The impact of high-performance work systems on proactive career behaviour: empirical evidence from China

Abstract

Drawing on the proactive motivation model, this study investigates how the implementation of high-performance work systems (HPWS) influences employees’ proactive career behaviours. Using matched data from 86 supervisors and 503 employees across 67 companies in China, the cross-level regression analyses reveal the following findings: (1) There is a difference but a strong positive correlation between organization-implemented HPWS and employee-perceived HPWS; (2) Employee-perceived HPWS enhance proactive career behaviour through the mediating effect of psychological availability; (3) Supervisor mentoring behaviour moderates the positive relationship between organization-implemented HPWS and employee-perceived HPWS; and (4) Supervisor mentoring behaviour also moderates the positive relationship between employee-perceived HPWS and psychological availability.