Career Development International

High-involvement human resource practices, employee learning and employability

Wei Liu,
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Wei Liu, (2018) "High-involvement human resource practices, employee learning and employability",
Career Development International, Vol. 23 Issue: 3, pp.312-326, https://doi.org/10.1108/
CDI-10-2017-0177
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CDI
23,3
312
Received 7 October 2017
Revised 29 January 2018
6 May 2018
27 June 2018
Accepted 28 June 2018
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Career Development International
Vol. 23 No. 3, 2018
pp. 312-326
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1362-0436
DOI 10.1108/CDI-10-2017-0177
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1362-0436.htm
High-involvement human
resource practices, employee
learning and employability
Wei Liu
Business School, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China
Abstract
Purpose – Although environmental factors at the organizational level are of importance for individual
employability, very few studies have investigated how the practices an organization implements can facilitate
employability. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how high-involvement human resources (HIHR)
practices (i.e. recognition, competence development, empowerment, information sharing and fair rewards)
influence employee learning, which contributes to employability.
Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected from 288 pairs of employees and their direct
supervisors in Chinese companies. In this study, we measure perceived employability from both employees and
their direct supervisors. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis is conducted to test the hypotheses.
Findings – The results indicate that employees’ perceptions of the HIHR practices of recognition, competence
development, empowerment and information sharing are positively related to employee learning, and then
facilitate self- and supervisor-ratings of employees’ employability. Practices of fair rewards have a negative
effect on employee learning and employability.
Originality/value – This study contributes to employability and human resource management literature in
several ways. First, the study raises the association between different HIHR practices and perceived
employability through employee learning. Second, the study considers both self-rating and supervisor-rating
of employability to improve the effectiveness of the results.
Keywords Employability, Employee learning, High-involvement human resource practices
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In today’s competitive and dynamic workplace, changes in the labor market with regard to
increasing flexibility and adaptability reflect the need for greater attention on employability in
academic and practical research (De Cuyper et al., 2014; Akkermans and Tims, 2017).
Individuals with a high level of employability may perceive greater chances of being able to
achieve a new and equal job within or outside the organization (De Cuyper et al., 2011;
Vanhercke et al., 2014). This definition is regarded to be compatible with definitions, including
“the continuous fulfilling, acquiring or creating of work through the optimal use of competences”
(Van der Heijde and Van der Heijden, 2006). Considering these competencies, employees will feel
more confidence to adapt to various changes, from relatively modest (e.g. changes in the content
of work) to more profound (e.g. organizational restructuring) (Forrier et al., 2015). Employability
is regarded as a joint responsibility of employees and employers (Wittekind et al., 2010;
Kim et al., 2015). In this study, an employability enhancement model has been proposed
from both workers’ own perceptions and their supervisors’ perceptions of employability.
Researchers have found that employability can influence various positive employee
outcomes, such as performance (De Cuyper et al., 2011), career success (Van der Heijden
et al., 2010) and helping behaviors (De Cuyper et al., 2014). However, theoretical and
empirical evidence about the antecedents of employability is still lacking. Previous studies
The author thanks to Professor Chen Guoquan, Tsinghua University for helping. This paper was
financed by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71421061; 71172109) and the Fundamental
Research Funds for the Central Universities. Finally, the author offers gratitude to the reviewers and
editors for their valuable comments and suggestions.
 have focused on the role of individual facilitators, including employee participation in HIHR practices
competency development initiatives (Vos et al., 2011), learning value (Van der Heijden and
Bakker, 2011) and career competence (Akkermans and Tims, 2017). Recent research has
demonstrated that organizational human resources practices that draw upon employee
involvement should be important predictors of individual outcomes. High-involvement
human resource (HIHR) practices include practices that advance employee skills, incentives
and participation, promote employee involvement with opportunities to make decisions on 313
their jobs and engage in business activities of organizations (Ouyang et al., 2016).
For example, Shin et al. (2016) found that organizational HIHR practices were positively
associated with employee creativity. Maden (2015) revealed that the perceived HIHR
practices were positively related to employees’ work engagement and learning orientation.
To arrive at a win–win situation in an employment relationship, both individual and
organizational efficacies need to be achieved, and organizations may be willing to involve
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employees in this aim through human resources practices (Slater and Narver, 1995; Camps
and Rodríguez, 2011). Though the value of employability implies that organizations
become beneficial to invest in individual employees with accumulating human capital
(Van der Heijden et al., 2010), little attention has been paid to the procedural mechanism that
links organizational practices to employability. Therefore, there is a gap in scientific
knowledge on the association between HIHR practices and employability.
A likely mediator in the HR practices–employability relationship is employee learning,
which is defined as the process by which employees proactively master new knowledge,
skills and abilities (Høyrup, 2010). Survival in the dynamic career environment requires
employees’ abilities and willingness to continually adapt to changes in themselves and in
their jobs (Fugate et al., 2004). The correlation between HIHR practices and employability
through employee learning was built upon two theoretical perspectives: social exchange
theory (Eisenberger and Stinglhamber, 1986; Rhoades and Eisenberger, 2002) and social
learning theory (Brown et al., 2005).
According to social exchange theory, the desire to satisfy employees’ need and care for
their personal well-being may lead to positive exchange relationships between employers
and employees (Eisenberger and Stinglhamber, 1986). Organizations taking HIHR practices
deliver the message that the employer is concerned with the employees’ development and
interests; therefore, in exchange, the employees will make more effort in their work to
achieve individual and organizational success (Wayne and Liden, 1997). HIHR practices
increase investment and involvement in employees to attract, develop and maintain these
human resources and improve their employability (Manz and Sims, 1980; Huo et al., 2015).
The social learning perspective recognizes the effect of environmental cues (e.g. human
resource practices) as reinforcement contingencies on the behaviors of employees in
organizations (Manz and Sims, 1980). Individuals who perceive higher involvement in
HR practices are inclined to improve employability through social learning process
(Van der Heijden et al., 2010). As predicted by the social learning theory, people do not
merely react to external factors but actually select, organize and transform environmental
cues that impinge on them and HIHR practices provide employees with more opportunities
to enhance career competencies through involvement and interactions (Van der Heijden
et al., 2010). These practices facilitate employees to develop employability by activating the
desire for the acquisition of the capabilities and adaptabilities in the workplace. Therefore,
employees can learn from self-experience as well as from observation, imitation and
identification encouraged by organizational climate and practices (Brown et al., 2005).
Thus, this study aims to establish and examine a conceptual model in which five
constructs of HIHR practices – namely recognition, competence development,
empowerment, information sharing and fair rewards – may influence employee learning,
which facilitates employees’ employability.
 CDI Theoretical background
23,3 HIHR practices can have positive effects on organizational and individual outcomes by
offering employees more control in their jobs and more chances to engage in organizational
business as a whole (Lawler et al., 2001). According to the model of Appelbaum et al. (2000),
five constructs of human resource practices – recognition, competence development,
empowerment, information sharing and fair rewards – were identified as HIHR practices.
314 These five practices are high value-added management measures of organizations because
of their growing importance on human capital (Yang, 2012). By raising employee
involvement in organizations, these practices are conducive to increasing employees’ skills
and competence to accomplish tasks; they also help employees take on more responsibility
and provide more work-related autonomy (Pfeffer and Veiga, 1999; Shin et al., 2016).
According to Brun and Dugas (2008), recognition refers to “a judgment made about a
person’s contribution, reflecting not just work performance but also personal dedication and
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engagement.” Recognition practices represent the nonfinancial awards provided

by organizations in appreciation of an employee’s high-quality work and the positive
feedback given to motivate employees to a higher level of individual effort (Paré and
Tremblay, 2007). Competence development includes programs and opportunities within the
organization to cultivate domain knowledge and skills, such as job rotation and employee
training (Shin et al., 2016). For example, competence development allows organizations to
deliver a message regarding an employer’s concern about an employee’s long-term
development and preference to invest in employees as human capital (Tsui et al., 1995).
Empowerment is the discretion that organizations offer employees on deciding how job-related
activities are arranged in their day-to-day work. A feeling of psychological empowerment
enhances the employees to take responsibility and initiative to get involved in various tasks
(Pare ́ and Tremblay, 2007). Information sharing practices provide employees with more
opportunities to learn about their organization, management and external markets (Wei et al.,
2013). Employees may develop mutual trust, commitment and obligation to the organizations
if they have a good understanding of relevant information (Browning et al., 2009). Fair rewards
concern employees’ perceptions of fairness about their pay and gains, including salary
distribution, performance evaluation and job assignment (Pare ́ and Tremblay, 2007).
In today’s fast-paced and competitive business environment, employee learning has
become increasingly important for both organizational performance and individual success
(Bezuijen et al., 2010). In this study, employee learning refers to discretionary behaviors
taken by employees to explore and master new knowledge, skills and abilities (Noe et al.,
2010). These learning behaviors include activities of learning in, for and through the
workplace and can be examined in the socioeconomic context of the workplace (Evans et al.,
2006). Employees can learn what behavior is rewarded and expected within work settings
(Brown et al., 2005), and employers need to take measures to facilitate these behaviors in
daily practice for sustainable development (Bezuijen et al., 2010; Høyrup, 2010). Motivated
by organizational cues, employees may proactively refine and accumulate knowledge and
skills through learning to gain employability (Molloy and Noe, 2010).
Employability has been put forward as a competitive advantage for both organizational
and individual flexibility (Fugate et al., 2004; De Cuyper et al., 2011). In this study, we
characterize the evaluation of perceived employability as a general perception from both
employees and their supervisors on the likelihood of whether employees can find employment
in internal or external labor markets (Wittekind et al., 2010; Forrier et al., 2015). In terms of
perceptions of available employment, perceived employability may capture more contextual
and individual factors related to employability (De Cuyper et al., 2011; Forrier et al., 2015;
Akkermans and Tims, 2017). Previous research has found that perceived employability is
beneficial for both organizational and individual outcomes. For example, De Cuyper et al.
(2011) regarded employability an essential organizational asset to boost performance.
 Wittekind et al. (2010) believed that employability is necessary in coping effectively with HIHR practices
organizational change. Moreover, researchers have found that perceived employability was
related to employee well-being and performance (De Cuyper et al., 2011). Employees with high
employability have more developmental competence and achievement motivation to make
more of an effort to complete their work (Camps and Rodríguez, 2011).
However, previous studies have assessed perceived employability by employee self-reports
(Wittekind et al., 2010; Kim et al., 2015), which may have overestimated employability as a 315
result of common method bias. In this study, we measured employability by the perceptions of
the employees as well as those of their direct supervisors, who have an understanding of their
subordinates and thus can offer valid evaluations (Van der Heijden and Bakker, 2011).

Hypotheses
Pare ́ and Tremblay (2007) concluded that comprehensive HIHR practices should focus on
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employees’ incentives (i.e. recognition, rewards), necessary skills (i.e. competence development)
and opportunities to participate (i.e. empowerment, information sharing). These strategies
deliver the signal of organizational focus on employee value and help to fulfill employees’ needs
for respect, autonomy and self-actualization (Camps and Rodríguez, 2011). According to social
exchange theory, if employers provide employees with concern for their needs and consideration
for their development, it may result in positive exchange relationships (Eisenberger and
Stinglhamber, 1986). In such social exchange relationships, employees are more likely to
reciprocate with positive attitudes and behaviors (Alfes et al., 2013). In this study, distinct HIHR
practices – including recognition, competence development, empowerment, information sharing
and fair rewards – are hypothesized to have an impact on employee learning.
First, employees may receive recognition from their supervisors or organizations for
their excellent performance and particular achievements (Pare ́ and Tremblay, 2007).
Recognition practices include nonmonetary rewards and positive feedback in an
organization that show appreciation for employees’ quality work (Guy and Michel, 2007,
p. 330). These practices can greatly motivate employees who have reported feeling
confidence in completing tasks and making a greater effort. When encouraged by positive
feedback from supervisors or others, employees are likely to acquire new knowledge and
skills to do a better job (Brun and Dugas, 2008). Therefore, recognition practices are
assumed to be positively associated with employee learning.
Second, competence development practices closely link to learning activities by offering
programs (e.g. job rotation, training, mentoring) and opportunities (e.g. challenge task,
career development) for employees (Schwochau et al., 1997). Previous studies have found
that competence development practices are beneficial for the learning climate in
organizations (Chaudhary et al., 2012). The organizations which consider their employees
as valuable assets invest in learning activities and build long-term relationships for
consistent improvement (Tsui et al., 1995). Therefore, competence development practices are
assumed to be positively associated with employee learning.
Third, empowerment practices help to satisfy employees’ needs for autonomy (Maden,
2015). Organizations should allow employees to make decisions about job-related issues
through empowerment and should increase their employees’ perceptions of support, trust
and intrinsic motivation (Pare ́ and Tremblay, 2007). Empowerment may foster the
employees to proactively expand their knowledge and skills as a result of more
responsibility, and previous studies have identified a positive correlation between
empowerment and learning in organizations (Allahyari et al., 2011; Maden, 2015). Therefore,
empowerment practices are assumed to be positively associated with employee learning.
Fourth, information sharing has been regarded as one of most effective practices to involve
employees in organizational business and to ensure that employees have the right to
access information regarding work quality, feedback and business results (Lawler, 1968;
 CDI Wood and Wall, 2007). Through sharing internal and external information, organizations and
23,3 employees can establish trusting relationships and both can gain competitive advantages
(Browning et al., 2009). Knowledge sharing is a critical method of disseminating information
and facilitating frequent employee interaction in organizations and has an important role in
promoting employees’ learning behaviors (Wei et al., 2013). Therefore, information sharing
practices are thought to be positively associated with employee learning.
316 Lastly, fair rewards practice has been defined as “the perceived fairness of various job
outcomes, including compensation conditions, performance evaluations and job assignments”
(Guy and Michel, 2007, p. 330). With a high level of perceived equity, the employees may
reciprocate more positive behaviors and outcomes especially in competency-based
organizations (Lawler, 1968). Therefore, fair rewards practices are assumed to be positively
associated with employee learning.
In conclusion, the willingness of employers to be concerned with employees’ needs and
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feelings may lead to positive exchange relationships and proactive, reciprocal activities
(Rhoades and Eisenberger, 2002). HIHR practices fulfill employees’ needs for respect and
autonomy, inspire their intrinsic motivation for development and promote employees to
acquire knowledge and skills at work (Sonnentag, 2003). Consequently, it is hypothesized that:
H1. Employees’ perceptions of (a) recognition, (b) competence development, (c) empowerment
and (d) information sharing practices and (e) fair rewards practices will be positively
related to employee learning.
In the demanding and dynamic business world, employees need to continually update and
enrich their knowledge to gain work-related competencies, which contribute to employees’
sustainable employability (Molloy and Noe, 2010; Kyndt and Baert, 2013). Camps and
Rodríguez (2011) explored the positive relationship between learning and employability
from the organizational level and found that a learning environment could increase
self-perceived employability. They argued that an organizational learning culture motivated
workers to be open to new ideas and think proactively, and the fundamental drive for
employability could be the employees’ learning intentions and behaviors. Employee learning
emphasizes the acquisition and generation of employees’ new knowledge and skills, and it is
dedicated to the improvement of employees’ occupational expertise (Lei et al., 1999).
Individuals who seek up-to-date knowledge and expertise in job-related areas may have
more confidence in completing assignments and may perceive that they have higher
employability (Kim et al., 2015). In addition, employees who proactively engage in learning
activities to improve their knowledge, skills and communication with their supervisors
make a proactive and aspirant expression. These learning behaviors raise the supervisors’
evaluations of their employees’ competence in adapting to changes within the internal or
external labor markets. In conclusion, learning becomes a valuable and effective way for
employees to sustain – and develop – their employability. So, it is hypothesized that:
H2. Employee learning will be positively related to (a) self-ratings and (b) supervisor-ratings
of employability.
In accord with previous studies, employee learning activities can be used to explain how
organizational practices influence individual outcomes (Noe et al., 2010; Høyrup, 2010). Based
on Bandura’s (1978) social learning theory, human behavior can be explained through
continuous and reciprocal interaction of the cognitive, behavioral and environmental
determinants. Crittenden (2005) reported a cycle of reciprocal interaction among the
individual-behavior-environment ternary. The implementation of human resources practices
helps to provide learning opportunities and a developmental atmosphere within an
organization. Then employees can get involved in these activities, resulting in different
employee behaviors as well as changes in supervisors’ assessments of employees’ capabilities.
 In the workplace, the learning environment for individuals to develop behaviors is provided HIHR practices
by organizational activities. Organizations may use HIHR practices to encourage employees to
gain new knowledge and abilities and help them refine and add to personal skills throughout
their careers (Noe et al., 2010). For example, Maden (2015) revealed a multiple mediation effect of
job engagement and employee learning orientation on the association between HIHR practices
and employee proactivity. Employees’ strong feelings about these practices may raise their
experience in job involvement and learning activities, and promote employees’ perceptions of 317
confidence and competence in their employment. Forrier et al. (2015) connected different notions
of employability from the perspective of movement capital, namely the aggregate of “individual
skills, knowledge, competencies and attitudes influencing an individual’s career mobility.” This
was achieved in the learning process inherent in a job transition. Employees with higher
perceptions of recognition, competence development, empowerment, information sharing and
fair rewards practices tended to gather more knowledge and information at work, and their
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proactive and developing behaviors may raise their supervisors’ evaluations of their
occupational and developmental abilities. Hence, it is hypothesized that:
H3. Employees’ perceptions of HIHR practices have an effect on (a) self-ratings and (b)
supervisor-ratings of employability through employee learning.
The conceptual model for this study is shown in Figure 1.

Methodology
Organizational context
Data were gathered from two large Chinese state-owned enterprises. Traditionally,
the operation modes and management systems were relatively stable in these companies.
With the vigorous development of the market economy and the reform and open policy in
recent decades, state-owned enterprises in China are seeking to transform development and
change. Both companies in this study had a number of independent operated affiliates and
subsidiaries – some of which have gone through changes from a control-oriented approach
to strategic human resources practices. In such a situation, employees need to be adapting to
a new working environment, and these changes have a different impact on employees’
working behaviors and individual outcomes.

Participants and procedures

In order to test the hypotheses, this study was carried out among pairs of employees and their
direct supervisors. To suppress the leniency effect, employees were aware that ratings also

Employee ratings Supervisor ratings

Recognition

Competence
development

Empowerment Employee learning Employability-S

Information sharing

Employability-E
Fair rewards Figure 1.
Research model
 CDI would be provided by their supervisors, and self-ratings have been demonstrated to be more
23,3 reliable in such cases (Van der Heijde and Van der Heijden 2006). Data were gathered from
subordinates and branches in two large state-owned enterprises. The questionnaires were sent
to approximately 500 pairs of employees and their direct supervisors. Each supervisor had to
assess the employability of a maximum of five subordinates. Employees were asked by their
direct supervisors to participate, and then they received the encoded questionnaires from the
318 researchers. A cover letter was contained in the survey indicating the background of
the study. The original scales had been translated into Chinese and then back into English by
two bilingual researchers. The questionnaires were collected separately from employees and
their supervisors to ensure anonymity and confidentiality. The final sample included
288 employee-supervisor pairs with a response rate of 57.6 percent. Of the respondents,
9 percent were below 30 years of age, 25.3 percent were from 30 to 39 years of age, 55.6 percent
were from 40 to 49 years of age, and 10 percent were 50 years of age or older. Males comprised
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64 percent of the respondents, and females comprised 36 percent. As for their working status,
more than 95 percent of the respondents were full-time employees. The most frequently
reported highest level of education was a bachelor’s degree (56.3 percent). The average work
experience was 19.3 years. Of the supervisors, males comprised 83 percent of the sample, and
females comprised 17 percent, with an average age of 47.5 years.

Measures
In this study, all the items of the variables were assessed on a seven-point Likert-type scale
ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

HIHR practices
HIHR practices were assessed based on the perceptions of the employees (Maden, 2015).
Specifically, recognition practices were measured with a three-item scale, for example,
“In my work unit, supervisors tangibly recognize my efforts in different ways.” Competence
development practices were measured with a three-item scale; for example: “We can
rotate jobs to develop our skills.” Empowerment practices were measured with a two-item
scale; for example: “We are given great latitude for the organization of our work.”
Information sharing practices were measured with a two-item scale; for example: “We are
regularly informed of financial results.” Fair rewards practices were measured with a
three-item scale; for example: “I believe that my salary is fair.”

Employee learning
Employee learning – referring to discretionary behaviors of employees that are used in
ongoing learning activities to master new knowledge, skills and abilities – was measured
using an eight-item scale from Bezuijen et al. (2010); for example: “I am working to extend
my knowledge and skills.”

Employability
Employability was assessed with a three-item scale by Wittekind et al. (2010). Both self- and
supervisor-ratings of employability were collected to indicate the likelihood that employees
could get an alternate job; for example: “If you/(s)he were dismissed, you/(s)he would
immediately find a job of equal value.”

Data analysis and descriptive statistics

Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses.
The AMOS software package was used to assess the fit between the proposed model and the
data by calculating a traditional chi-square (χ2) value, a comparative fit index (CFI),
 a normed fit index (NFI), an incremental fit index (IFI) and the root mean square error of HIHR practices
approximation (RMSEA) (Hu and Bentler, 1999).
All the scales in this study appeared to be homogeneous with α-coefficients for the
scales of HIHR practices, employee learning and perceived employability as follows:
recognition (0.874), competence development (0.843), empowerment (0.845), information
sharing (0.768), fair rewards (0.840), employee learning (0.943), self-rating employability
(0.646) and supervisor-rating employability (0.847). Consistent with Van der Heijde and 319
Van der Heijden’s (2006) results, the α coefficient for supervisor-rating employability was
higher than it was for the self-rating, due to a halo effect.
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed using the AMOS software package to
assess the fit of the theorized eight-factor model (recognition, empowerment, competence
development, information sharing, fair rewards, employee learning, self- and supervisor-
rating employability). CFA tested the fit of the full measurement model (model A, Table II),
observing the acceptable goodness-of-fit (χ2 ¼ 859.79, df ¼ 296, χ2/df ¼ 2.90, RMSEA ¼ 0.08,
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CFI ¼ 0.97, NFI ¼ 0.96, IFI ¼ 0.97), much better than the single-factor model (χ2 ¼ 2434.56,
df ¼ 324, χ2/df ¼ 7.51, RMSEA ¼ 0.15, CFI ¼ 0.90, NFI ¼ 0.88, IFI ¼ 0.89), in which
empowerment, competence development, information sharing, recognition, fair rewards,
employee learning, self- and supervisor-rating employability were all combined into a single
factor (model F, Table I). Results in Table I indicate that seven-factor, six-factor, five-factor,
four-factor, three-factor models and one-factor models all had limited goodness-of-fit.
Table II indicates the means, standard deviations and correlations between all variables in
this study. The average variance extracted (AVE) also was calculated to examine the predictive
validity of the scales. The values of the AVE (shown in Table I) all exceeded 0.5, indicating good
convergent validity. The values of the square root of the AVE as shown as the diagonal elements
in Table II were greater than the values of the correlations, indicating good discriminant validity.

Results
We hypothesized that employee learning would mediate the relationships between HIHR
practices and employability – yet previous theory and research do not provide a compelling
rationale for whether employee learning will fully or partially mediate the relationships. Thus,
we followed James et al. (2006) and Ambrose and Schminke (2009) who maintained that full
mediation can represent a better choice as a baseline model. Thus, we compared the fit of the

Models χ2 (df ) CFI NFI IFI RMSEA

Full model, eight factors 859.79 (296) 0.97 0.96 0.97 0.08
Model A, seven factorsa 1,036.89 (303) 0.96 0.95 0.96 0.09
b
Model B, six factors 1,074.88 (309) 0.96 0.94 0.96 0.10
Model C, five factorsc 1,190.67 (314) 0.96 0.94 0.96 0.10
Model D, four factorsd 1,554.42 (318) 0.94 0.93 0.94 0.12
e
Model E, three factors 1,789.08 (321) 0.93 0.92 0.93 0.13
f
Model F, one factors 2,434.56 (324) 0.90 0.88 0.89 0.15
Notes: n ¼ 288. aRecognition and empowerment combined into a single factor, compared to full mode;
b
recognition, empowerment and compentence development combined into a single factor, compared to full
model; crecognition, empowerment, competence development and information sharing combined into a single
factor, compared to full model; drecognition, empowerment, competence development, information sharing and
fair rewards combined into a single factor, compared to full model; erecognition, empowerment, competence
development, information sharing and fair rewards combined into a single factor, employability-E and
employability-S combined into a single factor, compared to full model; frecognition, empowerment, competence Table I.
development, information sharing, fair reward, employee learning, employability-E and employability-S Confirmatory
combined into a single factor, compared to full model factor analyses
 CDI 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
23,3
1. REC 0.848 　 　 　 　 　 　
2. CD 0.673** 0.797 　 　 　 　 　
3. EMP 0.697** 0.736** 0.858 　 　 　 　
4. IS 0.602** 0.670** 0.638** 0.792 　 　 　
5. FR 0.331** 0.445** 0.500** 0.567** 0.802
320 6. EL 0.726** 0.753** 0.723** 0.650** 0.386** 0.826 　
7. Employability-E 0.163** 0.341** 0.370** 0.294** 0.290** 0.345** 0.796
8. Employability-S 0.134* 0.089*** 0.105* 0.163** 0.141* 0.142* 0.063* 0.843
M 4.642 4.392 4.302 4.080 4.394 4.701 3.788 4.310
Table II. SD 1.098 1.178 1.198 1.136 1.186 1.003 1.011 0.582
Descriptive statistics AVE 0.719 0.636 0.737 0.627 0.643 0.682 0.633 0.710
and correlations Notes: n ¼ 288. Figures along the diagonal are the values of the square root of the AVE. *p o0.05;
**p o 0.01; ***p o 0.1
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among variables

full mediation model with that of two alternative models. The full mediation model included
seven paths – five from HIHR practices to employee learning; one from employee learning to
self-rating employability; and one from employee learning to supervisor-rating employability.
The results of the SEM analyses for hypothesis testing showed that the full mediation
model provided a good fit with the data ( χ2 ¼ 893.34, df ¼ 307, χ2/df ¼ 2.90, RMSEA ¼ 0.06,
CFI ¼ 0.91, NFI ¼ 0.87, IFI ¼ 0.91). Two alternative models were tested for comparison: a
partial mediation model with five more paths connecting five HIHR practices to employability
and a model with self-rating employability as mediator between HIHR practices and employee
learning. However, the partial mediation model ( χ2 ¼ 859.76, df ¼ 297, χ2/df ¼ 2.90,
RMSEA ¼ 0.06, CFI ¼ 0.90, NFI ¼ 0.86, IFI ¼ 0.88) and the model with employability as the
mediator ( χ2 ¼ 882.787, df ¼ 236, χ2/df ¼ 3.74, RMSEA ¼ 0.09, CFI ¼ 0.87, NFI ¼ 0.84,
IFI ¼ 0.88) did not provide better fits with the data. According to the principle of
parsimony, the full mediation model was considered to be the preferred one ( James et al., 2006).
Figure 2 illustrates the results of a structural equation model. H1 predicted the
relationships between HIHR practices and employee learning. The results demonstrated that
the practices of recognition ( γ1 ¼ 0.18, po0.01), competence development ( γ2 ¼ 0.27, po0.05),

1 = 0.69 REC1
1 = 0.71
2 = 0.92 14 = 0.60 15 = 0.36 16 = 0.43 17 = 0.60
2 = 0.22 REC2 Recognition

3 = 0.89
3 = 0.33 REC3
1 = 0.18** EL1 EL2 EL3 EL4 EE1 22 = 0.49
21 = 0.85
4 = 0.56 COM1 4 = 0.84 22 = 0.69
Employability 23 = 0.10
14 = 0.78 15 = 0.87 16 = 0.83 17 = 0.76 employee
EE2
5 = 0.75 2 = 0.27*
5 = 0.80 COM2 Competence
23 = 0.79
EE3 24 = 0.22
6 = 0.80 1 = 0.58**
6 = 0.67 COM3
Employee learning
7 = 0.84 3 = 0.30*
7 = 0.47 EMP1 2 = 0.24**
ES1 25 = 0.08
Empowerment 24 = 0.97
8 = 0.39 EMP2 8 = 0.87 Employability 25 = 0.91
18 = 0.79 19 = 0.81 20 = 0.87 20 = 0.87 ES2 26 = 0.22
4 = 0.25* supervisor
9 = 0.74
9 = 0.83 IS1 26 = 0.60
Information sharing ES3 27 = 0.11
EL5 EL6 EL7 EL8
10 = 0.46 IS2 10 = 0.85

5 = –0.11***
11 = 0.41 FR1 11 = 0.86 18 = 0.62 19 = 0.40 20 = 0.33 21 = 0.32
12 = 0.81
12 = 0.58 FR2 Fair rewards
Figure 2. 13 = 0.73
Results of structural 13 = 0.84 FR3

equation model
Notes: *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.1
 empowerment (γ3 ¼ 0.30, po0.05) and information sharing (γ4 ¼ 0.25, po0.05) were HIHR practices
positively related to employee learning. However, fair rewards practices were negatively
related to employee learning (γ5 ¼ −0.11, po0.1). Therefore, H1a, H1b, H1c and H1d were
supported. According to H2, employee learning was assumed to have positively correlated
with employability. As shown in Figure 2, employee learning had a significantly positive
effect on both self-ratings of employability ( β1 ¼ 0.58, po0.01) and supervisor-ratings of
employability ( β2 ¼ 0.24, po0.01). The practices of recognition, competence development, 321
empowerment and information sharing positively influenced employee learning, while fair
rewards negatively influenced employee learning, and perceptions of employability.

Discussion
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among employees’ perceptions
of HIHR practices, employee learning and perceived employability. The results mostly
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supported the proposed hypotheses. It was found that the practices of recognition,
empowerment, competence development and information sharing had significant and
positive effects on employee learning, which facilitated the level of employability perceived
by both employees and their direct supervisors. Moreover, employees’ perceptions of fair
rewards practices were negatively linked to employee learning.
A possible explanation for the negative relationship between fair rewards practices and
employee learning is that these practices are concerned with whether employees perceive
fair treatment from employers and job outcomes from organizations, with less emphasis on
related procedural factors or how tasks are accomplished (Redmond, 2013). An emphasis on
external motivators (e.g. monetary rewards) aims at discrete outcomes instead of innate
enjoyment and then weakens intrinsic motivation for workplace improvements.
Fair rewards for job outcomes encourage extrinsic motivation, which may be negatively
related to proactive behaviors (Kuvaas et al., 2017).
The results provide empirical evidence for the theoretical claim that HR practices are
important antecedents of individual adaptability in a changing labor market. Perceived
employability depends on individual behaviors to master knowledge and skills as well as
organizational practices to establish an inspiring climate. Specifically, organizations provide
positive feedback to recognize employees’ contributions and achievements through
recognition practices and increased investments in human capital. They also provide
employees with sufficient opportunities and resources through competence development
and power sharing with employees in the definition, coordination and operation of jobs
through empowerment and systems that share internal and external information with
employees. HIHR practices also make employees feel trust, responsibility and support
from their organizations, and, in return, they adopt positive behaviors at work (Eisenberger
and Stinglhamber, 1986; Paré and Tremblay, 2007). These activities are beneficial for
encouraging employees to engage in learning activities and then improve employees’
employability.

Theoretical implications
The findings of this study contribute to the literature in several ways. First, previous studies
have overlooked the factors that perceived employability can stem from personal constructs
or dispositional traits like employee training and career development (Wittekind et al., 2010;
Kim et al., 2015). This study fills a gap in research by establishing and examining
the association between organizational antecedents and employability. We found that the
organizational practices involving intrinsic motivation can be associated with employee
learning behaviors to enhance the continuous acquisition, fulfillment or creation of work.
Following social exchange theory (Wayne and Liden, 1997; Maden, 2015), employees who
perceive concern from organizational practices may build positive social exchange
 CDI relationships with the organization and engage in more developmental activities at work in
23,3 return. Consequently, these behaviors can initiate a motivational process by enabling
employees to generate positive individual outcomes as personal resources.
Second, recent research about HR practices has examined the combined effects
of these practices on individual outcomes (Shin et al., 2016; Alfes et al., 2013). However, we
may draw misleading conclusions if these practices are analyzed as a bundle, since these
322 five HIHR practices may not always behave in the same way. As fair rewards
practices specifically defined the relationship between job duties and individual gains
(Redmond, 2013), we found that these practices may decrease the level of employee
learning. With such perceptions of fairness, employees may be more likely to act in a
definite and routine way to get rewarded, rather than an explorative or innovative way to
engage in learning activities. Thus, fair rewards were not conducive in promoting
employee learning, as these practices have highlighted effective performance
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instead of individual development. Therefore, practices focused on intrinsic competence

and motivation had a more significantly positive effect on employee learning and
employability, yet practices focused on extrinsic motivation had no effect – or even a
negative effect – on learning and employability.
Third, another contribution of this study is related to the assessment of employability.
A few studies (Van der Heijde and Van der Heijden, 2006; Paré and Tremblay, 2007) have
reported that supervisor-ratings along with self-ratings should have been optimized to
better evaluate of the possibility that the employees may get a similar job. In this study,
we collected questionnaires from two sources (employees and their direct supervisors) and
used pairs of data for empirical analysis. We found that employees who perceived
high-involvement in recognition, competence development, empowerment and information
sharing HR practices were likely to undertake more learning activities, which made them
feel more confident about their employment. And performing more knowledge-acquisition
and skill-seeking behaviors could raise supervisors’ evaluations of their employees’
competence in finding alternative jobs.

Practical implications
The findings of the study also have significant practical implications. Organizations could
implement the practices of HIHR management to stimulate an employee’s proactive
behaviors and help employees perceive a higher level of employability. Among various
organizational practices, human resource management activities might have a strong and
direct effect on employees. Companies should consider the intrinsic job motivation and the
needs of employees when attempting management initiatives. The positive association
between employee learning and employability implies that organizations that aim to
increase employability need to first identify the means of increasing employee learning.
By providing a social context of support and encouragement, HIHR practices can be
beneficial to develop employees’ competence and build their confidence in the flexible and
dynamic labor market. As for the negative correlation between fair rewards and employee
learning, one possible solution is to bring an additional dimension of learning and growth in
performance appraisals and the compensation system (e.g. balanced scorecard). Moreover,
HIHR practices with intrinsic motivation and employee learning were positively related to
both self- and supervisor-rating employability. HIHR practices including recognition,
competence development, empowerment and information sharing encouraged the
employees to learn at work and helped them gain competence and confidence to obtain,
perform and keep their jobs. In addition, employees who exhibited more learning
behaviors had better evaluations from their supervisors in regard to their competence,
which is often associated with employees’ performance appraisals, career promotion
and future development.
 Limitations and future research HIHR practices
This study enlightens management scholars and practitioners in regard to relationships
among HIHR practices, employee learning and employability, yet several limitations should be
considered. One limitation is that the use of cross-sectional data makes it difficult to confirm
causality in the research model. In future studies, a longitudinal research design should be
used to validate the predictive dimension of the model (Forrier et al., 2015). A second limitation
is that the findings were based upon reports from a single source. Though the evaluations of 323
employability were collected from both employees and supervisors, the independent and
mediating variables were assessed by employees only. In this respect, we followed the
suggestions regarding questionnaire design to reduce the risk associated with common
method bias (Podsakoff et al., 2003). Furthermore, we found the measurement model – in which
all latent variables were introduced simultaneously – provided a better fit compared to the one-
factor model and illustrated the effects of common method bias. Another limitation is that the
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data were collected from two state-owned enterprises in China, so the generalizability of the
findings may be limited. Future studies should investigate employability in a wider range of
organizational and cultural contexts.
Moreover, this study provides several directions for future research. In this study,
employee learning was viewed as a mediating variable between HIHR practices and
employability, and the results indicated that the practices of recognition, empowerment,
competence development and information sharing had positive effects on employability
through employee learning. But there may be other factors functioning in these
relationships as mediators to link HIHR practices to employee learning. For example, Maden
(2015) found HIHR practices had positive effects on the work engagement of employees,
which affected their behavioral or attitudinal outcomes. Therefore, employee commitment
may be used to explain the procedural mechanism between HIHR practices and employee
learning. Furthermore, future research is needed to investigate the conditional context of the
relationships and to determine the moderators that may have an interactive effect with
HIHR practices on employee learning and employability.

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Corresponding author
Wei Liu can be contacted at: liuwei@cufe.edu.cn

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