Organizational resilience and employee performance: the mediation of perceived organizational support in the Indian HEIs

Purpose With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the human race is compelled to fight an unseen microscopic enemy. Coronavirus has had a significant impact on the lives of people working in higher educational institutes (HEIs). The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of organizational resilience (ORes) and perceived organizational support (POS) on employee performance (EP), as well as the mediating effect of POS on the relationship between ORes and EP, in the time of a crisis of such massive scale. Design/methodology/approach An online survey questionnaire was used to collect data (N = 390) from teaching and non-teaching professionals in HEIs across India. Further, regression analysis, factor analysis, structured equation modeling, reliability and validity analysis, mediation analysis and model-fit indices analysis were employed to analyze the data collected from target population. Findings The study results confirm the full mediation effect of POS on the relationship between ORes and EP. According to the results of the study, ORes and POS have a part to play in enhancing the performance levels of employees working in HEIs. Practical implications This study is especially crucial for the employees and the organizational leadership as the study can help improve the resilience capabilities in the HEIs. As indicated in the study, ORes and the POS are both instrumental in enhancing the performance of the employees. Originality/value With reference to India's HEIs, the current study investigates the mediating effect of POS on ORes and EP relationship during the time of crisis.