High-performance work systems and workplace performance in small, medium-sized and large firms

摘要

This paper draws on the Organisational Growth and Development (OGD) lifecycle model to extend understanding of congruence or ‘best fit’ theory within strategic human resource management (SHRM) debates on the relationship between high performance work systems (HPWS) and performance. With reference to management control theory, economies of scale and the availability of specialist managerial skills, the paper hypothesises that while an HPWS-performance relationship might exist in small, medium-sized and large firms, the relationship will be stronger in large firms than in both small and medium-sized firms, and stronger in medium-sized firms than in small firms. Analysis of data from the British Workplace Employment Relations Survey demonstrates, however, that there is no association between HPWS and workplace performance in medium-sized firms, in contrast to the positive relationship between HPWS and performance found in large firms and between HPWS and labour productivity in small firms.