The influence of HRM system strength on employee affective commitment and OCB: the role of HR climate, organisational justice, and trust

Yousaf, S., 2023. The influence of HRM system strength on employee affective commitment and OCB: the role of HR climate, organisational justice, and trust. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.

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Abstract

Traditional HRM studies have primarily focused on HR content, HR practices, or bundles of HR practices to elucidate the black box in HRM and outcome debate. This research extends existing knowledge by shifting the focus to the HR process or the strength of the HRM system, rather than HR content alone. The strength of the HRM system, encompassing its distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus, sends signals to employees to interpret the purposes of HR content shared among them, thereby leading to the intended employee outcomes.

The objective of this research is twofold. Firstly, it aims to examine the relationship between the strength of the HRM system and employee outcomes, including affective commitment and Organisational Citizenship Behaviours (OCB). Secondly, the research posits that the relationship between the strength of the HRM system and employee reactions is mediated by HR climate, organisational justice, and organisational trust, in sequence. This study investigates the interplay between the strength of the HRM system and employee behaviours in Pakistani organisational settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research framework is developed on the assumption that the existence of a strong HRM system, characterized by distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus regarding HR content, will foster a clearer understanding of the purposes behind HR content implementation in an organisation (Bowen and Ostroff, 2004). This shared understanding, termed as HR Climate, further influences perceptions of justice in the organisation, thereby fostering emotional bonds and trust in the employer, subsequently affecting employee affective commitment and OCB.

To address the research objectives, the study adopts a postpositivist epistemology and quantitative methodology through survey instruments. Data were collected from a sample of 311 employees across various departments in the main operational site of a large manufacturing organisation in Pakistan, including senior managers, line managers, and non-managerial employees. The data were analysed using regression analysis and the Hayes
PROCESS tool in SPSS.

The findings of the study support the assumptions made. The study reveals that the strength of the HRM system has direct and combined predictive value on both employee outcomes (affective commitment and OCB). However, consensus does not influence affective commitment, while consistency and consensus both fail to encourage OCB among employees. Moreover, the research finds that HR climate, organisational justice, and organisational trust, in sequence, partially mediate the relationship between the strength of the HRM system and affective commitment, while fully mediating the relationship with OCB. Additionally, the findings suggest that trust is the most significant construct in this sequential mediation relationship, influencing and encouraging affective commitment and OCB among employees.

The research contributes to the existing HRM literature by shedding light on the mysterious link in the black box phenomena. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, this study is the first to explore the serial mediation of HR climate, justice, and trust between HRM system strength and employee relations in the Pakistani context during COVID-19. Furthermore, the study provides valuable insights into the social-exchange norms associated with the relationship of justice-trust-employee behaviour that emerged in the research findings.

Item Type: Thesis
Description: Abridged version.
Creators: Yousaf, S.
Contributors:
NameRoleNTU IDORCID
Kougiannou, N.Thesis supervisorHMD3KOUGIKorcid.org/0000-0002-6422-3831
Nachmias, S.Thesis supervisorHMD3NACHMSorcid.org/0000-0001-7071-0997
Date: June 2023
Rights: This thesis is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoted the author, title, university, degree level, and pagination. Queries and requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the author.
Divisions: Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by: Laura Ward
Date Added: 13 May 2024 08:48
Last Modified: 13 May 2024 08:48
URI: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/51425

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