The current volume of research in the field of High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) is focused on identifying the factors, which influence their effectiveness. The realisation that there is a need to move forwards from the structural aspects of HPWS towards understanding their implementation has led to two new sectors of research. The first sector is investigating the role of actors in implementation using aspects such as cross functionality, shared responsibility and interaction. Another sector is investigating the impact of contextual factors on the implementation of HPWS. This research has combined the two sectors and looks at the implementation of HPWS from the perspectives of both the actors and the environment. This research investigates how the interaction between actors affects the implementation of HPWS. Also how internal and external institutional factors affect this interaction as well as the implementation. This research is qualitatively based on an interpretivist paradigm. Case study research design was used to conduct the research. Two Saudi Arabian banks were selected as case studies. Data was collected using 54 semi-structured interviews and 61 focus group interviews. Data about implementation and the impact of institutional factors was obtained through semi-structured interviews with human resource managers, line managers and senior managers. Data about employee outcomes was obtained using focus group interviews with the employees. This research finds evidence of conflict between the intended and actual outcomes of HPWS in the Saudi banking sector due to institutional pressures. This research contributes and extends the growing body of research on HPWS implementation by including the interaction of actors and accounting for institutional pressures. The finding highlights that the combination of these two factors are contextual institutional conductors and contribute to diversity in the implementation of HPWS practices. The managerial benefit of this research is that its model can help practitioners to improve their social interaction conditions for better performance.

<p>The processes that link High Performance Work System (HPWS) practices and organizational performance are not fully understood. Using resource-based theory, this research focuses on training, by separating it from other HPWS practices, and human capital development as a source of sustained competitive advantage. The first purpose of my research is to examine the relationships between the HPWS practice of training, innovation, and organizational performance, and look at the mediating effect of innovation over time at the workplace level. The results indicate that the temporal pathway from training to innovation to organizational performance is positive and significant even after controlling for reverse-causality. Strategic activity is also explored and is found to be a significant moderator. This study contributes to knowledge by identifying the importance of aligning business strategy with training, as well as other HPWS practices and innovation to achieve improved organizational performance outcomes. The second purpose of this research is to explore the factors that act to expand or limit the HPWS practice of training, with a focus on the outcomes of employers' decisions to offer training, employees' decisions to accept or decline training, and the job-related training received by employees. The results indicate that the employee-level factors: participating in HPWS practices, use of technology, and using new technology are significant contributors to employers' decisions to offer and employees' receipt of training. Further, employees' perception of the existence of a gap between the skills required for the job and their current skills contributes to employees accepting employer offers of training.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)