Publication

SOTA Review

Defining engagement and its link to productivity. What does the HRM literature tell us? SOTA No 13

Published: 4 December 2018

Despite its popularity and arguments that it can make a significant contribution to productivity, the concept of ‘engagement’ is not clearly defined and there is limited high quality, methodologically rigorous research on the links between employee engagement and productivity. This review clarifies and compares the concepts of work and employee engagement and evaluates the evidence from HRM literature about their links with organisational performance outcomes. There is evidence that work engagement has a positive effect on the performance of individual employees. However, while it is reasonable to assume that this may lead to improved organisational outcomes, robust evidence is absent. The evidence of a causal relationship between organisational/employee engagement and improved organisational productivity is also limited and comes from case studies. More rigorous studies are needed to demonstrate and understand the links between engagement and organisational outcomes.

Authors
Associated Themes
  • Productivity and performance
Download SOTA Review

Related publications

Research Report

Human resource practices and firm growth: an exploratory analysis from the matched employer skills survey and the ONS business structure database A statistical report produced by the Enterprise Research Centre for UKCES

This project aimed to explore the role of Human Resource (HR) practices in driving firm growth. Central to the project is the use of the 2011 Employer Skills Survey (ESS) which provides detailed information on the HR practices adopted in individual workplaces. These observations were matched to establishment data derived from the longitudinal Business Structure Database (BSD) which provides time-series information on employment and turnover for all UK firms and establishments registered for VAT and/or PAYE.

Published: 30 June 2016
Insight

Does the City of Culture (COC) create long-term benefits? Comparing the performance of Derry-Londonderry to other short-listed cities. ERC Insight Paper

Evidence on the long-term effects of Cities of Culture (COC) is limited. Here, we compare the pre- and post-COC performance of the UK COC for 2013 Derry-Londonderry (D-L) with that of the other shortlisted cities. There is some evidence that despite weaker growth performance prior to the COC the post-COC GDP growth of D-L has been significantly stronger. This post-COC growth effect is particularly evident in Distribution, transport, accommodation and food and construction. The COC also led to a step-change in visitor numbers to D-L, a positive effect which persisted through to 2016 at least. Job creation through inward investment was also stronger in D-L in the post-COC period. We cannot establish any direct causal connection between COC 2013 and these trends but suggest that the evidence does at least suggest a prima facie case for the positive longer-term benefits of COCs

Published: 17 September 2019