Leader–Subordinate Human Resource Attribution (Dis)agreement and Its Impact on Employee Well-Being: A Frame-of-Reference Perspective

Abstract

Existing human resource (HR) theory highlights that differences in perceptions of HR practices between leaders and subordinates have a critical impact on employee outcomes. We extend such literature by drawing on frame-of-reference theory to develop and test a model examining how different patterns of (dis)agreement in leader and subordinate employee HR attributions affect employee well-being. Specifically, we conceptualize that leaders and subordinates form (dis)similar frames of reference based upon employee well-being HR attribution, which impacts employee well-being through organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) in different ways. Using polynomial regression and response surface modeling, our results confirm our hypotheses to show that leader–subordinate agreement on employee well-being HR attribution positively impacts OBSE, with a stronger effect when such attribution agreement is high rather than low. Furthermore, when subordinates have a higher level of employee well-being HR attribution compared with the leader, there is a more pronounced positive impact on OBSE, which, in turn, enhances employee well-being. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our study to the HR literature.