High-performance work systems (HPWS) expectation-perception difference and employee voice behavior: unraveling the mediating role of subjective well-being at work
基于情感事件理论，研究员工对高绩效工作系统的期望与感知差异如何通过降低工作主观幸福感，进而抑制其促进性和抑制性建言行为。
Drawing on Affective Events Theory, this study examines the impact of the difference between employees’ expected and perceived high-performance work systems (HPWS difference) on their voice behavior, with subjective well-being at work as a mediating mechanism. Data were collected from 301 employees across diverse industries in China via a three-wave longitudinal survey. The results indicated that the HPWS difference significantly and negatively predicted both promotive and prohibitive voice behavior. Specifically, subjective well-being at work mediated this relationship, indicating that a larger HPWS difference undermined employees’ subjective well-being at work, which in turn reduced their willingness to engage in voice behavior. Additionally, the study found that both expected and perceived HPWS exert independent direct effects on voice outcomes. These findings highlight HPWS difference as a critical yet understudied antecedent influencing employee behavior through its impact on well-being. This research contributes to the strategic HRM literature by introducing and validating HPWS difference as a key antecedent of employee behavior and by illuminating the mediating role of subjective well-being at work, providing important practical insights for managing employees’ expectations and implementing HR systems more effectively.