The role of high-performance work systems and resilience in employee well-being in the pharmaceutical industry of Ghana

Abstract

In a business environment characterised by incessant disruptions, organisations must adopt a system of human resource practice that will enhance employee ambidexterity and employee and organisational resilience, which will eventually culminate in employee well-being. Grounded in the job-demand resource theory (JD-R), this study examines the role of high-performance work systems and resilience in employee wellbeing within the pharmaceutical industry in Ghana. Specifically, the study seeks to examine the effects of a high-performance work system on employee resilience, individual ambidexterity, and organisational resilience; and to establish the influence of employee resilience and ambidexterity on organisational resilience. Further, the study seeks to determine the role of organisational resilience in the relationship between high-performance work systems, employee resilience, employee ambidexterity, and employee well-being; and to develop a management framework for the improved implementation of high-performance. The research follows the explanatory sequential mixed-method approach. The quantitative phase constitutes the dominant part of the mixed method. The quantitative data was based on 324 employees within the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Ghana. The respondents were sampled using a simple random technique. The qualitative data was generated from 12 participants, who were purposefully sampled, through semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data were analysed using SmartPLS, while the qualitative data was analysed using a thematic method with the aid of Nvivo, a computerised software for analysing qualitative data. Subsequently, the quantitative and qualitative data were integrated during the discussions of the outcomes. The results from the quantitative data reveal that nine out of the twelve hypotheses were confirmed. A high-performance work system was found to be positively and significantly related to employee and organisational resilience, exploitation and exploration ambidexterity. The outcomes also indicate that exploitative ambidexterity positively and significantly predicts organisational resilience. However, employee resilience and exploration ambidexterity do not. Finally, the results confirm the mediating role of organisational resilience in the relationship between HPWS, exploitation ambidexterity and employee well-being. Most of the qualitative data provides support for, and explains, the statistical outcomes. This study contributes to the literature on employee well-being by applying the jobdemand-resources theory to investigate the effect of high-performance work systems, employee resilience and individual ambidexterity, and organisational resilience, on well-being. The study proposes a management framework and recommends managerial practices that will enjoin pharmaceutical manufacturers’ managers to enhance their organisations’ resilience and the well-being of their employees.