Collective Psychological Ownership Research Articles

Collective psychological ownership and the rise of reactionary counter-movements defending the status quo.

Social movements pushing for social change are often met with reactionary counter-movements that defend the status quo. The present research examined this interplay by focusing on the role of racial majority group members claiming collective psychological ownership. We examined collective ownership that stems from being native to the land and from being founders of the nation. Study 1 found that in Malaysia, the Malay majority group endorsed more native ownership than Chinese and Indian minorities, which in turn predicted greater threat in response to protests demanding electoral reforms and subsequently greater support for a reactionary pro-government movement. Situated in the United States, Study 2 found that the more that White Americans endorsed founder ownership beliefs, the more they reported negative attitudes towards the Black Lives Matter protests, which in turn predicted more support for White nationalistic counter-protests. This effect was stronger among White people compared to people of colour. Study 3 examined both founder and native ownership in Australia. Founder (but not native) ownership beliefs predicted more negative attitudes towards Invasion Day protests, which subsequently predicted more support for counter-protests defending Australia Day celebrations. Implications of culture-specific beliefs about collective ownership for social movement research are discussed.

The Impact of Psychosocial Resources Incorporated with Collective Psychological Ownership on Work Burnout of Social Workers in China

Prior studies investigating the impact of psychosocial resources on reducing work burnout of social workers have been largely conducted in western societies, in a sparse manner, and with nonrandom samples. Using a nationally representative random sample (N = 5,800) collected from the first wave of the China Social Work Longitudinal Study in 2019 (CSWLS 2019), this study aimed to examine the impact of psychosocial resources on work burnout with an emphasis on the role played by collective psychological ownership (CPO). The results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed two key findings. First, psychosocial resources as an overarching concept was negatively associated with three burnout dimensions experienced by social workers after controlling for demographic variables and job related characteristics. Second, CPO played a significant role in explaining reduced personal accomplishment of social workers while controlling for demographic variables, job related characteristics, and other types of psychosocial resources including person-organization value fit, satisfaction with income, acquired professional recognition, social support, and job autonomy. The findings highlight the importance of psychosocial resources incorporated with CPO in reducing work burnout of social workers and enhancing their workplace wellbeing. Future research is suggested to investigate the impact of CPO on positive work-related states of social workers.

Extending Boundaries of Psychological Ownership Research: Measurement, Outcomes, Cultural Moderators

Psychological ownership theory and extended self theory explain why someone feels like the owner of his/her job or organization. Yet, there is limited prior research examining whether psychological ownership differs as an individual versus collective phenomenon, and in different national cultures. We extend this literature by examining the dimensionality of psychological ownership, multiple outcomes, and national culture as a boundary condition. Data from surveys of 331 supervisors from Mexico and the US indicate that both individual and collective psychological ownership are positively associated with organization-based self-esteem and a new outcome, paternalistic leadership behavior. National culture is a significant moderator with individualism enhancing and power distance attenuating these relationships. Additionally, we introduce a more precise measure of paternalism to capture the frequency of paternalistic leadership behavior instead of its mere occurrence. We also present an application of two-stage least squares (2SLS) regression analysis to the fields of international management and applied psychology.

Collective psychological ownership and reconciliation in territorial conflicts

Collective psychological ownership refers to people’s perception that an object, place, or idea belongs to their own group. We considered this concept in the context of territorial conflicts and proposed that (1) collective psychological ownership is distinct from place attachment, (2) higher ingroup identifiers are more likely to claim collective ownership and feel attached to the territory, yet (3) only ownership claims are related to lower support for reconciliation. These hypotheses were tested in two studies using structural equation modelling. Study 1 addressed the Kosovo conflict, based on Serbian participants living in Serbia (N = 264). We found that collective psychological ownership and place attachment were distinct. Moreover, higher Serbian identifiers had a stronger sense of collective ownership of Kosovo and were more attached to it. Those with stronger feelings of collective ownership supported reconciliation with Albanians less, while place attachment did not hinder reconciliation. Study 2 replicated these findings among a new sample of Serbs in Serbia (N = 173), among Serbs in Kosovo (N = 129), and in two other conflict settings: among Greek Cypriots in Cyprus (N = 135) and Jews in Israel (N = 109). Altogether, we provide evidence that collective psychological ownership can represent an obstacle to reconciliation in conflict regions.

'This country is OURS': The exclusionary potential of collective psychological ownership.

Political campaign slogans, such as ‘Take back control of our country’ (United Kingdom Independence Party) and ‘The Netherlands ours again’ (Dutch Party for Freedom), indicate that right‐wing populism appeals to the belief that the country is ‘ours’, and therefore, ‘we’ have the exclusive right to determine what happens. We examined this sense of ownership of the country (i.e. collective psychological ownership [CPO]) with the related determination right in relation to exclusionary attitudes and voting behaviour. Among Dutch (Study 1, N = 572) and British (Study 2, N = 495) participants, we found that CPO explained anti‐immigrant and anti‐EU attitudes, and these attitudes in turn accounted for voting ‘leave’ in the 2016 Brexit referendum in the British sample (Study 2). Additionally, CPO was more strongly related to negative immigrant attitudes among right‐wing Dutch participants, whereas it was more strongly related to negative EU attitudes and voting ‘leave’ among left‐wing British participants. CPO contributes to the understanding of critical contemporary social attitudes and political behaviour.

Validation of the Chinese Version of the Turnover Intention Scale in Social Workers

The Turnover Intention Scale (TIS) is perceived to be a comprehensive measure of turnover intention. However, the extant literature has not validated the turnover intention scales (TIS-15 and TIS-6) in Chinese context. This study aims to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of TIS (C-TIS) in terms of its factorial validity, scale reliability, descriptive statistics, and construct validity in social work profession. A cross-sectional study was conducted in three Chinese cities: Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shunde in 2018 and it turned out that 196 valid questionnaires were collected from professional social workers. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a better fit for the six-item-single-factor model of the C-TIS-6 than the C-TIS-15. The C-TIS-6 showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha = .70). Regarding construct validity, turnover intention measured by C-TIS-6 was positively correlated with perceived stress, while inversely correlated with collective psychological ownership and work engagement. Job position and length of job tenure contributed no significant impact in predicting turnover intention of social workers after controlling demographic factors and economic conditions. The C-TIS-6 demonstrated adequate psychometric properties, supporting its use in future research among social workers in Chinese context.

Is the project ‘mine’ or ‘ours’? A multilevel investigation of the effects of individual and collective psychological ownership

Challenging the dominant view that individual psychological ownership (IPO) is only relevant at the individual and collective psychological ownership (CPO) at the group level, we developed a multilevel model of psychological ownership. We distinguished theoretically and empirically between two types of ownerships and test how IPO and CPO effect individual and team behaviours. Data were obtained across three‐time points from 186 members and their managers in 39 project teams from multiple countries. Results revealed that, at the individual level, both IPO and CPO were positively related to individual engagement which, in turn, related to individual creativity. However at the group level, group‐mean IPO was negatively related to team engagement, while group‐mean CPO was positively related to team engagement. Team engagement, in turn, was positively related to team creativity. This study sheds light on IPO and CPO as being independent constructs with distinct positive and negative effects on individual and team processes and outcomes.Practitioner points In a team project, it is important for every member to feel personal ownership towards the project as it drives individuals to invest more effort and be more creative in the project. At the same time, managers should be aware that individual ownership minimizes collective effort. Teams with high individual ownership are less collectively engaged, which in turn diminishes team creativity. Managers should invest time in making each team member feel like a project owner, but also focusing on teams developing a feeling of collective ownership (‘This is our project’) if they expect higher team dedication and more creative project outcomes.

The bright and dark sides of length of residence in the neighbourhood: Consequences for local participation and openness to newcomers

Length of residence in a neighborhood has been shown to have positive outcomes for local participation. However, long-term residency can also make people less welcoming of potential newcomers. In two nationwide surveys among the Dutch (Study 1) and Brits (Study 2) we examined these bright and dark sides of length of residence in the neighbourhood, and we considered two underlying mechanisms: place attachment and perceived group entitlements. In Study 1, we measured entitlements in terms of autochthony beliefs (first-comers in places are generally entitled) and in Study 2 we more directly assessed the sense that the residents own the neighborhood (collective psychological ownership, CPO). In both studies we found that more established residents were more attached to the neighborhood and perceived more entitlements. Place attachment was conducive to stronger local participation, and did not form a barrier (Study 1) or it even served as a bridge (Study 2) for openness to newcomers. In contrast, perceived entitlements were linked to less openness to international newcomers in both studies, but more openness to natives moving in from other regions of the country (Study 2). This indicates that at a local level, perceived entitlements to a given place are more strongly related to exclusion based on ethnicity of the newcomers than solely on later arrival. Entitlements in the form of CPO, however, motivated local participation and thus also had a bright side.

Antecedents and consequences of collective psychological ownership: The validation of a conceptual model

SummaryWe investigate team member feelings of collective psychological ownership (CPO) over teamwork products, the psychological paths that lead to it, and its impact on team workers' evaluations of team effectiveness, turnover intentions, and intentions to champion teamwork products. We focus on the teamwork product as an important target of ownership feelings, building on theories of self‐extension, psychological ownership, and team emergent states. In Study 1, we validate measures for three ownership activating experiences (OAE) that have been proposed as paths to CPO (control over, intimate knowledge regarding, and investment in the teamwork product) using two samples of individual team workers (n = 210 and n = 140). In Study 2 (n = 183) and Study 3 (n = 200), we use surveys and a multiwave design to show that team workers' feelings of CPO mediate the relationship between investment in and intimate knowledge regarding the product and team effectiveness evaluations, team turnover intentions, and intentions to champion the work product. In Study 4 (n = 48 teams), CPO was predicted by the ownership activating experiences, at the team level. This research additionally highlights the benefits to organizations of creating conditions for the emergence of employee feelings of shared ownership over teamwork products.

On the Emergence of Collective Psychological Ownership in New Creative Teams

We develop and test a theoretical model that explains how collective psychological ownership—shared feelings of joint possession over something—emerges within new creative teams that were launched to advance one person’s (i.e., a creative lead’s) preconceived idea. Our model proposes that such teams face a unique challenge—an initial asymmetry in feelings of psychological ownership for the idea between the creative lead who conceived the idea and new team members who are beginning to work on the idea. We suggest that the creative lead can resolve this asymmetry and foster the emergence of collective psychological ownership by enacting two interpersonal behaviors—help seeking and territorial marking. These behaviors build collective ownership by facilitating the unifying centripetal force of team identification and preventing the divisive centrifugal force of team ownership conflict. Our model also proposes that collective ownership positively relates to the early success of new creative teams. The results of a quantitative study of 79 creative teams participating in an entrepreneurship competition provided general support for our predictions but also suggested refinements as to how a creative lead’s behavior influences team dynamics. The findings of a subsequent qualitative investigation of 27 teams participating in a university startup launch course shed additional light on how collective ownership emerges in new creative teams launched to advance one person’s idea.

An empirical examination of the emergence of collective psychological ownership in work team contexts

AbstractAs work teams have increasingly become the cornerstone of the post bureaucratic organization, there have been calls for a greater understanding of collective thought and action. Such understanding is deemed important for the design and management of teamwork. Theory suggests that feelings of ownership manifest themselves at the collective level, and positively affect team performance effectiveness. This study illuminates the role played by teamwork complexity and team self-management in the emergence of the psychological processes that are associated with the manifestation of job-focused collective psychological ownership (CPO). In addition, employment of serial mediation suggests that both teamwork dimensions put employees on two routes (intimate knowing of and the collective investment of the team members' selves into the job) that lead to the emergence of a collective sense of ownership, and together these two route variables and CPO sequentially mediated a positive relationship between teamwork design and team performance effectiveness.

How psychological ownership stimulates participation in online brand communities? The moderating role of member type

Participation in online brand communities (OBCs) is critical for the success of the community and the owner firm. Author attempts to explore this core OBC activity on the premises of psychological ownership theory by modeling participation intentions as a function of the members' sense of individual psychological ownership (IPO) and collective psychological ownership (CPO) experienced in the community.Data collected through online surveys from 763 members of the firm created OBCs and analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that IPO and CPO sensed by the members positively influence their participation intentions, that further influences members' brand purchase intentions and positive word of mouth (WOM) about the community. The multi-group SEM analysis reveals interesting differences in the structural paths as observed for ‘active members’ and ‘lurkers’ group, supporting the moderating role of member type. The study contributes to the existing theory as well as practices on members' participation in OBCs.

Collective psychological ownership, status conferral criteria and team creativity

Collective psychological ownership, status conferral criteria and team creativity

Understanding the participation of passive members in online brand communities through the lens of psychological ownership theory

Abstract The presence of a large number of passive members in online brand communities has become a roadblock in the success of the community that can be overcome through their active participation in the online communities. In a bid to address the problem of passive members in virtual brand communities, the authors propose a conceptual framework depicting their participation. The conceptual model is grounded in psychological ownership theory portraying the drivers and outcomes of online brand community participation of passive members. A descriptive research design is adopted and the model is tested with data collected from 221 passive members through an online survey in India, with the help of multivariate analysis techniques. The results of the study reveal that a carefully instilled sense of individual psychological ownership and a sense of collective psychological ownership in the community can facilitate passive members' intention to participate in online brand communities. Passive members' participation can further stimulate their brand purchase intention and word-of-mouth about the community. The study contributes to the literature focusing on customer participation in online brand communities and offers important implications for the brand managers. It will permit them to optimize the potential of online communities by devising strategies to stimulate a sense of individual, as well as a collective sense of ownership to stimulate the participation of passive members.

Access or Ownership? The effect of car attributes and collective psychological ownership on the preference for car subscription services

Alternative transportation services for urban commuters expand with car subscription services. Car subscription services give drivers access to cars without ownership for a relatively longer time period (e.g., months) than other sharing economy transportation services. Based on a mix of between- and within-subject design online experiment involving 274 participants, this study investigates traditional and upcoming subscribed car features namely, mileage limit, price, self-driving capability, advanced safety systems, and the moderating influence of collective psychological ownership of these features on people’s preference for car subscription services. The results suggest that these features significantly impact people’s preference toward this service. Collective psychological ownership was found to moderate the influence of self-driving capability and advance safety systems on people’s preference for car subscription services. Individuals with high collective psychological ownership preferred subscription cars with self-driving capability and were more concerned with the lack of advanced safety systems in a subscription car. Car subscription companies need to consider traditional (price and mileage limit), and upcoming features (self-driving capability and advance safety systems) when offering their services. More importantly, the moderating influence of collective psychological ownership on these features means that car subscription companies should account for people’s psychological disposition when considering additional car features.

The Differential Impacts of Collective Psychological Ownership and Membership Identification on Work Burnout and Engagement

Work burnout and engagement are big concerns among workers in social services profession. While the job demands-resources (JD-R) model has been a key perspective in explaining burnout and engagement, there are few studies on the psychological mechanism of the model. In particular, the role of collective psychological ownership (CPO) and membership identification (MI), emerging constructs in workplace wellbeing, are to be explored. The study aimed to explore the roles of CPO and MI in explaining work burnout and engagement in a JD-R model framework. Through snowball and convenience sampling methods, an online self-report survey was conducted in 2016. Totally 761 full-time social service workers in Shenzhen and Guangdong Province, China completed the questionnaire. Bivariate and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed.The results reveal the differential impacts of CPO and MI on burnout and engagement in the JD-R model framework: (1) Job resources and CPO contribute most additional R square to the models predicting work engagement; (2) Job resources and MI contribute most additional R square to the models predicting burnout; (3) CPO partially mediates the relationship between job resources and burnout; and (4) CPO partially mediates the relationship between job demands and work engagement.In conclusion, CPO and MI appear to be distinct constructs with differential impacts on work burnout and engagement. Furthermore, CPO appears to have a significant role in the psychological mechanism of the JD-R model in explaining work burnout and engagement.

Hierarchy versus Flat: The Effect of Governance Structures on Conflict in Development Cooperatives

Development organizations attempting to alleviate poverty increasingly utilize market-based approaches. These efforts consist of identifying unmet market opportunities and organizing local individuals into cooperatively owned enterprises to collectively exploit these opportunities. However, such cooperatives often struggle with high levels of intra-group conflict that hinder their functioning and long-term sustainability. Existing theory suggests that the choice of governance structure can play an important role in mitigating conflict, but a longstanding debate exists as to whether flat versus hierarchical governance structures are more efficacious. To add further understanding to this debate, we conducted a field experiment involving 40 newly formed development cooperatives within rural Ghana that were randomly assigned to either a flat or hierarchical structure. The quantitative results of our field experiment and subsequent qualitative data suggests that flat structures lead to higher levels of collective psychological ownership, which in turn resulted in lower levels of conflict as compared to hierarchical structures. However, our results also suggest that the extent to which flat governance structures are more effective depends on the salience of informal governance structures.

An investigation into the correlates of collective psychological ownership in organizational context

Collective psychological ownership (CPO) refers to a collective sense shared by coworkers that they jointly own the organization. It is an emerging research topic in team work experience. Existing ...

Increasing the regular use of safe water kiosk through collective psychological ownership: A mediation analysis

Unsafe water consumption is the environmental risk factor in sub-Saharan Africa contributing most to premature death. In urban slums and dispersed rural communities, where access to safe water is especially limited, water kiosks are a relevant safe water source. However, irregular use challenges their operational viability and may cause discontinuation. The present study investigated collective psychological ownership for the kiosk as a potential factor to increase regular kiosk use. Data were collected cross-sectionally in one urban and two rural kiosk sites through interviews in study households (N = 205) and analyzed by path analysis. Involvement in decision-making related to the kiosks explained collective psychological ownership for the kiosks. Collective psychological ownership, in turn, explained self-reported kiosk use through social-cognitive factors. The results emphasize the importance of community involvement in decisions related to kiosk installation and maintenance because it may contribute to regular kiosk use.

Development and validation of the collective psychological ownership scale in organizational contexts

Collective psychological ownership (CPO) refers to the sense shared by group mates that they jointly own their organization. CPO is an important emerging concept but its operationalization is still at an early stage. The study aimed to develop and evaluate the CPO scale among social service workers. The item pool together with a battery of validation scales formed the basis for an Internet-based survey. Through convenience and snowball sampling strategies, social service workers in Guangdong Province, China were invited to take part in the survey, resulting in 444 completed questionnaires. Bi-factor analyses were conducted. Both exploratory and confirmatory analyses of bi-factor analyses supported the one-general-two-specific structure of CPO. Internal consistency, assessed by Cronbach’s alpha, was satisfactory for the bi-factor structure. Convergent and divergent validity were supported by the correlations with validation scales in the expected directions. The general factor was named shared possessiveness, and the two specific factors were shared decision-making and shared hardship endurance. With good preliminary psychometric properties, the newly developed CPO scale will trigger a series of studies related to workplace behaviors and well-being.