High performance work systems, cultures and gender demography

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and test hypotheses about the independent relationships between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and high-performance work cultures (HPWC) and employee turnover. Given the growth of women in the workforce, the authors also develop competing predictions about how organizational gender demography (i.e. a higher percentage of women) may either strengthen or weaken the relationship of HPWSs to turnover. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 171 human resource (HR) executives across organizations of various sizes and industries in the Chicago metropolitan area in the USA was conducted. Findings – The authors found that HPWS and HPWC are associated with lower turnover, though the relationship between HPWC and turnover was stronger. Results also indicate that HPWS are more strongly related to lower turnover among organizations that employ relatively more women. Research limitations/implications – The results indicates that HPWS may not be universalistic in terms of their effectiveness specifically as related to turnover. This was a cross-sectional study; it would be useful for future research to use a longitudinal research design. Practical implications – The findings suggest that organizations should consider how their cultures, use of high-performance work practices, and gender demography are related to important HR metrics such as turnover. Social implications – This paper represents an important contribution to understanding the importance and implications of changes in the workforce demographic characteristics. Originality/value – This is the first study to integrate an organizational demography perspective with HPWS.