LEADER–TEAM (IN)CONGRUENCE OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE WORK SYSTEMS USE, TEAM INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL, AND TEAM PERFORMANCE

Abstract

A growing number of studies on high-performance work systems (HPWS) have found empirical support suggesting that leaders and employees have different views of HPWS, which may result in different effects on collective performance. Nonetheless, most studies on HPWS have solely focused on the perception of a single party (either leader or employee). This dissertation fills this void in research by examining the effect of (in)congruence of HPWS use perceived by team leaders and by their teams. Overall findings from the study indicate that the level of team human and social capital varies based on the leaders’ and teams’ perceptions of HPWS use. Specifically, human capital increases when both leaders’ and teams’ collective perceptions of HPWS use are congruent at a high level compared to being congruent at a low level. Additionally, when teams’ perception of HPWS use is higher than leaders’ perception of HPWS use, social capital is generated more, leading to higher levels of service performance and customer-directed citizenship behavior. Additionally, this study suggests a need to examine within-team dispersion in future studies on team HR attributions. In all, the results of this dissertation emphasize the importance of examining the perspectives of both leaders and employees regarding HPWS use and of considering both the mean value and within-team dispersion of team collective HR attributions in different organizational contexts and industries. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.