwick,Carol Flinchbaugh
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12098
• Date: 01 April 2016

Team-level high involvement work practices:

investigating the role of knowledge sharing and

perspective taking

Carol Flinchbaugh, New Mexico State University

Pingshu Li, The University of Kansas

Matthew T. Luth, Valparaiso University

Clint Chadwick,The University of Kansas

Human Resource Management Journal, Vol26, no 2, 2016, pages 134–150

To assess potential boundary conditions in the relationship between HRM systems and team service quality,

we examined both collective and individual-level capabilities as underlying mechanisms between team-level

high involvement work practices (HIWPs) and team service quality. Using multi-level modelling with a

sample of 397 employees in 25 work teams from five service organisations, we found that team HIWPs

enhanced knowledge sharing, leading to improvedteam service climate. Moreover, the presence of individual

perspectivetaking moderated the mediatingeffect of knowledge sharing such thatperspective taking enhanced

service climatebeyond the value of team HIWPs. Theresults contribute to the HRM literature by examining

the multi-level social and environmental influences on individual learning conceptualised in social cognitive

theory, to identify the value of individual capabilitiesas moderators to knowledge sharing in the linkbetween

team HRM systems and service climate.

Contact: Carol Flinchbaugh, New Mexico State University, College of Business, Las Cruces, NM

88003, USA. Email: cflinch@nmsu.edu

Keywords: high involvement work practices; knowledge sharing; perspective taking; team-level

differences

INTRODUCTION

Given the recent growth in service sector jobs, HRM scholars have begun to

systematically examine the relationship between HRM systems and both

organisational-level service outcomes (e.g. Sun et al., 2007; Batt and Colvin, 2011)

and employee-level service contributions (e.g. Boxall et al., 2011). Existing service sector

research demonstrates a positive relationship between HRM systems and firm performance,

mirroringthe well-established findingsin the manufacturingsetting (e.g. Arthur,1994; Guthrie,

2001). Additionally, examination of ‘black box’mediators in the HRM systems and

performance relationship has also extended to the service field. Here, research depicts how

HRM systemsfacilitate a climate conducive toemployee knowledge sharing,leading to quality

service improvement, and enhanced individual and firm performance (e.g.Collins and Smith,

2006; Boxall et al., 2011). A recent review continuesto highlight the wide-ranging mechanisms

that stem from HRM systems to enhance performance, including service-related outcomes

(Jiang et al., 2013).

Although the service sector research supports the positive relationship between HRM

systems, mediating variables and both firm and individual performance, little is known about

theimpactofHRMsystemsonteam-levelperformance(Jianget al., 2013). Understanding the

impact of HRM systems on team-level performance addresses several research gaps. First,

HRM systems have primarily been conceptualised and examined at individual or firm levels

Pleasecite thisarticle in pressas: Flinchbaugh,C., Li, P., Luth,M.T. and Chadwick,C. (2016)‘Team-levelhigh involvementwork practices:investigatingthe

roleof knowledge sharingand perspectivetaking’.Human ResourceManagement Journal26: 2, 134–150

134 HUMAN RESOURCEMANAGEMENT JOURNAL, VOL26, NO 2, 2016

©2016 John Wiley& Sons Ltd.

doi: 10.1111/1748-8583.12098

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(Jiang et al., 2013) and have neglected the analysis of individual attitudes and behaviours on

team-level performance (Nishii et al., 2008; Ployhart and Moliterno, 2011). Second, HRM scholars

have called for an increased understanding of the upstream influences of work climates (Kuenzi

and Schminke, 2009). For instance, optimal service climate, a precursor to an organisational-level

reputation for customer satisfaction (Mayer et al., 2009), infers coworker interdependence for

efficient knowledge sharing and fulfilment of goals (De Dreu, 2007). While research has begun

to examine the influence of HRM systems on team-level service climate (Veld et al., 2010), further

examination is warranted. Third, a gap exists in understanding the mediators that influence team

performance in the presence of team-level HRM systems (Jiang et al., 2013; Nyberg et al., 2014).

Importantly, despite an increasing use of teams in contemporary organisations (e.g. Ilgen et al.,

2005) and an increasing examination of team-level mediators in the HRM system–team

performance relationship (Chuang et al., 2016), there is a dearth of research investigating the

cross-level influence of individual-level mediators on team-level outcomes. By examining the

effects of team-level HRM systems and collective knowledge sharing on team-level service

climate, we address these voids in the HRM literature and respond to recent calls to incorporate

a bottom-up approach to team-level performance (Nishii and Wright, 2008; Jiang et al., 2013).

While acknowledging the value of HRM systems on team performance, we recognise that the

sole examination of management practices at the team-level rarely captures the full complexity of

individual capabilities. As such, further examination of boundary conditions that impact the

value of HRM systems is warranted to understand the unexplained variance in study outcomes

(Chadwick et al., 2013). Previous research describes contingencies, such as firm size (Chadwick

et al., 2013) and industry dynamism (Datta et al., 2005), which alter the effectiveness of HRM

systems. To this end, differences in employee capabilities may also serve as boundary

conditions to explain differences in team-level outcomes. Consequently, we explore the

possibility that individual-level characteristics influence the HRM system–team service climate

relationship, beyond the value of knowledge sharing. Specifically, we examine how employees’

cognitive processes, namely, perspective taking (i.e. the ability to view a situation from

another’s viewpoint), moderate the aforementioned ‘black box’relationship.

We develop a multi-level model that describes how perceptions of team-level HRM systems

and individual perspective taking contribute to knowledge sharing, which in turn leads to

enhanced team service climate (Figure 1). The current study adds to our existing knowledge of

team and individual behaviour in three ways. First, we extend the HRM literature by examining

the influence of employee perceptions of team-level HRM systems on team service climate.

Second, we test a multi-level mediation frameworkforunderstandingwhethertheinfluenceof

FIGURE 1 Multi-level model relationships

Carol Flinchbaugh, PingshuLi, Matthew T. Luth and Clint Chadwick

HUMAN RESOURCEMANAGEMENT JOURNAL, VOL26, NO 2, 2016 135

©2016 John Wiley& Sons Ltd.