Quality enhancement or cost reduction? The influence of high-performance work systems and power distance orientation on employee human resource attributions

HR attributions relate to employees? beliefs about why HR practices are implemented in their organization. Although research shows that HR attributions influence employees? attitudes, behaviors and performance, there is little understanding of the antecedents of HR attributions. To examine the relationships between perceptions of high-performance work systems (HPWS) and power distance orientation (PDO) on the one hand and two types of HR attributions (quality-enhancement and cost-reduction) on the other, we conducted two studies. The results of Study 1 (an experimental study, N?=?171 students) and Study 2 (a field study, N?=?255 employees from China) showed that PDO weakened the relationships between HPWS perceptions and both types of HR attributions. Our studies fill an important theoretical gap regarding how employees? cultural orientation changes the effect of HPWS perceptions on HR attributions.