A Multilevel Examination of High-Performance Work Systems and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Social Exchange Theory Perspective

Drawing on social exchange theory, this study investigated the cross-level influence of high-performance work systems on organizational citizenship behavior, and verified the mediating role of psychological contract and the moderating effect of Chinese traditionality. With a sample of 51 enterprises and 1015 employees, results from cross-level analyses indicated that: (1) High-performance work systems had a significant positive impact on employees’ organizational citizenship behavior. (2) High-performance work systems enhanced organizational citizenship behavior through the improvement of relational psychological contract and balanced psychological contract, at the same time, the high-performance work system could improve the organizational citizenship behavior by reducing transactional psychological contract. (3) Balanced psychological contract and relational psychological contract had a significant positive impact on organizational citizenship behavior, and the relationship with employee’s organizational citizenship behavior was stronger for the balanced psychological contract, while transactional psychological contract had a significant negative impact on organizational citizenship behavior. (4) Chinese traditionality moderated the relationship between psychological contracts and employees’ organizational citizenship behavior.