High-commitment work systems, organizational psychological ownership, and unethical pro-organizational behavior: a nonlinear mediation model

The majority of current research has explored the beneficial effects of HR practices on staff members’ attitudes and actions, with minimal focus on the potential negative effects. This study fills this gap by examining the effect of high-commitment work systems (HCWS) on unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB). Through employing a combinatorial perspective of construal level and social exchange theory, our study theorized a curvilinear mediated model that links HCWS to UPB through the mediating effect of organizational psychological ownership. We used three-wave survey data from 253 employees and found an indirect effect through a positive linear relationship between HCWS and organizational psychological ownership, along with an inverted U-shaped correlation between staff members’ organizational psychological ownership and UPB. This study extends HCWS research to employees’ negative behavior (specifically, UPB) and further investigates this psychological mechanism through organizational psychological ownership. The findings add to the current knowledge regarding the influence of HCWS on the UPB of staff members in an organization and provide implications for management practices.