The mediating role of individual adaptability in the relationship between psychological capital and psychological well-being: evidence from Uganda’s small enterprises

• Date: 10 January 2025
• Pages: 118-136
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-04-2024-0076
• Published date: 10 January 2025
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Healthcare management,HR & organizational behaviour,Human resource policy,Employee welfare
• Author: Agnes Tabala,John Munene,James Kagaari,Samuel Mafabi,Janatti Kyogabiirwe Bagorogoza

The mediating role of individual

adaptability in the relationship

between psychological capital and

psychological well-being: evidence

from Uganda’s small enterprises

Agnes Tabala

Department of Marketing and Management, Makerere University Business School,

Kampala, Uganda

John Munene

Department of Human Resource Management,

Makerere University Business School, Kampala, Uganda

James Kagaari

Department of Psychology, Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda, and

Samuel Mafabi and Janatti Kyogabiirwe Bagorogoza

Department of Human Resource Management,

Makerere University Business School, Kampala, Uganda

Abstract

Purpose –This paper aims to investigate whether individual adaptability mediates the relationship between

psychological capital and psychological well-being (PWB) of Ugandan small enterprise employees.

Furthermore, the paper examines whether psychological capital and individual adaptability also affect PWB.

Design/methodology/approach –A cross-sectional survey design using a quantitative approach was used in

this study. Data were collected from 726 employees of small enterprises in Uganda using a self-administered

questionnaire. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists and uploaded into AMOS

version 23. The hypotheses were tested using the structural equation modelling technique.

Findings –Results confirm that individual adaptability partially mediates the relationship between

psychological capital and PWB. Findings further indicate that psychological capital is positively related to

individual adaptability and that individual adaptability is positively related to PWB.

Research limitations/implications –First, the sample of this study consisted of employees working with small

enterprises in Uganda with different demographic characteristics; thus, the generalizability of these findings to

other sectors or contexts needs to be established. Secondly, the study was quantitative in nature. This study has

managerial implications in a way that managers should have people management skills that support their

employees to develop psychological capital and individual adaptability.

Originality/value –This study may be among the first to demonstrate that individual adaptability partially

mediates the relationship between psychological capital and PWB in the context of small enterprise employees

of Uganda, an African developing country.Consequently, this study contributes to both theory and literature via

the broaden-and-build theory and the complex adaptive systems theory, hence adding to the scant existing

literature on psychological capital, individual adaptability and PWB.

Keywords Psychological well-being, Psychological capital, Individual adaptability,

Small enterprises and Uganda

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

Worldwide, small enterprises significantly contribute to the growth of national economies in

terms of employment generation, growth of gross domestic product and regional development

(Donkor et al., 2018;Pucci et al., 2017). Therefore, it is vital to understand the nature of the

working environment in small enterprises (Mazzarol et al., 2021). Small enterprises are

IJWHM

18,1

118

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

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Received 20 April 2024

Revised 8 August 2024

20 September 2024

12 December 2024

Accepted 18 December 2024

InternationalJournal of Workplace

HealthManagement

Vol.18 No. 1, 2025

pp.118-136

©Emerald Publishing Limited

e-ISSN:1753-836X

p-ISSN:1753-8351

DOI10.1108/IJWHM-04-2024-0076

emotionally infectious and characterized by frequent social interactions between employees

with managers, fellow employees and customers). These interactions influence how

employees think, feel and act (Biggs et al., 2016). The employees’ ability to think, feel and

act positively is what we refer to as psychological well-being (PWB) in this context, hence

making the study in a small enterprise context a significant concept to be explored and

understood.

Earlier studies have investigated factors that increase productivity in organizations, of

which psychological aspects such as PWB experienced by the employees at their workplace

have been identified (Saraswati and Lie, 2020). Moreover, PWB has been found to be highly

associated with high productivity,psychological health and sustainable competitive advantage

for enterprises (Dennerlein et al., 2020). However, despite such benefits, the majority of

employees in small enterprises hardly nurture their PWB (Lohmann et al., 2019).

Besides, the majority of the previous studies on well-being have been conducted in large

firms without sufficient evidence that PWB factors in large firms reflect those of small

enterprises (Cocker et al., 2013). Further, studies have revealed that the PWB of small

enterprise employees is generally worse compared to that of those in big businesses (Luo et al.,

2012). Consequently, scholars are recommending research on PWB be done among small

enterprise employees (Maziriri et al., 2019).

In Uganda specifically, there is scant literature addressing the PWB of employees in small

enterprises. Except for the research conducted by Kawalya et al. (2019) on happiness at the

workplace, studies related to PWB have been conducted in nonworking contexts, for example,

among refugees (Balyejjusa, 2019), adolescents (Evarist, 2018), women in the Acholi region

(Horn, 2014), mothers (Singla et al., 2015) and AIDS orphans (Atwine, 2016).

The experiences of such people may be different from those in a working context. More so,

the research by Kawalya et al. (2019) was done among professional nurses in public hospitals

whose working conditions may be different from those of employees working with small

enterprises, who are the main focus of this study. Accordingly,there is scant research on PWB

in the context of small enterprises in Uganda.

Finally, previous studies have positioned individual adaptability as a significant mediating

variable, for example, Gao et al. (2016) and Holliman et al. (2022). In the search for literature,

the authors did not find any study that explored the mediating role of individual adaptability in

the relationship between psychological capital and PWB, implying that this path has not been

closely examined. Thus, it is such deficiencies that enticed the onset of this paper. Toovercome

the above deficiencies, this paper formulates the following objectives.

(1) To examine the relationship between psychological capital and PWB;

(2) Toexamine the relationship between psychological capital andindividual adaptability;

(3) To identify the relationship between individual adaptability and PWB and

(4) To examine the mediating role of individual adaptability in the relationship between

psychological capital and PWB.

2. Justification for the study

Literature from the field of small business economies and cognitive psychology reveals high

levels of psychological problems among small enterprise employees, which makes them more

susceptible to job strain compared to employees of large firms (Saraf et al., 2019). Relatedly,

research has indicated that the psychological health of small enterprise employees is generally

worse than that of those in big business (Luo et al., 2012). Furthermore, Cocker et al. (2013)

noted that there is inadequate small enterprise-specific research focusing on the PWB of

employees. As a result, available literature is informed by research carried out in large

organizations without sufficient proof that PWB factors in large organizations reflect those in

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