The impact of employees’ perceptions of HR practices on identification with the company and citizenship behavior

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review two work groups’ (local vs foreign) perceptions, attitudes and behavior and propose a moderated mediation model to examine perceived HR practices’ impact on identification with the company and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Design/methodology/approach This paper selects 320 local and foreign production operators at high-tech firms in Taiwan. The hypotheses are tested using SEM-AMOS, and the mediation effects are analyzed by Sobel test with bootstrapping. Findings Results show that: first, the relationship influence between identification with the company and OCB is stronger for foreign workers than for local workers; and, second, the moderated mediation of work status exists in perceived practice of rewards for the whole worker model. Research limitations/implications To concentrate on research objective, the authors only consider the same characteristics in local and foreign workers’ job environment, neglecting differences in employment conditions, living environment and cultural background. Practical implications Two major implications are that: first, different perceptions on HR practices are based on employees’ work status; and, second, in addition to adopting appreciative HR practices for the target group, firms should help employees develop a stronger identification with the company in order to encourage OCB. Originality/value This paper studies employees’ perception on HR practices, compares a three-variable model between local and foreign workers, and proposes a moderated mediation model to handle HR practices’ effects on identification with the company and OCB.