Understanding work engagement of start-up employees using a mixed method approach

Abstract

"Over the last decade, the robust start-up ecosystem has significantly contributed towards global economic growth and employment generation. However, due to increased market competition and dynamicity, start-ups are considerably prone to failure. To thrive in the highly demanding market, work-engaged employees can act as rescue vessels for start-ups. Thus, it becomes imperative for entrepreneurs to understand the mechanisms that foster employee work engagement in the start-up context. However, existing human resource management literature has scarcely explored the start-up-specific factors that impact employees' work engagement in new ventures. To understand the work engagement of employees in start-ups, we utilized the Jobs- Demands Resource model and employed a mixed-method approach entailing qualitative and quantitative studies. In the qualitative exploration, we conducted a qualitative content analysis of eighteen interviews to determine the factors impacting employee work engagement and its behavioural implications. Based on the findings of the qualitative study, we performed a quantitative examination, which was divided into the following two parts. In part one, we examined the antecedents of employees' work engagement, and in part two, we investigated the influence of work engagement on the employees' agile behaviour in the startup firm. A multi-wave (two-time-lagged) data was collected from start-up employees. We utilized structural equation modelling and Process macro to test the hypotheses of the study. The findings of the study stated that the start-up provides various non-pecuniary elements, such as job autonomy, quality of relationships with founders, and trust-based exchange, which have a resultant impact on employee work engagement and consequently influence the agile behaviour of employees. Further, the study highlighted the critical role of learning goal orientation in mediating the relationship between job autonomy and employee work engagement. Lastly, the study specified the potential managerial implications, theoretical contributions, and opportunities for future research for HR scholars to study people management in a start-up context."