Employee engagement and performance of MSMEs during COVID-19: the moderating effect of job demands and job resources

PurposeThis study explores how employee engagement (EE) influences employee performance and how this relationship is moderated by job demands and job resources among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in an emerging economy context during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts the survey and quantitative approach to gathering data from 395 MSMEs operating in an emerging economy in sub-Saharan Africa. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares, version 3.0.FindingsThe results reveal that EE significantly influences employee performance among MSMEs during the pandemic. Also, job resources were found to be significant predictors of EE in the MSME sector. In contrast, job demands did not have a significant effect on EE during the pandemic. Finally, job resources but not job demand moderate the relationship between EE and employee performance.Originality/valueThis study is one of the earliest to explore the effects of EE on employee performance and how this relationship is moderated by job resources and job demands in sub-Saharan Africa's MSME sector since the influx of COVID-19.