IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v198y2025i1d10.1007_s10551-024-05782-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Blessing or Curse? Role of Socially Responsible Human Resource Management in Employee Resilience

Author

Listed:
  • Zhe Zhang

    (Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • Yating Hu

    (Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • Juan Wang

    (Northwestern Polytechnical University)

Abstract

Extant studies have shown that socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) brings beneficial effects on employees’ work outcomes. However, little attention has been given to the effect of SRHRM on employee resilience from a balanced perspective. This study draws on conversation of resources theory to examine how and when SRHRM influences employee resilience from a balanced perspective. Using two scenario-based experiments and one multi-wave field study, results show that SRHRM can enhance employee resilience by increasing work meaningfulness, but it can also deplete employee resilience by draining resources. Moreover, organization-set performance goal weakens the positive relationship between SRHRM and employees’ work meaningfulness. Organization-set performance goal also magnifies the positive relationship between SRHRM and employees’ resource depletion. This study presents theoretical and practical implications on how organizations can precisely promote employee resilience.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhe Zhang & Yating Hu & Juan Wang, 2025. "Blessing or Curse? Role of Socially Responsible Human Resource Management in Employee Resilience," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 198(1), pages 177-197, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:198:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-024-05782-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05782-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-024-05782-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-024-05782-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jean-Pierre Neveu & Stevan E. Hobfoll & Jonathon Halbesleben & M Westman, 2018. "Conservation of resources in the organizational context : the reality of resources and their consequences," Post-Print hal-02472360, HAL.
    2. Shuili Du & Assaad El Akremi & Ming Jia, 2023. "Quantitative Research on Corporate Social Responsibility: A Quest for Relevance and Rigor in a Quickly Evolving, Turbulent World," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(1), pages 1-15, September.
    3. Zhe Zhang & Juan Wang & Ming Jia, 2022. "Multilevel Examination of How and When Socially Responsible Human Resource Management Improves the Well-Being of Employees," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(1), pages 55-71, February.
    4. Jie Shen & Hongru Zhang, 2019. "Socially Responsible Human Resource Management and Employee Support for External CSR: Roles of Organizational CSR Climate and Perceived CSR Directed Toward Employees," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 875-888, May.
    5. Steven A. Brieger & Stefan Anderer & Andreas Fröhlich & Anne Bäro & Timo Meynhardt, 2020. "Too Much of a Good Thing? On the Relationship Between CSR and Employee Work Addiction," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(2), pages 311-329, October.
    6. Michelle Greenwood & R. Edward Freeman, 2017. "Focusing on Ethics and Broadening our Intellectual Base," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 1-3, January.
    7. Matthew J. Quade & Rebecca L. Greenbaum & Mary B. Mawritz, 2019. "“If Only My Coworker Was More Ethical”: When Ethical and Performance Comparisons Lead to Negative Emotions, Social Undermining, and Ostracism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 567-586, October.
    8. Peixu He & Zhenglong Peng & Hongdan Zhao & Christophe Estay, 2019. "How and When Compulsory Citizenship Behavior Leads to Employee Silence: A Moderated Mediation Model Based on Moral Disengagement and Supervisor–Subordinate Guanxi Views," Post-Print hal-02054246, HAL.
    9. Hongdan Zhao & Yuanhua Chen & Weiwei Liu, 2023. "Socially Responsible Human Resource Management and Employee Moral Voice: Based on the Self-determination Theory," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(3), pages 929-946, March.
    10. Shuhua Sun, 2022. "Is Political Skill Always Beneficial? Why and When Politically Skilled Employees Become Targets of Coworker Social Undermining," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(3), pages 1142-1162, May.
    11. Gazi Islam & Michelle Greenwood, 2021. "Reconnecting to the Social in Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 1-4, April.
    12. Peixu He & Zhenglong Peng & Hongdan Zhao & Christophe Estay, 2019. "How and When Compulsory Citizenship Behavior Leads to Employee Silence: A Moderated Mediation Model Based on Moral Disengagement and Supervisor–Subordinate Guanxi Views," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 259-274, March.
    13. Hongdan Zhao & Qiongyao Zhou & Peixu He & Cuiling Jiang, 2021. "How and When Does Socially Responsible HRM Affect Employees’ Organizational Citizenship Behaviors Toward the Environment?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(2), pages 371-385, March.
    14. Britt, Thomas W. & Shen, Winny & Sinclair, Robert R. & Grossman, Matthew R. & Klieger, David M., 2016. "How Much Do We Really Know About Employee Resilience?," Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 378-404, June.
    15. Smith, Wendy K. & Gonin, Michael & Besharov, Marya L., 2013. "Managing Social-Business Tensions: A Review and Research Agenda for Social Enterprise," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 407-442, July.
    16. Michelle Greenwood & R. Edward Freeman, 2018. "Deepening Ethical Analysis in Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 1-4, January.
    17. Kai Hockerts & Cory Searcy, 2023. "How to Sharpen Our Discourse on Corporate Sustainability and Business Ethics—A View from the Section Editors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(2), pages 225-235, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Douglas Cumming & Jun Hu & Huiying Wu, 2024. "Leaving a Legacy for my Children: The One-Child Policy Reform and Engagement in CSR Among Family Firms in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(3), pages 611-632, September.
    2. Xu Cheng & Xiandeng Jiang & Dongmin Kong & Samuel Vigne, 2024. "Shifting Stakeholders Logics: Foreign Institutional Ownership and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(1), pages 165-183, September.
    3. Qian Lu & Guoguang Wan & Liang Xu, 2025. "Generalist Versus Specialist CEOs and the Scope of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 197(1), pages 143-158, February.
    4. François A. Carrillat & Carolin Plewa & Ljubomir Pupovac & Chloé Vanasse & Taylor Willmott & Renaud Legoux & Ekaterina Napolova, 2025. "Can Consumers’ Altruistic Inferences Solve the CSR Initiative Puzzle? A Meta-analytic Investigation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 196(3), pages 639-658, January.
    5. Laura J. Spence, 2022. "Radical, Relevant, Reflective and Brilliant: Towards the Future of Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(3), pages 829-834, October.
    6. Kamran Iqbal & Jie Shen & Xin Deng, 2024. "When does CSR-facilitation human resource management motivate employee job engagement? The contextual effect of job insecurity," Post-Print hal-04875774, HAL.
    7. Kai Hockerts & Cory Searcy, 2023. "How to Sharpen Our Discourse on Corporate Sustainability and Business Ethics—A View from the Section Editors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(2), pages 225-235, October.
    8. Weijiao Ye & Ziqiang Li, 2024. "The Impact of Socially Responsible Human Resource Management on Employees’ Environmental Citizenship Behavior: The Role of Psychological Safety and Contingent Reward Leadership," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, May.
    9. Martin Hoegl & Silja Hartmann, 2021. "Bouncing back, if not beyond: Challenges for research on resilience," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(4), pages 456-464, September.
    10. Tony Dobbins & Peter Prowse, 2024. "Moral Economy and the Ethics of the Real Living Wage in UK Football Clubs," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 195(2), pages 299-314, November.
    11. Tsang-Kai Hung & Chih-Hung Wang & Mu Tian & Ming Lin & Wen-Hsiu Liu, 2022. "How to Prevent Stress in the Workplace by Emotional Regulation? The Relationship Between Compulsory Citizen Behavior, Job Engagement, and Job Performance," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, June.
    12. Brett R. Smith & Amanda Lawson & Jessica Jones & Tim Holcomb & Aimee Minnich, 2022. "Trying to Serve Two Masters is Easy, Compared to Three: Identity Multiplicity Work by Christian Impact Investors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(4), pages 1053-1070, September.
    13. Ken Cheng & Limin Guo & Jinlian Luo, 2023. "The more you exploit, the more expedient I will be: A moral disengagement and Chinese traditionality examination of exploitative leadership and employee expediency," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 151-167, March.
    14. Marcelo F. Cruz Jara & Jelena Spanjol, 2025. "Understanding Multiple Perspectives on Social Value in Business: An Integrative Review and Typology," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 198(2), pages 407-435, May.
    15. Xiang, Yilin & Chen, Lu & Zhang, Zhenya & Sun, Xinyu, 2024. "Does perceived greenwashing promote or inhibit ethical voice? Effects of moral disengagement and perceived competitive pressure," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    16. Zejun Ma & Hira Salah ud din Khan & Muhammad Salman Chughtai & Mingxing Li & Bailin Ge & Syed Usman Qadri, 2023. "A Review of Supervisor–Subordinate Guanxi: Current Trends and Future Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, January.
    17. Caroline Gatrell & Jamie J. Ladge & Gary N. Powell, 2024. "Profane Pregnant Bodies Versus Sacred Organizational Systems: Exploring Pregnancy Discrimination at Work (R2)," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 192(3), pages 527-542, July.
    18. Sumona Mukhuty & Arvind Upadhyay & Holly Rothwell, 2022. "Strategic sustainable development of Industry 4.0 through the lens of social responsibility: The role of human resource practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2068-2081, July.
    19. Ulf Schaefer & Onno Bouwmeester, 2021. "Reconceptualizing Moral Disengagement as a Process: Transcending Overly Liberal and Overly Conservative Practice in the Field," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(3), pages 525-543, September.
    20. Gazi Islam, 2020. "Psychology and Business Ethics: A Multi-level Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 165(1), pages 1-13, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:198:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-024-05782-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.