Managers’ assessment of organizational performance. The role of perceived organizational commitment and HPWS in different ownership contexts

The purpose of this paper is to examine managers’ perceptions of employee organizational commitment as a key mechanism through which High Performance Work Systems influence organizational performance. Additionally, we assess whether ownership structure is a potentially powerful moderating factor in this mediation. We carry out a cross-sectional quantitative study comprising a sample of 198 firms (employee-owned cooperatives and conventionally-owned) in the Basque Country of Spain using structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results indicate that, in both types of firms, managers’ ratings of employees’ organizational commitment do fully mediate their perception of the influence of HPWS on OP. Furthermore, ownership structure does act as a moderator; that is, managers’ perception of employees’ organizational commitment predicts OP in conventionally-owned firms, though not in employee-owned cooperatives. For this reason, managers in employee-owned, cooperatives should consider carefully the design of HWPS in their firms and take the most appropriate approach to enhance results. The study contributes new insights by integrating senior managers’ perspectives on employee commitment into HRM’s research agenda and placing “ownership context” into a coherent HRM framework. This is the first study to test the moderating effect of ownership structure on the HPWS-OP relationship as it is mediated by managers’ views of employees’ organizational commitment.