Linking HR and Line Agents’ Implementation of High- Performance Work Systems to Intentions to Leave and Job Performance: A Social Exchange Perspective

Unlike common assessments of the overall presence of high-performance work systems (HPWS), this study focuses on actual implementation of HPWS by two specific agents, i.e., the HR department and line management. We investigate how HPWS implementation by HR and line agents – as perceived by employees – relates to intentions to leave and job performance and we propose perceived organizational support (POS) and leader-member exchange (LMX) as potential mediating mechanisms. Respondents (N=266) were nonmanagerial employees from a research organization in Belgium. Results revealed that HPWS implementation by the HR department was indirectly related to intentions to leave through POS. Furthermore, we found that HPWS implementation by line management related to intentions to leave through the mediation of POS and LMX and it related to job performance through the mediation of LMX. These findings contribute to the literature by providing a more refined picture of the social exchange mechanisms that mediate between HPWS and important employee outcomes and inform HR and line practitioners of the employee outcomes associated with their HRM actions.