Does human resource system strength help employees act proactively? The roles of crisis strength and work engagement
基于社会交换理论和事件系统理论，研究人力资源系统强度如何通过缓解危机中的不确定性来提升员工工作投入，进而促进主动行为，且危机感知越强，效果越明显。
Abstract Many empirical studies have elucidated the antecedents and psychological mechanisms of employees' proactive behaviors. However, there is limited knowledge about how a human resource (HR) system helps employees proactively adjust to their changing work environment. Drawing on social exchange theory and event system theory, we developed a theoretical model to examine whether, how, and when perceptions of the HR system strength impact employee proactive behavior during crises. Results from a three‐wave time‐lagged survey of 305 employees in 65 teams in eight Chinese companies indicate that HR system strength creates a strong situation by alleviating employees' uncertainty about how to behave during crises, which stimulates employees' work engagement and subsequent proactive behaviors. Moreover, employees' perceptions of HR system strength are more likely to influence work engagement when employees perceive the COVID‐19 crisis as more severe. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings and outline important future research directions.