LEADER-SUBORDINATE HR ATTRIBUTION (DIS)AGREEMENT AND EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING: A SIGNALING THEORY VIEW

Existing human resource (HR) theory highlights the difference between leader and subordinate perceptions of human resource (HR) practices and its impact on employee outcomes. We extend such literature by taking an HR process perspective to develop and test a model that accounts for both the leader and subordinate well-being HR attribution. Specifically, we utilize signaling theory to conceptualize the leader’s well-being HR attribution as a signal that the subordinate interprets in conjunction with their own perception of such attribution, which impacts organizational-based self-esteem (OBSE). Using polynomial regression and response surface modeling, our results show that different levels and types of (dis)agreement in well-being HR attribution affects the strength of the relationship on OBSE along the pathway to employee well-being. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our study to the HR literature.