This meta-analysis by In-Sue Oh and colleagues, published in Personnel Psychology, investigates the antecedents of firms’ use of high-performance work systems (HPWS). Analyzing 271 studies, the authors find that firm strategic forces, particularly firm resources and capacities like size, past performance, and capital intensity, strongly influence HPWS use. Differentiation strategy positively relates to HPWS, while cost leadership strategy relates negatively. Institutional environmental forces, such as environmental munificence and dynamism, have smaller positive effects; industry type and union presence do not significantly affect HPWS use. The study highlights the importance of internal strategic and resource factors over external institutional pressures in explaining HPWS adoption.
A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents of High-Performance Work System Use: The Role of Firms’ Strategic and Institutional Environmental Forces
