The role of perceived high-performance HR practices and transformational leadership on employee engagement and citizenship behaviors

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of high-performance (HP) human resource (HR) practices on employee job engagement and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and the moderating effects of transformational leadership. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 268 employees from the US and a sample of 288 employees from South Korea (SK) were used for examining the hypotheses. Findings The results illustrated that high-performance HR practices (HPHRP) significantly predicted employee job engagement and OCB in SK. Transformational leadership was found to moderate the associations of HPHRP with employee job engagement and OCB in SK, while in the US, transformational leadership only moderated the relationship between HPHRP and OCB. Practical implications Transformational leaders reinforce the quality of the employee–organization relationship and strengthen the impact of HPHRP on employees' positive work-related behaviors. Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding of employees' organizational behavior as exploring the relationships of HPHRP, transformational leadership, job engagement and OCB.