Unlocking the black box: Exploring the link between high-performance work systems and performance

Abstract

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 97(4) of Journal of Applied Psychology (see record 2012-17934-001 ). In this article some information concerning the data collection process was omitted from the original published version. All online versions have now been corrected. The corrected version of the article is available here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0024710.] With a growing body of literature linking systems of high-performance work practices to organizational performance outcomes, recent research has pushed for examinations of the underlying mechanisms that enable this connection. In this study, based on a large sample of Welsh public-sector employees, we explored the role of several individual-level attitudinal factors—job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and psychological empowerment—as well as organizational citizenship behaviors that have the potential to provide insights into how human resource systems influence the performance of organizational units. The results support a unit-level path model, such that department-level, high-performance work system utilization is associated with enhanced levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and psychological empowerment. In turn, these attitudinal variables were found to be positively linked to enhanced organizational citizenship behaviors, which are further related to a second-order construct measuring departmental performance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)