Association of psychological capital and engagement in coproducing emergency response: evidence from Chinese communities

Abstract Promoting coproduction is critical in emergency responses. This study introduces the concept of psychological capital (PsyCap) to the field of coproduction within emergency context and further empirically investigates the association of PsyCap and engagement in coproducing emergency responses. Data collected from 5721 respondents in Chinese communities of 10 provincial regions were analyzed using logistics regression. The results demonstrate that PsyCap is positively associated with engagement in coproducing emergency responses. Familiarity with community epidemic prevention positively moderates the relationship between PsyCap and engagement in coproducing emergency responses. Satisfaction with community emergency response plays a full mediation role while trust in community emergency response plays a partial mediation role in the relationship between PsyCap and engagement in coproducing emergency responses. The higher the PsyCap citizens have, the more satisfaction and trust toward the community epidemic prevention they have, which further increases residents’ engagement in coproducing emergency response to the epidemic. The findings provide empirical evidences that PsyCap is essential for involving citizens in coproducing emergency responses. It also suggests that enhancing citizens’ specific PsyCap dimensions should be incorporated into routine community governance.