Moderated Mediation of the Association between Psychological Availability, Employee Engagement, Autonomous Causality Orientation and Adaptive Performance

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the links between psychological availability, employee engagement, adaptive performance and autonomous causality orientation in a moderated mediated manner. Aims(s) – The study assesses the effect of psychological availability on adaptive performance and the mediated effects of employee engagement in the relationships between psychological availability and adaptive performance. The study also analyses the moderated role of autonomous causality orientation in the mediation role of employee engagement in the effects of psychological availability on adaptive performance. Design/methodology/approach – The study was cross-sectional and quantitative in design. Data was randomly collected from 462 nurses in Ghana. Models 4 and 14 of the PROCESS macros for SPSS were used to test the hypotheses. Findings – The results revealed that psychological availability promoted adaptive performance and employee engagement. Moreover, employee engagement mediated positively the relationships between psychological availability and adaptive performance. Furthermore, the indirect associations between psychological availability and adaptive performance through employee engagement was affected by the level of autonomous causality orientation. Thus, generally, psychological availability enhances employee engagement. This, then, results in improving their abilities to respond to changing contingencies, depending on individual characteristics. Limitations of the study – Due to the cross-sectional nature of this study, it will be difficult to conclude a cause-and-effect relationship among the variables studied. There is also the difficulty of establishing trends due to the inability of cross-sectional studies to lend themselves to the analysis of behaviour over time. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies. Originality/value – The investigation contributes to empirical evidence concerning the importance of psychological factors in enhancing employee engagement and adaptive performance. This paper provides proof that psychological availability and employee engagement promote adaptive performance, upholding current debates in the literature they impact behaviour.