High commitment HR practices, employee effort, and firm performance

In this study, I examine the relationship between high commitment HR practices and firm performance in professional services firms through the mediator of employee effort. In addition, I contribute to the debate within the field of SHRM on whether high commitment HR practices should be used across employee groups. The results of my study showed that high commitment HR practices are positively related to firm performance through employee effort for two employee groups within professional services firms. Further, I found that when employee effort mediated the relationship between high commitment HR practices and performance, the relationship between effort and performance was contingent on the value of the employee group to firm competitive advantage.