The relationship between electronic human resource management and employee job satisfaction in organizational value-creation in Africa: the case of Zimbabwe

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of employee job satisfaction on the relationship between electronic human resource management (e-HRM) use and e-HRM macro-level consequences.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through a survey involving 32 organizations, using e-HRM applications. A purposive sampling technique was employed. A structural equation modeling technique with the use of the process macro approach was used to analyze collected data.FindingsE-HRM use has a positive and significant effect on e-HRM macro-level consequences and constituent elements of e-HRM operational, relational and transactional consequences. Employee job satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between e-HRM use and e-HRM macro-level consequences.Practical implicationsThe use of e-HRM, complemented by human resource best practices, enhances employee job satisfaction. At an indirect level, job satisfaction partially mediates the effect of e-HRM use on e-HRM macro-level consequences. Organizations should invest in job satisfaction-enhancing practices to ensure attainment of intended organization-wide consequences on a more consistent basis.Originality/valueThe study broadens the scope through which the association between e-HRM use, e-HRM macro-level consequences and employee job satisfaction are viewed. The study illustrates the limitations of the deterministic view of e-HRM use, while supporting the assumptions of the moderate determinism approach, which pin the success of e-HRM systems on the performance and satisfaction of e-HRM actors. The level of employee job satisfaction mediates the relationship between e-HRM use and e-HRM macro-level consequences. The study, to the authors' knowledge, is the first in establishing such an effect.