Socially responsible human resource management and employee innovation performance: the roles of person-organization fit, work engagement and individualism orientation

Employee innovation performance (EIP) enhances competitiveness among high-tech enterprises, and socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) is garnering increasing attention. Integrating corporate social responsibility, SRHRM shapes employees’ attitudes and behaviors. This study builds upon the person-environment fit theory to propose and validate a moderated serial mediation model, aiming to unveil the intricate influence mechanism of SRHRM on EIP. The research scrutinizes the relationship through cross-sectional data derived from a questionnaire survey involving 440 employees in high-tech enterprises in China. The findings reveal that, directly as well as indirectly, SRHRM affects employees innovation performance. Indirect influence occurs through individual mediation due to person-organization fit (P-O fit) and work engagement (WE) or through their sequential mediation. Concurrently, the study highlights that individualism orientation (IO) influences both the relationship between P-O fit and WE and the serial mediation process involving SRHRM and EIP. With a strong IO, the positive association between P-O fit and WE, as well as the serial mediation path between SRHRM and EIP, becomes more pronounced. The study adds knowledge concerning SRHRM’s relation to innovation because it highlights significance for P-O fit as well as WE in influencing employee innovation within the realm of SRHRM, while also underscoring the distinctive role played by individual cultural values.