Strategic Human Resource Management and Public Sector Performance: The Mediating Role of Public Human Resource Management in Chinese Public Organizations

Abstract

This study examines how strategic human resource management (SHRM) is associated with public sector performance in Chinese public organizations and whether public human resource management (PHRM) mediates this relationship. It responds to growing calls to treat the public sector as a distinctive institutional setting rather than as a simple extension of private-sector HRM theory, especially in systems where merit recruitment, cadre evaluation, digital personnel administration, and service accountability coexist. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted using data from 416 employees in Chinese public organizations. The questionnaire measured SHRM, PHRM, and public sector performance on a five-point Likert scale. The data were analyzed using SmartPLS and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The assessment included reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, R-square statistics, predictive relevance, model fit, and bootstrapped path analysis. The results show that SHRM was positively associated with PHRM and public sector performance, and PHRM was positively associated with performance. The indirect effect of SHRM on performance through PHRM was statistically significant, consistent with partial statistical mediation. The model explained 45.3% of the variance in PHRM and 61.0% of the variance in public sector performance. The indirect component accounted for 53.5% of the total modeled effect, indicating that PHRM represented a substantial pathway linking strategic HR orientation with perceived public sector performance. The study contributes to public-sector HRM literature by locating the SHRM-performance relationship within the Chinese administrative context and by positioning PHRM as an organizational mechanism linking strategic alignment with service quality, administrative efficiency, responsiveness, fairness, and innovation. The findings imply that Chinese public organizations should integrate workforce planning, merit-based staffing, training, performance appraisal, employee voice, and HR analytics with mission priorities rather than treating HRM as a routine personnel administration function.