An Institutional Perspective on Individual Work Well-Being: Evidence from China

This paper evaluates how factors and values that are embedded in China’s changing institutional environment impact work well-being. Using firm level survey data, the paper examines how exogenous institutions—state ownership and individual traditionality—interact with firm level institutions—strategic human resource management (SHRM) and person-organisation fit (P-O fit) to influence workers’ job involvement. We find that state ownership weakens the effect of SHRM on workers’ job involvement while P-O fit does not. Individual traditionality on the other hand moderates the effects of SHRM and P-O fit on workers’ job involvement. Our study contributes to work well-being research in transitioning economies such as China and has consequences for labour market and SHRM policies.