How perceived empowerment HR practices influence work engagement in social enterprises – a moderated mediation model

Abstract

Drawing insights from the group engagement model and self-determination theory, our research explored the role of perceived empowerment human resource (HR) practices in the hybrid organizational form of social enterprise in China. Based on two studies, this paper developed and examined a moderated mediation model, linking perceived empowerment HR practices, identification motivation, work engagement, and authority work value. Specifically, in Study 1 we found perceived empowerment HR practices increased employees’ work engagement through enhancing employees’ identification motivation. In Study 2, we adopted a two-wave design to duplicate and extend this mediation model. A moderator, employees’ authority work value, was found to weaken both the mediation relationship, and the positive relationship between perceived empowerment HR practices and identification motivation. This study broadens the understanding of what social enterprises look like in alternative contexts, while providing an opportunity to explore how a HRM mechanism and its boundary condition function in large social enterprises in China.