Team-level HR practices and team engagement: mediating role of team-level psychological capital
| Date | 08 July 2024 |
| Pages | 1064-1085 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-08-2022-0370 |
| Published date | 08 July 2024 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Muhammad Farrukh,Saman Attiq,Muhammad Rafiq,Ali Raza,Nabeel Younus Ansari |
Team-level HR practices and team
engagement: mediating role of
team-level psychological capital
Muhammad Farrukh
Department of Economics, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, Shenzhen, China
Saman Attiq
Air University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Muhammad Rafiq
UCSI Graduate Business School, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Ali Raza
University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan, and
Nabeel Younus Ansari
Department of Business Administration, Air University, Multan Campus,
Islamabad, Pakistan
Abstract
Purpose –Although the importance of high-performance work practices to foster individual-level outcomes is
well documented, how team-level perception of HPWPs impacts team-level outcomes is not well researched,
particularly in the hospitality sector. To fill this research gap, the role of team-level perception of HPWPs in
fostering team engagement through team psychological capital is investigated.
Design/methodology/approach –A survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire.
Findings –The study findings suggest that in the presence of HPWPs, front-line service employees have high
psychological resources and are more engaged in performing their organizational tasks.
Originality/value –The hotel management should benefit from high-performance work practices to enhance
employees’attachment with their service organizations for exhibiting work engagement.
Keywords Work engagement (WE), Psychological capital (PsyCap),
High-performance work practices (HPWPs)
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The use of teams in the hospitality and service sectors is on the rise to boost output, improve
customer satisfaction, and stay competitive (Guchait, 2016). Frontline service management
teams provide several advantages, including better use of skills, increased learning, and
higher productivity (Guchait, 2016). As an increasing number of hospitality companies
employ service-management teams, it is crucial to consider the aspects that affect team
outcomes. Despite extensive research on team success factors (Mathieu et al., 2008), many
organizational psychology-related topics have only been investigated at the individual level.
Employees’engagement is one such topic. Employee engagement is a mental state that
encourages employees to dedicate their strength, wisdom, and emotions to perform their
organizational tasks (Darban et al., 2022). Dedicated, energetic, and engaged employees have
become a survival necessity for firms in a highly competitive and dynamic business world
(He et al., 2021). Particularly, the hospitality industry, characterized by a service-based
operating environment and high labor intensiveness, requires highly engaged employees
(Jang et al., 2020). The current literature suggests that work engagement significantly
predicts positive outcomes at the organizational, employee, and work-related levels (Ampofo,
ER
46,5
1064
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm
Received 2 August 2022
Revised 7 November 2022
13 August 2023
10 December 2023
12 February 2024
7 May 2024
Accepted 10 June 2024
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 46 No. 5, 2024
pp. 1064-1085
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-08-2022-0370
2021). For instance, the literature indicates that employee engagement positively impacts
performance (Christian et al., 2011), customer loyalty, and satisfaction (Harter et al., 2002).
Hence, engagement has recently gained considerable importance in both theory and practice,
as evidence underscores its significant impact on various employee and organizational
outcomes (Uraon and Kumarasamy, 2024).
Scholars have recently claimed that engagement is not just an individual but also a team
phenomenon (Fan et al., 2021). Team engagement (TE) refers to the degree to which team
members are collectively involved in executing collaborative activities, emotionally attached
to taskwork and collaboration, and cognitively alert (Guchait, 2016). In the ever-evolving
hospitality industry, the concept of teamwork stands out as a crucial factor in driving
success, especially in well-established hotel settings like 3 to 5-star hotels. Over the years,
there’s been a noticeable shift in this industry. Hotels are no longer just places to stay; they are
experiences. To provide a seamless experience, it’s paramount that the hotel employees work
in harmony, much like a well-orchestrated symphony. This is where teams come into play,
ensuring every part of the guest’s stay is impeccable. While the importance of teams in
service provision cannot be overstated, the research community has mostly dived deep into
studying individual engagement, overshadowing the collective spirit of teams.
Employee engagement at the team level is associated with positive outcomes such as team
performance, positive emotions, and collective efficacy (Guchait, 2016). Although scholars
have proposed the concept of team engagement, there is a lack of empirical research in this
area (Guchait, 2016). Therefore, this research aims to provide a framework for the antecedents
of team engagement. Organizations utilize a wide range of strategies and practices to enhance
engagement. One such strategy is implementing team-level high-performance work practices
(THPWPs). Previous studies contended that strategic human resource management and
high-performance work practices are linked to employee engagement (He et al., 2021;
Karatepe and Turgay, 2017). HRM practices are often designed at an organizational level;
however, teams are used to achieve organizational tasks, and team managers implement the
HRM practices through their daily management activities (Ma et al., 2021).Thus, HRM
scholars contend that implementing HRM practices is likely to emerge at the team level;
therefore, team-level HRM practices are a worthwhile subject for study.
Furthermore, the literature on HRM suggests that HR practices may not directly impact
workout outcomes; rather, HR practices may affect them through some psychological
processes. Literature has suggested the significance of employees’psychological resources in
motivating employees to engage in their work roles. However, despite rising scholarly
interest in linking HPWPs with employee workplace outcomes such as team engagement, the
THPWPs-team engagement link has remained under-researched. Moreover, scant literature
has investigated the underlying mechanism linking THPWPs with team engagement.
Furthermore, the unique cultural and organizational landscape of Pakistan makes this
study even more pertinent. Cultural nuances can deeply influence how teams function and
engage, potentially leading to distinct dynamics (Stahl and Maznevski, 2021). Given the rising
prominence of hotels in Pakistan’s urban landscapes, understanding the mechanics of team
engagement becomes not just an academic exercise but a pressing industry need.
Hence, the current study intends to address these gaps by examining the direct effects of
THPWPs on team engagement and the indirect mechanism through which THPWPs can
influence team engagement. In this regard, this research intends to investigate the mediating
role of team psychological capital (Team PsyCap) in the THPWPs and team engagement
relationship. We define the team PsyCap as a group’s positive psychological state of
development characterized by optimism, self-efficacy, hope, and resilience.
The current research offers numerous contributions to advancing HRM literature in the
hospitality context. First, it provides a better theoretical understanding of team engagement.
Second, this study will be a foundation for future studies on team engagement since it offers a
Employee
Relations: The
International
Journal
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