The relationship between 'high-performance work practices' and employee attitudes: an investigation of additive and interaction effects

In order to improve our understanding of mediating variables inside the‘black box’ of the firm’s labour management, this paper examines the relationship betweenhigh-performance work system (HPWS) practices and employee attitudes. Using arandomly selected, national population sample, clear evidence was found for a positiverelationship between HPWS practices and the attitudinal variables of job satisfaction, trustin management, and organizational commitment, implying that HPWS can provide winwin outcomes for employees and employers. However, the study also tests – from anemployee perspective – the ‘complementarities thesis’ and finds negative interactioneffects among HPWS practices. This strengthens the argument that there are likely to belimits to the positive outcomes of HPWSs for employees. Evidence of sequencing in theemployee attitudinal responses to HPWSs was also found, with job satisfaction as the keymediating variable.