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.