The paradoxical mechanisms of high‐performance work systems (HPWSs) on perceived workload: A dual‐path mediation model

• Author: Weichun Zhu,Weiqi Chen,Irene Hau‐Siu Chow,Fang Liu
• Published date: 01 April 2020
• Date: 01 April 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12277

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The paradoxical mechanisms of high-performance

work systems (HPWSs) on perceived workload: A

dual-path mediation model

Fang Liu

1

| Irene Hau-Siu Chow

2

| Weichun Zhu

3

| Weiqi Chen

1

1

School of Management, Guangzhou

University

2

Department of Management, Hang Seng

University of Hong Kong

3

Department of Management and

International Business, Zeigler College of

Business, Bloomsburg University of

Pennsylvania

Correspondence

Weiqi Chen, School of Management,

Guangzhou University, Guangzhou University

230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou Higher

Education Mega Center Guangzhou,

Guangdong 510006, China.

Email: paulchen8903@163.com

Funding information

the 13th Five-Year Plan Project of Philosophy

and Social Sciences of Guangdong Province,

Grant/Award Number: GD17CGL03; the

National Natural Science Foundation of China,

Grant/Award Numbers: 71802063,

71801056, 71801059; the National Social

Science Foundation of China, Grant/Award

Number: 17BGL098; the Philosophy and

Social Science 13th Five-Year Planning Project

of Guangzhou, China, Grant/Award Number:

2018GZGJ175

Abstract

We invoke conservation of resources theory to present an

integrative model that simultaneously examines the positive

and negative effects of employee-experienced high-

performance work systems (experienced-HPWSs) on per-

ceived workload (PW). Analysis of three-wave, time-lagged

data from 368 employees of four major state-owned com-

mercial banks in China revealed that experienced-HPWSs

positively predict perceived organisational support, which in

turn decreases PW. Experienced-HPWSs positively predict

psychological empowerment, which in turn increases

PW. The positive influence of psychological empowerment

on PW is stronger than the negative influence of perceived

organisational support on PW, indicating that resource loss

is more salient than resource gain. This dual-path mediation

model increases our understanding of the mechanisms

through which HPWSs influence PW and highlights the

coexistence of opposite impacts during the process.

KEYWORDS

high-performance work systems, perceived organisational

support, perceived workload, psychological empowerment

1|INTRODUCTION

High-performance work systems (HPWSs) refer to a coherent set of HRM practices intending to position

organisational members as “a source of sustainable competitive advantage”by improving their “skills, commitment,

and productivity”(Datta, Guthrie, & Wright, 2005, p. 136). The mutual gains model indicates that HPWSs can help

organisations and individuals simultaneously (Guest, 2017). Extant HPWS studies have primarily tested the positive

Received: 19 June 2018 Revised: 19 November 2019 Accepted: 13 December 2019

DOI: 10.1111/1748-8583.12277

278 © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Hum Resour Manag J. 2020;30:278–292.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrmj