Psychological Ownership, Job Satisfaction, and Middle Manager Entrepreneurial Behavior

Abstract

Despite the importance of middle managers’ entrepreneurial behavior for corporate entrepreneurship, there is still a lack of knowledge about its determinants. Knowledge of the role of individual psychological states and work attitudes remains particularly thin. Through an empirical investigation into 136 middle managers in a large Singapore telecommunications firm, this study finds that psychological ownership is positively related to entrepreneurial behavior and job satisfaction within these middle managers. The study further finds that job satisfaction is positively related to entrepreneurial behavior and mediates the relationship between psychological ownership and entrepreneurial behavior. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the relationship between psychological ownership and pro-organizational behavior, extending psychological ownership research into the field of corporate entrepreneurship via middle managers’ entrepreneurial behavior.