High performance work systems, employee creativity and organizational performance in the education sector

Abstract

Education is a key pillar of social and economic development. In recent years, this sector has come under increasing pressure to provide improved and more relevant services. High performance work systems (HPWS) are deemed critical in order to meet these demands. Additionally, teachers are expected to be more creative in approaching their work which, it is argued, will improve performance at the school level. Nevertheless, little research has been conducted to understand how to enhance employee creativity, and whether creativity will improve the education sector’s organizational performance. In addressing this gap, we conducted research in the education sector in China, collecting data from 59 public schools, over 1,000 teachers and just under 5,000 students. This multi-source dataset was analysed utilizing three-level structural equation modelling. The results support our hypotheses that HPWS enhance teacher creativity and subsequently improve student quality of school life indirectly through teacher job performance. The findings provide new insights into the value of strategic human resource management and the importance of creativity in the education sector.

Keywords:

• Creativity
• high performance work systems
• multilevel
• organizational performance
• education sector
• student quality of school life

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author (Binhua (Eva) Huang), upon reasonable request.