Line Manager Implementation Perceptions as a Mediator of Relations Between High Performance Work Practices and Employee Outcomes

Strategic human resources management (SHRM) scholars recently have suggested that high-performance work practices (HPWP) implementation might serve as a critical mediator between HPWP and workplace outcomes. This study proposes and tests a model that positions line managers’ perceptions regarding the extent to which they implement their organization’s HPWP as a mediator of relations between HPWP and employee attitudes (i.e., turnover intentions and participative decision-making perceptions) and behavior (i.e., job performance). Using data from 507 line managers and 109 matched line manager–subordinate response sets, the results suggest that line managers’ HPWP implementation perceptions fully mediate relations between HPWP and employee outcomes. The authors also found that line managers’ human resources competency and political skill affect their HPWP implementation perceptions. Overall, these findings contribute to a more informed understanding of relationships between HPWP and work outcomes and suggest that additional SHRM research is needed to better understand whether and how HPWP are implemented