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doi: 10.1111/1748-8583.12148

High-performance work systems and creativity

implementation: the role of psychological capital
and psychological safety
Promila Agarwal , Human Resource Management Area, Indian Institute of
Management Ahmedabad
Elaine Farndale , Human Resource Management, Center for International Human
Resource Studies, School of Labor and Employment Relations, The Pennsylvania State
University
Human Resource Management Journal, Vol , no , 2017, pages

Unimplemented creative ideas are potentially wasted opportunities for organisations. Although it is largely
understood how to encourage creativity among employees, how to ensure this creativity is implemented
remains underexplored. The objective of the current study is to identify the underlying mechanisms that
explain the relationship between high-performance work systems and creativity implementation. Drawing
from the job demandsresources model, we explore a model of psychological capital and psychological safety
as mediators in the relationship between high-performance work systems and creativity implementation.
Based on 505 employee survey responses, the findings show support for the mediating relationships,
highlighting the importance of psychological mechanisms. The study has important implications for
HRM, uncovering how people management practices can encourage creativity implementation in the
workplace.
Contact: Promila Agarwal, Assistant Professor, Human Resource Management Area, Indian
Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380015, India. Email:
promila@iima.ac.in
Keywords: high-performance work systems; psychological capital; psychological safety; creativity
implementation

INTRODUCTION

C
reativity refers to generating novel, valuable ideas or solutions to problems
(Amabile, 1983), while creativity implementation (CI) is the process of converting
creativity or ideas into new and improved products, services or ways of doing
things (Woodman et al., 1993; West, 2002). The body of research in the field of creativity
and innovation provides great insight, but creative ideas are not automatically
implemented (Baer, 2012). The relationship between creative ideas and their
implementation is loosely coupled with the ratio between creative idea generation and its
implementation low at best (West, 2002). Although research acknowledges the difference
between creativity and CI and their unique antecedents (Axtell et al., 2006; Gong et al.,
2013), there is neither a conceptual framework nor empirical analysis of CIs nomological
network (Yuan and Woodman, 2010), yet creativity not implemented is as good as not
generated.
Previous studies have examined the impact of human resource management (HRM) on
creativity (Rice, 2006; Zhang and Bartol, 2010; Petroni et al., 2012). For example, HRM systems

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Please cite this article in press as: Agarwal, P. and Farndale, E. (2017) High-performance work systems and creativity implementation: the role of
psychological capital and psychological safety. Human Resource Management Journal doi: 10.1111/1748-8583.12148
High-performance work systems and creativity implementation

are suggested to enhance employee ability, motivation and opportunity to participate in

proactively adapting and modifying work processes (Evans and Davis, 2015). HRM
interventions, such as selection, development, defining job expectations, discretion in
structuring work activities, career tracks for advancement, and high-performance policies,
have also been found to contribute to innovation (Mumford, 2000). Given the correspondence
between creativity, innovation and CI, HRM is therefore relevant to explore as a factor that
might influence CI.
Several commentators have explained how a system of HRM practices, rather than
individual HRM practices, is more applicable for understanding organisational outcomes
(Huselid, 1995; Evans and Davis, 2005; Lepak et al., 2006). High-performance work systems
(HPWSs) are defined as an integrated system of HR practices that are internally consistent
(alignment among HR practices) and externally consistent (alignment with organizational
strategy) (Evans and Davis, 2005: 759). Although HPWSs outcomes in organisations are
somewhat debated (Becker and Huselid, 2006), empirical studies have identified a positive
relationship with employee attitudes and behaviours (Huselid, 1995; Lepak et al., 2006).
Similarly, research on positive psychology emphasises the examination of conditions that
account for positive experiences leading to favourable organisational outcomes rather than
deficiencies (Luthans et al., 2004).
We examine here the mechanisms through which HPWSs foster CI, focusing on
psychological capital (PsyCap) and psychological safety. Based on cognitive evaluation
theory (Deci, 1975), we argue that favourable outcomes of HPWSs will impact intrinsic
motivation to the extent that HPWSs will influence perceived competence (PsyCap and
psychological safety) to engage in CI. HPWSs are likely to facilitate an internal perceived
locus of causality and psychological competence, thus positively influencing CI. PsyCap and
psychological safety are therefore important mediators because they are fundamental
characteristics of the work environment that can influence an individuals ability to execute
creative ideas (Edmondson, 2004).
Psychological capital is the positive and developmental state of an individual as
characterised by high self-efficacy, optimism, hope and resilience (Luthans and Youssef, 2004;
Luthans et al., 2008). We posit that PsyCap could be of great value in understanding the
relationship between HPWSs and CI (Luthans et al., 2005). For example, HPWSs are
associated with providing autonomy to the employee, which may increase CI due to an
associated enhanced feeling of competence (self-efficacy) (Ryan, 1982). CI also requires a
safety net provided by a sense of psychological safety as CI in a low psychological safety
environment may lead to negative personal outcomes (Kark and Carmeli, 2009).
Psychological conditions can thus influence performance (Rosso et al., 2010), while social and
environmental factors facilitate or thwart self-motivation to perform and implement creative
ideas (Ryan and Deci, 2000a).
Drawing from the job demandsresources (JD-R) model, we theorise that HPWSs will lead
to PsyCap and psychological safety by increasing the availability of psychological and social
resources. The JD-R model (Demerouti et al., 2001) categorises the work environment into two
general categories: job demands and job resources. Job demands refer to sustained physical,
psychological and social aspects required to perform a task resulting in physiological and
psychological costs. Job resources are physical, psychological, social or organisational features
of the job that facilitate goal achievement and reduce the adverse physiological and
psychological consequences.
Overall, we propose and test a model in which PsyCap and psychological safety act as
critical mechanisms through which HPWSs influence CI based on JD-R theorising. Hereby,

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we make several contributions. First, we fill an important gap in the literature by

conceptualising and empirically examining the relationship between HPWSs and CI. This
extends current literature that has to date focused more narrowly on creativity, rather than
its implementation (Rice, 2006; Petroni et al., 2012). Second, by incorporating PsyCap and
psychological safety, we respond to previous calls to identify the human factor mechanisms
that help make sense of HPWSs effects (Edmondson, 2004; Luthans et al., 2005). By
exploring the application of psychological processes as job resources (Bakker et al., 2014) in
the HPWSsCI relationship, we demonstrate how these human factors allow for positive
appraisals of the situation, a sense of safety in risk taking and reduced levels of stress and
uncertainty, hence encouraging CI. Finally, we highlight the role of motivational and
interpersonal contexts such as PsyCap and psychological safety in influencing CI, thus
providing an important step towards identifying variables that can promote CI in
organisations.

HIGH-PERFORMANCE WORK SYSTEMS AND CREATIVITY IMPLEMENTATION

Creativity and CI include different sets of activities and require different conditions to be
effective (West, 2002; Axtell et al., 2006), yet both are part of the process of innovation (Baer,
2012). Innovation is the development and implementation of new ideas by people who
over time engage with others within an institutional context (Van de Ven, 1986: 591),
whereas creativity is the development of novel and useful ideas (Amabile, 1996). Therefore,
creativity is the first stage of innovation, while CI expounds the process of converting these
ideas into new and improved products, services or ways of doing things (Woodman et al.,
1993; West, 2002).
Components of HPWSs, such as teamwork (Thompson and Choi, 2006), supervisor
support, clear role expectations (Shalley et al., 2004), help-seeking, help-giving and
reflective reframing (Hargadon and Bechky, 2006), promote creativity. For instance,
training is associated with novel thinking, problem-solving ability and divergent thinking
skills (Hennessey and Amabile, 2010). Similarly, personality and individual differences
influence creativity (Hennessey and Amabile, 2010), which can be reinforced by HPWSs
selection and job design practices interacting with these individual differences. Similarly,
information sharing leads to greater clarity about job-role (Wood and de Menezes, 2011)
and organisational vision, mission, values and objectives (Kochan and Osterman, 1994).
Consequently, the environment becomes less uncertain. Communication practices,
therefore, provide an opportunity to participate and voice ideas and opinions (Evans and
Davis, 2015).
Linking such factors to JD-R theorising, we posit that HPWSs provide physical,
psychological, social and organisational job features that help employees achieve work-
related goals, mitigating job demands and their adverse physiological and psychological
consequences (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007). We argue, therefore, that HPWSs lead to CI
by empowering employees through practices such as training and development, emotional
support, healthy interpersonal relationships and team collaboration. HPWSs elicit higher
levels of commitment that can facilitate the process of CI (Kehoe and Wright, 2013).
Optimal challenges, effectiveness-promoting feedback and freedom from demeaning
evaluations facilitate intrinsic motivation to act (Ryan and Deci, 2000a). Furthermore, the
social-contextual events (e.g. feedback and communication) associated with HPWSs can be
conducive to feelings of competence and enhance intrinsic motivation for action. As such,

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HPWSs promote learning, development and growth, enabling employees to draw

resources from the organisation. When ideas are generated, employees are dependent
upon the organisations for such resources to be able to convert the creativity into CI
(Mumford, 2000).
Previous research has focused on situational conditions that promote CI, such as
strategy, structure and capability (Gong et al., 2013). As we have argued, there is also
evidence that HPWSs create strong motivating forces leading to innovative employee
behaviour (Yuan and Woodman, 2010). Specifically, HPWSs promote high-quality
communication that enables relational coordination (Gittell et al., 2010), enabling the
development of a workforce with a sufficient degree of flexibility/adaptability to execute a
range of strategic options (Paauwe, 2009). We also posit that as HPWSs increase organisational
performance through increasing knowledge, skills and abilities of employees, this can
positively impact CI. Given the anticipated effect of HPWSs in creating an appropriate
environment in which employees feel informed, enabled and supported in taking risks, we
propose the following:

Hypothesis 1: HPWSs will be positively associated with CI.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL AND CREATIVITY IMPLEMENTATION

Psychological capital has emerged as a key concept in the domain of management because of
its positive impact on organisational behaviour (Luthans et al., 2007). PsyCap as a core
construct refers to ones positive appraisal of circumstances and probability for success based
on motivated effort and perseverance (Luthans et al., 2007: 550). It signifies an overarching
individual motivational propensity and employee performance (Luthans et al., 2008).
Individuals scoring high in PsyCap are adaptive to change, creative and persistent even in the
face of life-threatening conditions (Reivich and Shatte, 2002). Luthans et al. (2004) propose that,
just like human capital (i.e. what you know: OLeary et al., 2002) and social capital (i.e. who you
know: Adler and Kwon, 2002), PsyCap (i.e. who you are) provides favourable organisational
outcomes.
On the basis of the JD-R model, we argue that PsyCap serves as a psychological resource for
employees to engage in CI. Self-efficacy, a component of PsyCap, is strongly related to idea
generation, participation in decision-making and support for innovation; all three are
powerful predictors of implementation of ideas (Axtell et al., 2000). Similarly, self-efficacy
(Bandura, 1991) and resilience (other components of PsyCap: Reivich and Shatte, 2002) help
employees to be adaptive to change, creative and persistent even in the face of threatening
conditions, while realistic optimism is associated with high performance and commitment
(Peterson, 2000).
Overall, CI is a risky endeavour as the process is often associated with challenging
established structures and processes. It can potentially involve conflicts with colleagues, less
satisfactory social relationships, fear of failure, fear of losing ones job, diminished rewards and
benefits, and losing reputation. CI, therefore, requires high PsyCap to bridge the gap between
idea generation (creativity) and idea implementation (CI). Employees with high PsyCap are
more capable of mobilising these resources in comparison with those employees low in PsyCap
(Miron et al., 2004). We, therefore, hypothesise that employees high in PsyCap will be more
likely to engage in CI:

Hypothesis 2: Employee PsyCap will be positively associated with CI.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY AND CREATIVITY IMPLEMENTATION

Drawing further from the JD-R model, we argue that psychological safety increases CI
through the availability of psychological and social resources. Psychological safety is the
sense of being able to express ones self without fear of negative consequences to self-image
(Kahn, 1990) and the perception that the benefits of speaking up outweigh the costs to the
speaker (Edmondson, 1999). Moreover, a low level of psychological safety may hinder
involvement in creative processes, as it could lead to negative consequences for employees
(Baer and Frese, 2003).
Employees need social and environmental conditions that permit them to perform (Ryan
and Deci, 2000b). Psychological safety reduces interpersonal risk and consequently
encourages risk-taking behaviour (Edmondson, 1999) that facilitates CI. For example,
psychological safety predicts best practice implementation (Tucker et al., 2007), while
mediating the relationship between the presence of different forms of capital and innovation
(Gu et al., 2013). In a psychologically safe environment, change and failure may be expected
not to have negative consequences for employees, thus lowering the defences that hinder CI.
Perceptions of psychological safety also augment feelings of vitality, resulting in involvement
in creative work (Kark and Carmeli, 2009). Psychological safety becomes all the more
relevant in settings that involve complexity, creativity, sense-making (Sanner and Bunderson,
2015) and empowering employees to participate in creative process engagement (Zhang and
Bartol, 2010).
Creativity implementation involves greater risk in comparison with creativity as
implementing new ideas requires disconfirming the existing norms, processes and procedures.
If employees believe that their actions might result in social rejection, they will refrain from
executing ideas. Psychological safety enables one to overcome this anxiety (Schein and Bennis,
1965) and reduces the interpersonal risks (Edmondson, 1999). Employees who feel safe are high
in seeking help, advising and assisting, which, in turn, reduces the challenges associated with
CI (Edmondson, 2004). For example, in a psychologically safe environment, employees are
given the benefit of the doubt when they have made an error.
Psychological safety thus creates the psychological conditions necessary for CI. The
underlying mechanism is based on healthy interpersonal interactions transforming into
organisational performance (Baer and Frese, 2003). Psychological safety allows a positive social
exchange, open discussion of disagreements (Edmondson et al., 2001) and is a catalyst for
organisational change as it inspires employee confidence in decision-making, which, in turn,
leads to favourable organisational outcomes (Schein and Bennis, 1965). Psychological safety
allows employees to debate about their ideas, perspectives and errors without being blamed,
punished and concerned about their self-image and status (Edmondson, 1996, 1999, 2004). We,
therefore, propose the following:

Hypothesis 3: Employee psychological safety will be positively associated with CI.

HIGH-PERFORMANCE WORK SYSTEMS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL

In addition to PsyCap being associated with higher levels of CI, we posit that this employee
attribute can be enhanced through HPWSs. PsyCap can be developed through HPWSs by
mobilising motivation and cognitive resources (Lepak et al., 2006; Luthans et al., 2010). For
example, HPWSs can increase employee PsyCap through carefully designed training
interventions (Luthans et al., 2008). Focused training for developing broader competencies,

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such as interpersonal or problem-solving skills, can increase self-efficacy for performing a

broader set of roles (Evans and Davis, 2015). Training, flexibility, direction sharing and
autonomy fulfil higher order needs and consequently increase intrinsic motivation
(Vandenberg et al., 1999). HPWSs also increase hope through high-outcome expectations or
pathways (Snyder, 1977). They increase the skills necessary for redefining goals if and when
required and enable the employee to recognise the futility of persistence in the face of absolute
goal blockage.
Task mastery, decision-making, autonomy, problem-solving, goal-setting and self-
managed teams are all associated with HPWSs and with increased self-efficacy (Bandura,
1991). Components of HPWSs enable the attraction and retention of creative people,
provide motivation for extra effort and enable the mix of several types of (intrinsic and
extrinsic) motivators (Jiang et al., 2012). HPWSs create a work environment that
emphasises positive states and experiences such as a sense of achievement and enrichment
(Quinn and Dutton, 2005). Job autonomy is likely to increase PsyCap as it allows
employees to control their success and failure in their jobs (Hackman and Oldham, 1976).
Job enrichment and autonomy also increase contentment and subjective well-being (Guest,
2002) while reducing anxiety (Wood and de Menezes, 2011). In addition, based on
conservation of resource theory, Bardoel et al. (2014) highlight that HPWSs are positively
associated with employee resilience.
High-performance work systems through their various components thus satisfy basic
psychological needs such as competence, autonomy and relatedness, consequently leading to
increased psychological growth, well-being and the most volitional forms of motivation (Ryan
and Deci, 2000a). Given the type of practices incorporated in HPWSs, we expect these to have a
positive impact on PsyCap and hypothesise the following:

Hypothesis 4: HPWSs will be positively associated with employee PsyCap.

HIGH-PERFORMANCE WORK SYSTEMS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY

As job resources are typically drawn from the organisation and interpersonal relations that
stimulate personal growth, learning and development (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007), HPWSs
create a supportive work environment that makes it easy for employees to discharge any
insecurities and anxieties (Edmondson, 1999; Nembhard and Edmondson, 2006). A meta-
analysis by Frazier et al. (2017) reveals that autonomy, interdependence, role clarity, leader
relations and supportive work context are all significant and positive predictors of
psychological safety; all of which are core components of HPWSs. Employee skills and
knowledge are valued, and problem-solving is used to resolve mistakes, consequently leading
to increases in employee psychological safety (Edmondson, 1999).
Edmondson et al. (2001) argue that divisions between employees may inhibit psychological
safety. Working in teams, as advocated in HPWSs, allows for greater interaction and
opportunity to build interpersonal relationships, which, in turn, increase psychological safety.
Similarly, HPWSs are focused on collective goals that reduce the possibility of
misunderstanding, meaning that employees are less likely to blame each other for failures and
are more likely to experience psychological safety (Carmeli and Gittell, 2009).
High-quality relationships as manifest in shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual
respect foster the development of psychological safety (Carmeli and Gittell, 2009). When a
supervisor takes a personal interest in subordinates and guides them, they experience little
personal risk (Edmondson and Lei, 2014). Self-determination theory hypothesises that such

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relationship settings increase a sense of security and relatedness, which in turn increases
intrinsic motivation (Ryan and Deci, 2000b). Positive supervisor relationships are thus
associated with innovation (Mumford and Hunter, 2005; Hunter et al., 2007) and psychological
safety (Carmeli et al., 2010), encouraging employees to focus on the positive social exchange
(Edmondson, 2004). Positive psychology argues that a work environment that emphasises
positive work relationships is a central source of experiences leading to development and
growth (Quinn and Dutton, 2005).
Transparent communication and information sharing are also hallmarks of HPWSs. The
likelihood of insecurity among employees is increased when information has negative
implications for employees such as admitting errors, seeking help, negative feedback and
disagreement (Edmondson, 1996). Face-threatening communication that imperils social esteem
is usually delayed, distorted or not communicated at all. Constructive and developmental
feedback is an important aspect of HPWSs, as it alleviates the risk of being criticised and
humiliated, encouraging employees to seek feedback and speak up about mistakes. We,
therefore, expect CI to be more prevalent in a psychologically safe environment, as there are
fewer interpersonal relationship risks and conflicting group dynamics:

Hypothesis 5: HPWSs will be positively associated with employee psychological safety.

THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY

Based on JD-R theorising, we posit that HPWSs impact CI through PsyCap and psychological
safety. Job resources are expected to act as a buffer against personal and environmental
stressors while engaging in CI (Rubino et al., 2012) and reduce adverse psychological and social
consequences (Nahrgang et al., 2011). They also intrinsically foster employee growth,
development, and motivate employees to achieve goals (Schaufeli and Bakker, 2010).
Individuals with positive self-efficacy and interpersonal security perceive their jobs as
interesting, challenging and significant because they see the potential for greater intrinsic
rewards associated with goal achievement (Judge et al., 2000). A supportive supervisor, role
clarity, freedom of self-expression, adequate rewards, recognition and job challenges
(components of HPWSs) are related to psychological safety, which in turn motivate employees
to exert themselves completely in their work (Brown and Leigh, 1996).
The mediation logic is consistent with that of Delery and Shaw (2001), who acknowledge
that motivation, knowledge, skills and abilities connect HPWSs to indicators of an
organisations performance. HPWSs represent an organisations investment in career
development, recognition of and support for employees leading to affective commitment
(Gong et al., 2010), consequently increasing willingness and motivation to exert considerable
efforts on behalf of the organisation (Amabile, 1996).
Research also suggests that the relationship between HPWSs and favourable organisational
level outcomes is most likely mediated by individual attitudinal and behavioural variables
(Guest et al., 2004). For instance, Gittell et al. (2010) found that relational coordination mediates
the relationship between HPWSs and quality and efficiency outcomes. Similarly, HPWSs are
positively related to collective organisational citizenship behaviour through collective affective
commitment (Gong et al., 2010). In the same vein, we expect that PsyCap and psychological
safety will mediate the relationship between HPWSs and CI:

Hypothesis 6: Employee PsyCap and employee psychological safety mediate the relationship between
HPWSs and CI.

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METHODOLOGY

The studys hypotheses were tested using a sample of employees from a large pharmaceutical
firm (13,180 employee population). The HR head was contacted, and he or she assigned a
contact HR executive from each of 12 functions across four sites for data collection. Working
with the HR head, a cluster random sampling method was adopted. Given possible concerns
related to single rater bias (Gerhart et al., 2000), information on CI was also obtained via
supervisor ratings.
Appropriate steps were taken with regard to the ethical conduct of the research, and
respondents were assured of the anonymity of their responses. In most cases, responses were
collected in person on the company premises through a paper questionnaire in a pre-scheduled
group setting. For the remaining cases (typically supervisors for whom a group setting could
not be arranged), the managers along with the HR executives were contacted by telephone and
e-mail 1 week after the initial distribution of the survey.
HR executives provided background information on the employees. In total, 562 employees
and 277 supervisors were identified as a result of the sampling process (Table 1). Of the 277
supervisors, 221 completed all questions. The supervisor sample included 209 men, the mean
age was 43.55 years (SD = 1.01) and average company tenure was 9.50 years (SD = 2.64). Out of
the 562 employee respondents, 505 completed all questions. Non-response analysis indicated
no significant difference in the age, F(1, 1,065) = 0.003, p > 0.05, gender, F(1, 1,065) = 0.026,
p > 0.05, education, F(1, 1,065) = 0.027, p > 0.05, tenure, F(1, 1065) = 0.037, p > 0.05, job grade,
F(1, 1065) = 0.080, p > 0.05, and function, F(1, 1,065) = 0.001, p > 0.05, of the respondents and
non-respondents.

TABLE 1 Demographic profile of the employee respondents

N % N %

Age (years) <25 7 1.4 Grade 1 172 34.1

2529 27 5.3 2 114 22.6
3034 38 7.5 3 83 16.4
3544 144 28.5 4 27 5.3
4554 251 49.7 5 109 21.6
>55 38 7.5
Total 505 505
Gender Female 50 9.9 Education Bachelors 273 54.1
Male 455 90.1 Masters 232 45.9
Total 505 505
Functions Accounting 37 7.3 Tenure <1 30 5.9
Corporate HR 14 2.8 (years) 02 to 03 27 5.3
Administration 47 9.3 04 to 06 9 1.8
Corporate Finance 15 3.0 07 to 09 27 5.3
Processing 29 5.7 10 to 12 24 4.8
R&D 92 18.2 13 to 15 40 7.9
Corporate IT 73 14.5 16 to 18 94 18.6
Commercial 45 8.9 19 to 21 75 14.9
Sales 68 13.5 22 to 24 86 17.0
Medical advisory 3 .6 25 93 18.4
Marketing 7 1.4
Production 75 14.9
Total 505 505

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Measures
High-performance work systems To measure HPWSs, we used 21 HRM policy items designed
by Takeuchi et al. (2007) to capture employee perceptions, adapted from Lepak and Snells
(2002) original HR manager survey, with seven-point Likert-type anchors ranging from 1
(strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). One of the items employees are involved in job
rotation was removed from the analysis because of poor fit. The 20-item scale has a reliability
of = 0.870, comparable with Takeuchi et al. (2007), and Lepak and Snells (2002) commitment-
based HRM system scale ( = 0.890).
Creativity implementation This was measured via three items developed by Baer (2012) on a
scale from 1 (never) to 7 (always). Supervisors rated the frequency with which an employees
ideas had been (a) approved for further development, (b) transformed into usable products,
processes or procedures; (c) successfully brought to market or implemented at the organisation.
The responses were averaged to create an indicator of CI ( = 0.894).
To establish convergent validity with supervisor ratings, we used the same method as Baer
(2012: 1109). We asked employees to describe a few ideas they had worked on in the past and to
estimate the extent to which each idea had been successfully implemented: Think about the
last 23 ideas that you developed (alone or in collaboration with others but with major input
from you) and that you tried to get implemented at the organization. How successful were
these implementation efforts in each case? The item was rated on a scale ranging from 1 (idea
was never considered for implementation) to 7 (idea was brought to market or implemented).
All scores were averaged to derive an indicator of implementation from the employees
perspective ( = 0.76). Evidence of convergent validity was established as this indicator of
implementation significantly and positively correlated with the measure of implementation
provided by the supervisors (r = 0.664, p < 0.001).
Psychological capital We used the 24-item PsyCap Questionnaire developed by Luthans et al.
(2006) with the scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Four items were removed
because of poor model fit, resulting in a (20-item) reliability of 0.912. Typical items include I
feel confident presenting information to a group of colleagues and I approach this job as if
every cloud has a silver lining.
Psychological safety Psychological safety is measured by averaging three items based on Kahn
(1990). These items assessed whether the employee could express themselves without fear of
negative consequences to self-image, status or career ( = .941). The measure used a five-point
Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
Control variables Control variables include age, gender, educational qualifications, function
and job grade level. Previous research has identified such demographic variables as accounting
for some of the variance in the outcomes measured (e.g. Edmondson, 1999).

RESULTS

The variables descriptive statistics are presented in Table 2.

We used the structural equation modelling software AMOS 20 to perform a confirmatory
factor analysis (CFA). We hypothesised a four-factor model to be confirmed in the
measurement portion of the model. There were no missing data. Consistent with the guidelines
of Fornell and Larcker (1981), the average variance extracted for each measure exceeded 0.50.
The variance inflation factor is <3.00, indicating that multicollinearity can be ruled out as a
significant source of bias. The goodness-of-fit indicators between the model and the observed
data (Kline, 1998) are presented in Table 3. The results of the overall CFA and the goodness-of-
fit statistics show acceptable fit with the data ( 2/df = 2.801; GFI = 0.956; NFI = 0.980; CFI = 0.983;

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TABLE 2 Descriptive statistics and correlational analysis

Mean SD Age Gender Education Location Tenure Grade HPWSs PsyCap PS

Age 3.42 1.02

Gender 1.90 0.30 0.132**
Education 1.46 0.50
0.177** 0.093*
Location 2.89 1.10 0.107* 0.075 0.069
Tenure 6.84 3.18
0.082
0.142**
0.093*
0.455**
Grade 7.01 2.65 0.769** 0.082
0.198** 0.080
0.072
HPWSs 4.56 0.79 0.120** 0.053 0.000
0.037 0.055 0.058
Psycap 3.90 0.90 0.048
0.042 0.039
0.030 0.046 0.013 0.671**
PS 3.97 1.04 0.077
0.002
0.015
0.037 0.051 0.050 0.715** 0.614**
CI 4.09 1.14 0.041
0.002 0.059 0.009
0.004 0.002 0.657** 0.601** 0.562**

Note:
** p < 0.01,
* p < 0.05.
PS, psychological safety; HPWSs, high-performance work systems; PsyCap, psychological capital; CI, creativity
implementation.

TABLE 3 Measurement and structural model

2
Scale p /df GFI NFI CFI TLI RFI RMSEA

One-factor measurement Model 0.000 72.870 0.564 0.638 0.660 0.623 0.645 0.412
Four-factor measurement model 0.000 2.801 0.956 0.980 0.983 0.971 0.942 0.021
Hypothesised model 0.000 2.465 0.938 0.970 0.960 0.950 0.901 0.04

TLI = 0.971; RFI = 0.942; RMSEA = 0.021). Standardised parameter estimates from items to
factors ranged from 0.420 to 0.760, and the CFA indicated that the relationship between each
indicator variable and its respective variable was statistically significant (p < 0.001),
establishing the posited relationships among indicators and constructs, and thus, convergent
validity (Hair et al., 1998).
Our hypothesised research model is presented graphically in Figure 1. For clarity, only
standardised parameter estimates are displayed. There is a significant path coefficient between
HPWSs and CI ( = 0.94, p < 0.001), indicating support for Hypothesis 1. Similarly, the
statistically significant parameter estimates between PsyCap and CI ( = 0.33, p < 0.001) and
between psychological safety and CI ( = 0.15, p < 0.001) indicate support for Hypotheses 2 and
3. Hypotheses 4 and 5 state that HPWSs will be positively associated with PsyCap and
psychological safety, respectively. The results revealed that HPWSs significantly predicts
PsyCap ( = 0.76, p < 0.001) and psychological safety ( = 0.93, p < 0.001), supporting these
hypotheses.
We follow the procedure outlined by Baron and Kenny (1986) for testing mediation,
supplemented by a Sobel test together with nonparametric bootstrapping analyses based on
5,000 samples (Preacher et al., 2007) to address shortcomings in this approach (Preacher and
Hayes, 2008). In the model (Figure 1), the ovals represent latent variables. The bootstrapping
results at 95% confidence level are presented in Table 4.

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FIGURE 1 Mediation model

TABLE 4 Effect on endogenous variable

Effect on endogenous variable t Value Percentile 95% confidence interval

1 HPWSs>CI (total effect) 0.94*** 19.55 (0.84; 1.03)***

2 HPWSs>PsyCap 0.75*** 20.27 (0.68; 0.83)***
3 HPWSs>PS 0.93*** 22.96 (0.85; 1.01)***
4 HPWSs>CI (indirect effect) 0.57*** 7.87 (0.43; 0.71)***
5 PsyCap>CI 0.33*** 5.88 (0.22; 0.45)***
6 PS>CI 0.12** 2.41 (0.10; 0.22)**

Note:
*** p < 0.0001,
** p < 0.01.
PS, psychological safety; HPWSs, high-performance work systems; PsyCap, psychological capital; CI, creativity
implementation.

The significant direct effect of HPWSs on CI does not necessarily indicate no mediation
(Kenny et al., 1998). Figure 1 expresses how the direct effect of HPWSs on CI (c0 = direct effect of
HPWSs on CI) is significant but reduces when the indirect effect (a1b1 + a2b2) of PsyCap and
psychological safety is introduced, suggesting mediation. To further test the significance of the
mediation effect, we used the Sobel (1982) test. The results suggest that PsyCap (Z = 5.64;
p < 0.001) and psychological safety (Z = 2.40; p < 0.05) indicate significant mediation. The
effects on the endogenous variables are presented in Table 4. The bootstrap 95% confidence
intervals for PsyCap (0.21 to 0.97) and psychological safety (0.01 to 0.47) do not cross zero,
ruling out the plausible value for the direct effect. The results strongly support Hypotheses 6
that PsyCap and psychological safety mediate the relationship between HPWSs and CI.

DISCUSSION

The aim of the present study has been to contribute to a better understanding of the
psychological processes that link HPWSs and CI. Wright and Gardner (2003: 312) note that

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theoretically, no consensus exists regarding the mechanisms by which HR practices might

impact on firm outcomes. Building upon the JD-R model, we have demonstrated that HPWSs
lead to CI through the job resources of PsyCap and psychological safety. This supports prior
studies that have demonstrated the effect of positive affectivity and psychological strength on
creative behaviour (Madjar et al., 2002; Amabile et al., 2005).
Whereas previous HPWSs work has focused on creativity as an outcome (Rice, 2006;
Petroni et al., 2012), here, we have explored the lesser-understood concept of CI. Although
others have highlighted the interaction of interpersonal and contextual characteristics for
employee creativity (Shalley et al., 2004), our study provides insight into the role of such
characteristic for CI. This is also distinct from prior research that has been concerned with
isolated HRM practices, which may not be as powerful indicators as HRM systems. The
results are also in line with the abilitymotivationopportunity framework from the
motivational perspective (Lepak et al., 2006), whereby motivational support increases the
sense of being valued and sense of security (Wood and de Menezes, 2011). HPWSs thus
enhance the psychological conditions that drive employees to implement creativity. The
current study adds to the HPWSs literature, expanding on individual level variables that
explain the relationship between HRM practices and organisational performance (Batt, 2002).
As Ramsey et al. (2000: 502) note, human factors serve as a key mediator in the causal link that
flows from practices through people to performance. To date, there has been limited focus
on these human factors.
The results demonstrate that HPWSs are positively associated with both PsyCap and
psychological safety. HPWSs enhance psychological resources and reduce psychological
demands such as stress and fear. Focusing on the effect of HPWSs on PsyCap, the study
highlights that HPWSs increase the positive appraisal of the situation and probability of success
based on performance, which in turn increases CI. Employees become more optimistic and
confident in their abilities to pursue goals (Luthans and Youssef, 2004), whereby HPWSs
reduce psychological job demands such as stress, uncertainty and ambiguity (Demerouti et al.,
2001; Lepak et al., 2006). Adequate feedback, rewards, recognition and supervisory support
mitigate job demands and their adverse psychological consequences and stimulate personal
growth, resiliency and efficacy (Demerouti et al., 2001).
Similarly, for psychological safety, the findings highlight the relevance of interpersonal
context, corroborating extant literature suggesting that positive affect promotes creative
performance (Amabile et al., 2005). Furthermore, by focusing on HPWSs and their effects on
psychological safety, our study expands that of Edmondson (2004) and Nembhard and
Edmondson (2006), confirming how this encourages employees to focus on the positive social
exchange. In turn, we shed light on the positive role of psychological safety in enhancing CI,
given the creation of appropriate conditions under which employees feel safe taking risks
(Edmondson, 1999). This is one of the first empirical studies to hypothesise and investigate
these mediating mechanisms using data from multiple respondents (Gerhart et al., 2000). In
summary, the study elaborates on an emerging stream of research that emphasises the role of
psychological safety in creative processes (Amabile et al., 2005; Edmondson and Lei, 2014).
Moreover, our findings confirm the arguments that CI could be a function of both individual
(PsyCap and psychological safety) and organisational level variables (Shalley et al., 2004). For
example, components of PsyCap such as self-efficacy and optimism have been found to act as
personal resources that buffer the effect of emotional demands and emotion-rule dissonance on
work engagement (Xanthopoulou et al., 2013); the same are also considered as psychological
resources for CI, providing important job resources (Demerouti et al., 2001). PsyCap allows
employees to be confident and resilient during difficult times throughout the process of CI.

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The intermediate processes that explain how and why HRM systems affect organisational
outcomes are highly debated in the field of strategic HRM (Guest et al., 2004; Buller and
McEvoy, 2012). By elucidating the link between HPWSs and CI, this study contributes to the
nomological network of strategic HRM by integrating the JD-R perspective. The principles of
the JD-R model help us to understand the studys findings, in that HPWSs increase the
availability of resources and reduce the adverse psychological and social consequences that can
deplete job resources. HPWSs are effective in explaining CI because they directly affect PsyCap
and psychological safety. The findings also support equifinality (Delery and Doty, 1996) of
HPWSs effects, in that HPWSs affect various mediators, which, in turn, positively influence
practical outcomes. This provides additional insights into synergistic effects in HPWSs.
Our findings are consistent with the work of Delery and Shaw (2001), who acknowledge
employee capabilities as linking pins that connect HPWSs to organisational performance
indicators. PsyCap and psychological safety simultaneously mediate the relationship between
HPWSs and CI. PsyCap mediates by cognitive and motivational resources that facilitate in
psychologically managing the course of action required for CI (Sweetman et al., 2011), while
psychological safety increases the required social and interpersonal resources for employees to
feel that they have a safety net in place for taking risks (Kark and Carmeli, 2009). PsyCap and
psychological safety are thus both key assets without which CI might not be realised to its full
potential.

CONCLUSIONS

The study has important implications for both future research and practice. The association
between HPWSs and PsyCap is very promising because scholars of positive organisational
behaviour have called for investigations into the ways in which PsyCap can be developed
(Luthans et al., 2007). The literature on psychological safety similarly provides relatively little
insight into how psychological safety unfolds (Edmondson and Lei, 2014), so this study adds to
our understanding (Amabile and Khaire, 2008). Furthermore, the study answers the call to
extend the field from studying creativity to include CI and the need to identify factors
associated with CI (Gong et al., 2013).
For practice, the current business environment creates a complex challenge for organisations
to constantly reinvent themselves. Quick implementation of creative ideas enables the
organisation to seize opportunities and develop a competitive edge for sustainable growth.
This study points to HPWSs as a key element facilitating CI, allowing employees to channel the
necessary psychological resources. The findings suggest that HPWSs promote PsyCap; hence,
by hiring employees who are predisposed to being higher in PsyCap and coupling the selection
practice with appropriate developmental programmes can help managers increase CI in the
workplace. Greater emphasis on HPWSs by managers can promote shared understanding
among employees and create more openness for experimentation.
The challenges organisations face include how to manage the interpersonal threats inherent
in employees admitting ignorance, voicing concerns and opinions (Edmondson and Lei, 2014).
These threats are subtle but powerful and inhibit CI. A focus on psychological safety among
employees is relevant because it allows smoother collaboration in problem-solving, adaptation
to change, best practice implementation and knowledge creation (Edmondson and Lei, 2014).
Psychological safety is dynamic and can be repaired through training, work design and leader
relations (Frazier et al., 2017). Managers can therefore work to create practices such as shared
goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect, job freedom, and autonomy (HPWSs) to foster
psychological safety.

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Limitations and directions for future research

Despite these important contributions, the study does of course have limitations. One of the
strengths of the study is the collection of data for CI from supervisors, which helps to reduce
potential issues associated with common method bias (Podsakoff et al., 2003). Further analyses
were conducted using the employee CI measure, which resulted in confirming the results
observed using the supervisor data. Because of other limitations of the study, however, we
recommend caution when interpreting the results. First, given the use of cross-sectional data,
no causal inference can be made regarding the relationships in this study. Despite a validated
mediation model rooted in prior theories, alternate directionality between individual variables,
mediators and dependent variables cannot be ruled out. Second, the participation of a single
organisation is a limitation to the generalisability of the results. However, the participation of a
single organisation can also be viewed as a strength, controlling key contextual variables that
would otherwise not be possible.
For such limitations to be overcome, we recommend that scholars in the future include
longitudinal and experimental designs. Temporal components will enable researchers to
capture transition in a state-like characteristic such as PsyCap, which may influence CI. The
research tested HPWSs as a system rather than its subcomponents (Huselid, 1995; Batt, 2002);
however, it is possible that some subcomponents of HPWSs have a different, independent
impact on the mediators. Acknowledging that creativity and CI are different with unique
antecedents, the study focused on CI. The absence of creativity does not detract from the
current model as the literature suggests that the generation of creativity by no means
guarantees implementation (Sohn and Jung, 2010). However, future research might also
explore the extent to which creativity leads to CI to explore these relationships further. Future
research might also examine other manifestations of the work context at the individual level,
apart from the PsyCap and psychological safety, which may foster CI.
Despite these limitations, the results of the study contribute to our understanding of how the
HPWSsCI process unfolds through PsyCap and psychological safety. We believe that these
results provide valuable insights into the underlying theory linking HPWSs and CI. HPWSs
provide a high-quality relationship situation that not only allows employees to share relevant
information and solutions but also helps employees overcome the uncertainty that
accompanies CI.

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