Belief to Behaviour: A Systematic Review of Self-Efficacy in Workplace Research

Abstract

Self-efficacy remains one of the most frequently used constructs in organizational behavior and HR research, yet the literature is still dispersed across journals, topics, and levels of analysis. This paper conducts a systematic literature review to bring coherence to this field and to clarify how self-efficacy is being studied in contemporary OB/HR scholarship. Using Scopus as the data source and applying a transparent, stepwise screening process, we identify a final set of 191 journal articles for synthesis. Rather than treating the evidence as a single stream, we organise the review around a structured framework that distinguishes (i) the level of analysis at which self-efficacy is examined (individual, team/leader, and organizational) and (ii) the role it plays in empirical models (antecedent, mediator, moderator, or outcome). The review is designed to move beyond listing studies and instead develop an integrative understanding of how self-efficacy is embedded in OB/HR explanations, what types of workplace conditions tend to be linked with it, how researchers use it to open the “black box” of work behavior, and where the literature places its strongest boundary conditions. Building on the synthesis, we present an organizing framework that helps position fragmented findings within a common structure, and we outline directions for future research that can strengthen cumulative knowledge through clearer process theorizing, more context-sensitive conceptualizations, and greater multilevel precision.