Title: Benefits of adaptive HPWS decoupling: A study of high-performance work systems policy-practice gaps and employee outcomes

Speaker: Ji Hyun Kim, Associate Professor, Kyung Hee University

Host: Xueqing Fan, Assistant Professor, Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Time: 13:30–15:00, Thursday, June 25, 2026

Venue: Room A305, Pao Sui-Loong Library, Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Brief introduction of the content:

To reconcile the continuing debates on whether high-performance work systems (HPWSs) benefit or exploit employees, we integrate institutional decoupling and emergent strategy perspectives to introduce the concept of adaptive HPWS decoupling. We theorize this as a functional mechanism whereby practices deviate from policies to help employees navigate volatile work demands caused by environmental uncertainty.

Specifically, we argue that because centralized management is insulated from frontline volatility, local discretion should be leveraged to execute ground-up emergent practices, which can subsequently benefit employees. We tested this framework meta-analytically and found that employees' experienced HPWS practices are more strongly associated with positive employee outcomes, such as better job attitudes, reduced work intensification, and enhanced psychological well-being, than management's espoused HPWS policies. Furthermore, we found that such beneficial effects of this policy-practice decoupling were more pronounced under high environmental uncertainty, particularly within labor-intensive occupations, service industries, and private-sector contexts.

By challenging the pervasive strategic human resource management assumption that tight policy-practice alignment is always optimal, this study establishes localized, emergent practice modifications as vital strategic correctives that enhance employee well-being in volatile environments.

Speaker's profile:

Ji Hyun Kim is an associate professor of management at the School of Management, Kyung Hee University. Prior to joining the faculty at Kyung Hee University, she was an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore Business School. She earned her Ph.D. in Management and Human Resources from University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Her primary research focus in strategic human resource management, with a particular emphasis on how compensation systems influence employee motivation, attitudes, turnover, and overall organizational performance. A substantial portion of her current work addresses contemporary HR challenges, including employee creativity and innovation, career transitions into and out of entrepreneurship, and employee moonlighting.

Welcome all!