Disentangling the relationship between high-involvement-work-systems and job satisfaction

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study how high-involvement work systems (HIWS) affect job satisfaction, and tries to disentangle the mechanisms through which the effect occurs. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use data for a representative sample of 10,112 Spanish employees. In order to test the mediation mechanism implied by the hypotheses, the authors follow the procedure outlined in Baron and Kenny (1986). Given the nature of the dependent variables, ordered probit models were estimated to study the effect of HIWS on the mediating variables (job interest, effort and wages), and regression models were estimated to analyze the effect of HIWS on the final attitudinal variable (job satisfaction). Findings – Empirical results show that HIWS results in higher levels of effort, higher wages and perceptions of a more interesting job. Moreover, greater involuntary physical effort reduces job satisfaction while higher wages, greater voluntary effort, involuntary mental effort and having an interesting job increase job satisfaction. The net effect of these opposing forces on job satisfaction is positive. Research limitations/implications – The use of secondary data posits some constrains in aspects such as the type of measures or the failure to control for personal traits. Additionally, the non-longitudinal nature of the data set implies that some relationships cannot be considered causal in the intended direction. Practical implications – Managers should implement HIWS since in general they increase job satisfaction. A significant portion of this positive effect is channeled through perceptions of interesting job, higher wages and increased effort demands. Managers should pay attention to implementation issues. Originality/value – The paper contributes to enrich the understanding of the relationship between the HIWS and job satisfaction, proposing a model that aims to disentangle the mediating mechanisms through which HIPWS affect job satisfaction. Unlike previous attempts, this model integrates opposing views about the positive or negative effects associated with HIWS.