Abstract
Starting from the Positive Organizational Behavior movement, several studies showed that some personal resources and some contextual features within the working context might encourage individuals and groups in thriving, thus providing a concrete competitive advantage for organizations. Among the individual factors, psychological capital (PsyCap) received a special interest because it was proved to promote positive work attitudes and behaviors. The present study aimed to investigate the positive effect of PsyCap on extra-role behaviors considering the mediating role of work engagement. A mediational hypothesis was tested via SEM on 1219 Italian employees, balanced for gender. Results suggested that work engagement partially mediated the positive relationship between PsyCap and extra-role behaviors. The present study shed a light on the psychological mechanisms according to which PsyCap positively affects extra-role behaviors. In line with the Positive Organizational Behavior Movement Theory, personal resources, i.e., PsyCap, tend to improve work engagement that, in turn, tends to promote positive behaviors at work. Finally, the present study discussed results especially in terms of practical implications in order to promote employees’ PsyCap in organizational setting.
Highlights
Among the individual factors, psychological capital (PsyCap) received a special interest because it was proved to promote positive work attitudes and behaviors
The aim of the study was to examine the positive relationship between PsyCap and extra-role behavior, investigating if and to what extent work engagement could be a mediator of this relationship
PsyCap was positively associated with work engagement and extra-role behaviors, and work engagement was positively associated with extra-role behaviors
Summary
Psychological capital (PsyCap) received a special interest because it was proved to promote positive work attitudes and behaviors. Abundant evidence has confirmed the positive relationship between human resource management practices, employees’ motivation and engagement, organizational performance, competitive advantage, customer satisfaction, and reputation [1,2]. The center of POB is the need to merge theory and research about human resource strengths and psychological resources that find application of such knowledge and skills in organizational contexts [3,4]. This positive approach places psychology at the service of management and business, concretely helping organizations in creating sustainable performance [5]. A further employee-centered point of view is added to a management and performance-driven view, which suggests that the study of POBs must focus on goals
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