Mapping promoting factors and mechanisms of resilience for performance improvement: The role of strategic human resource management systems and psychological empowerment

Abstract

Based on broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, this study posits that strategic human resource management (SHRM) systems enrich positive emotions associated with psychological empowerment and resilience and in turn, broaden employees' momentary thought-action repertoires. People with such positive psychological emotions build enduring personal resources to buffer the negative impacts of adversity and produce better performance outcomes. An integrative model is developed and examined through a two-stage structural equation modelling method of meta-analysis based on data involving 60,637 individuals in 87 independent datasets from 79 primary studies published up to September 2020. Empirical evidence suggests that psychological empowerment and resilience both independently and collectively mediate the relationship between SHRM systems and performance outcomes. This study makes an innovative attempt to incorporate theories of positive psychology into SHRM research, throwing fresh light on the promoting factors (i.e., SHRM) and psychological mechanisms (i.e., psychological empowerment) antecedent to employee resilience leading to desired performance outcomes. This study has practical implications for managers in relation to the importance of cultivating a psychologically empowered and resilient workforce, especially in difficult times such as those during the recent COVID-19 pandemic.