Meeting the challenge of effectively managing human resources requires new thinking and approaches. To extend the traditional perspective of economic capital, increasing recognition is being given to human capital and more recently social capital, this article proposes and empirically tests the potential added value that psychological capital may have for employee attitudes of satisfaction and commitment. After first providing the background and theory of PsyCap, this article reports a study of manufacturing employees (N = 74) that found a significant relationship between PsyCap and job satisfaction (r=.373) and organization commitment (r=.313). Importantly, the employees' PsyCap had a significant added impact over human and social capital on these work attitudes. Future research and practical implications conclude the article.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adler, P., & Kwon, S. (2002). Social capital: Prospects for a new concept. Academy of Management Review, 27, 17-40.
2.
Allen, N.J., & Meyer, J.P. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63, 1-18.
3.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
4.
Barros, C.P., & Alves, F.P. (2003). Human capital theory and social capital theory on sports management. International Advances in Economic Research , 9, 218-226.
5.
Belliveau, M.A., O'Reilly III, C.A., & Wade, J.B. (1996). Social capital at the top: Effects of social similarity and status on CEO compensation. Academy of Management Journal , 39, 1568-1593.
6.
Block, J., & Kremen, A.M. (1996). IQ and ego-resiliency: Conceptual and empirical connections and separateness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 349-361.
7.
Bryant, F.B., & Cvengros, J.A. (2004). Distinguishing hope and optimism: Two sides of a coin, or two separate coins?Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 273-302.
8.
Buchanan, G.M., & Seligman, M. (1995). Explanatory style. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
9.
Burt, R.S. (2000). The network structure of social capital. Research in Organizational Behavior, 22, 345-423.
10.
Cameron, K.S., & Caza, A. (2004). Contributions to the discipline of positive organizational scholarship. American Behavioral Scientist, 47, 731-739.
11.
Cameron, K., Dutton, J.E., & Quinn, R.E. (2003). Positive organizational scholarship. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
12.
Carver, C.S., & Scheier, M.F. (2002). Optimism. In C. R. Snyder & S. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology, (pp. 231-243). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
13.
Cascio, W., Young, C., & Morris, J. (1997). Corporate investments in human capital: How financial accounting standards undermine public policy. Academy of Management Journal, 40, 1175-1189.
14.
Chandler, G.N., & Hanks, S.H. (1994). Founder competence, the environment, and venture performance. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Spring, 77-89.
15.
Coleman, J.S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital . American Journal of Sociology, 94, S95-S120.
16.
Cooper, A.C., Gimeno, J., & Woo, C.Y. (1994). Initial human and financial capital as predictors of new venture performance. Journal of Business Venturing , 9, 371-395.
17.
Cooper, C.L., & Nelson, D. (Eds.). (2006). Positive organizational behavior: Accentuating the positive at work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
18.
Coutu, D. (2002). How resilience works. Harvard Business Review, 80, 46-55.
19.
Curry, L.A., Snyder, C.R., Cook, D.I., Ruby, B.C., & Rehm, M. (1997). The role of hope in student-athlete academic and sport achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 73, 1257-1267.
20.
Feldman, D.C. (2000). From the me decade to the flee decade. In C. Leana, & D. Rousseau (Eds.), Relational wealth: The advantages of stability in a changing economy, 169-182. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
21.
Fernandez, R.M., & Weinberg, N. (1997). Sifting and sorting: Personal contacts and hiring in a retail bank. American Sociological Review, 62, 883-902.
22.
Fernandez, R.M., Castilla, E.J., & Moore, P. (2000). Social capital at work: Networks and employment at a phone center. American Journal of Sociology, 105, 1288-1356.
23.
Florin, J., Lubatkin, M., & Schulze, W. (2003). A social capital model of high-growth ventures . Academy of Management Journal, 46, 374-384.
24.
Friedman, T.L. (2005). The world is flat. New York : Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
25.
Garmezy, N., Masten, A.S., & Tellegen, A. (1984). The study of stress and competence in children: A building block for developmental psychopathology. Child Development, 55,97-111.
26.
Gimeno, J., Folta, T.B., Cooper, A.C., & Woo, C.Y. (1997). Survival of the fittest? Entrepreneurial human capital and the persistence of underperforming firms. Administrative Science Quarterly,42, 750-783.
27.
Glantz, M.D., & Johnson, J.L. (1999). Resiliency and development: Positive life adaptations . New York: Kluwer Academic.
28.
Goldsmith, A.H., Darity, W., & Veum, J.R. (1998). Race, cognitive skills, psychological capital and wages. Review of Black Political Economy, 26, 13-22.
29.
Hackman, J.R., & Oldham, G.R. (1980). Work redesign. Reading, MA : Addison-Wesley.
30.
Harrell-Cook, G., & Ferris, G.R. (1997). Competing pressures for human resource investment . Human Resource Management Review, 7, 317-340.
31.
Hitt, M., Bierman, L., Shimizu, K., & Kochhar, R. (2001). Direct and moderating effects of human capital on strategy and performance in professional service firms: A resource-based perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 13-28.
32.
Johnson, O.E., Smith, M.L., & Gambill, D.Y. (2000). Reconstructing `we.` In C. Leana & D. Rousseau (Eds.), Relational wealth: The advantages of stability in a changing economy (pp. 153-168). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
33.
Judge, T., & Bono, J. (2001). Relationship of core self-evaluations traits--self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability--with job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 80-92.
34.
Judge, T., Heller, D., & Mount, M.K. (2002). Five-factor model of personality and job satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 530-541.
35.
Judge, T., Erez, A., Bono, J., & Thoresen, C. (2003). The Core Self-Evaluations Scale: Development and measure. Personnel Psychology, 56, 303-331.
36.
Judge, T.A., Thoresen, C.J., Bono, J.E., & Patton, G.K. (2001). The job satisfaction-job performance relationship: A qualitative and quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin,127, 376-407.
37.
Klonhlen, E. (1996). Conceptual analysis and measurement of the construct of ego-resiliency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 70, 1067-1079.
38.
Kossek, E.E., Huber, M.S., & Lerner, J.V. (2003). Sustaining work force inclusion and well-being of mothers on public assistance: Individual deficit and social ecology perspectives . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 62(1), 155-175.
39.
Kostova, T., & Roth, K.2003. Social capital in multinational corporations and a micro-macro model of its formation. Academy of Management Review, 28, 297-317.
40.
Leana, C., & Van Buren, H.1999. Organizational social capital and employment practices . Academy of Management Review, 24, 538-555.
41.
Leana, C., & Rousseau, D. (2000). Relational wealth: The advantages of stability in a changing economy. New York: Oxford University Press.
42.
Lepak, D.P., & Snell, S.A. (1999). The human resource architecture: Toward a theory of human capital allocation and development. Academy of Management Review, 24, 31-48.
43.
Luthans, F. (2002a). The need for and meaning of positive organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 695-706.
44.
Luthans, F. (2002b). Positive organizational behavior: Developing and managing psychological strengths. Academy of Management Executive, 16, 57-72.
45.
Luthans, F. (2003). Positive organizational behavior (POB): Implications for leadership and HR development, authentic leadership development, and motivation . In Steers, R., Porter, L.W., & Begley, G.A. (Eds.). Motivation and leadership at work. New York : McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
46.
Luthans, F., & Avolio, B.J. (2003). Authentic leadership development. In K.S. Cameron, J.E. Dutton , & R.E. Quinn (Eds.). Positive organizational scholarship (pp. 241-261). San Francisco : Berrett-Koehler.
47.
Luthans, F., Avolio, B.J., Walumbwa, F.O., & Li, W. (2005). The psychological capital of Chinese workers: Exploring the relationship with performance. Management and Organization Review, 1, 247-269.
48.
Luthans, F., & Jensen, S. (2002). Hope: A new positive strength for human resource development. Human Resource Management Review, 1, 304-322.
49.
Luthans, F., Luthans, K., Hodgetts, R., & Luthans, B. (2002). Positive approach to leadership (PAL): Implications for today's organizations. The Journal of Leadership Studies , 8, 3-20.
50.
Luthans, F., Luthans, K., & Luthans, B. (2004). Positive psychological capital: Beyond the human and social capital. Business Horizons, 47(1), 45-50.
51.
Luthans, F., Vogelgesang, G.R., & Lester, P.B. (2006). Developing the psychological capital of resiliency . Human Resource Development Review, 5(1), 25-44.
52.
Luthans, F., & Youssef, C. (2004). Human, social, and now positive psychological capital management: Investing in people for competitive advantage. Organizational Dynamics, 33, 143-160.
53.
Luthans, F., Youssef, C.M., & Avolio, B.J. (2006). Psychological capital: Investing and developing positive organizational behavior. In C.L. Cooper, & D. Nelson (Eds.), Positive organizational behavior: Accentuating the positive at work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
54.
Luthans, F., Youssef, C.M., & Avolio, B.J. (2007). Psychological capital: Developing the human competitive edge. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
55.
Luthar, S.S. (2003). Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
56.
Mack, D., Nelson, D., & Quick, J. (1998). The stress of organizational change: A dynamic process model. Applied Psychology: An International Review , 47, 219-232.
57.
Maddi, S.R. (1987). Hardiness training at IllinoisBellTelephone. In P. Opatz (Ed.), Health promotion evaluation, 101-115. Stevens Point, WI: National Wellness Institute.
58.
Maddi, S.R. (2002). The story of hardiness: Twenty years of theorizing research and practice. Consulting Psychology Journal, 54, 173-185.
59.
Magaletta, P.R., & Oliver, J.M. (1999). The hope construct, will, and ways: Their relationship with self-efficacy, optimism, and general well-being. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55, 539-551.
60.
Masten, A.S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience process in development . American Psychologist, 56, 227-239.
61.
Masten, A.S., & Powell, J.L. (2003). A resilience framework for research, policy, and practice. In S. S. Luthars (Ed.), Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
62.
Masten, A.S., & Reed, M.G. (2002). Resilience in development. In C. R. Snyder, & S. Lopez (Eds.), The handbook of positive psychology. Oxford, UK : Oxford University Press.
63.
Maurer, T.J., & Pierce, H.R. (1998). A comparison of Likert scale and traditional measures of self-efficacy. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 324-329.
64.
Meyer, J.P., Allen, N.J., & Gellatly. ( 1990). Affective and continuance commitment to the organization: Evaluation of measures and analysis of concurrent and time-lagged relations . Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 710-720.
65.
Meyerson, E.M. (1994). Human capital, social capital, and compensation: The relative contribution of social contacts to managers' income. Acta Socioligica, 37, 383-399.
66.
Morris, J.R., Cascio, W., & Young, C. (1999). Downsizing after all these years: Questions and answers about who did it, how many did it, and who benefited from it. Organizational Dynamics, 27, 78-88.
67.
Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23, 242-266.
68.
Parker, S. (1998). Enhancing role breadth self-efficacy: The roles of job enrichment and other organizational interventions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 835-852.
69.
Pearce, J., & Randel, A. (2004). Expectations of organizational mobility, workplace social inclusion, and employee job performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 81-98.
70.
Pennings, J.M., & Lee, K. (1999). Social capital of organization: Conceptualization, level of analysis, and performance implications. In S.M. Gabbay (Ed.), Corporate social capital and liability , (pp. 43-67). Boston: Kluwer Academic.
71.
Pennings, J.M., Lee, K., & Witteloosttuijn, A. (1998). Human capital, social capital, and firm dissolution. Academy of Management Journal , 41, 425-441.
72.
Peterson, C. (2000). The future of optimism. American Psychologist, 55, 44-55.
73.
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
74.
Peterson, R. (1994). A meta-analysis of Cronbach's coefficient alpha . Journal of Consumer Research, 21, 381-391.
75.
Peterson, S., & Luthans, F. (2002). The positive impact and development of hopeful leaders. Leadership and Organizational Development Journal , 24, 26-31.
76.
Pfeffer, J. (1998). The human equation. Boston : Harvard Business School Press.
77.
Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R.I. (2000). The knowing-doing gap. Boston : Harvard Business School Press.
78.
Podolny, J.M., & Baron, J.N. (1997). Resources and relationships: Social networks and mobility in the workplace. American Sociological Review, 62, 673-693.
79.
Podsakoff, P.M., MacKenzie, S.B., Podsakaff, N.P., & Lee, J.Y. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879-903.
80.
Portes, A. (1998). Social capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 1-24.
81.
Riketta, M. (2002). Attitudinal organizational commitment and job performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior , 23, 257-266.
82.
Scheier, M.F., & Carver, C.S. (1985). Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4, 219-247.
83.
Schneider, N. (2001). In search of realistic optimism: Meaning, knowledge and warm fuzziness. American Psychologist, 56, 250-263.
84.
Seligman, M. (1998a). Learned optimism. New York, NY: Pocket Books.
85.
Seligman, M. (1998b). Positive social science. APA Monitor, 29, 5.
86.
Seligman, M., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive Psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5-14.
87.
Shifren, K., & Hooker, K. (1995). Stability and change in optimism: A study among spouse caregivers. Experimental Aging Research, 21, 59-76.
88.
Slater, S. (1995). Issues in conducting marketing research and strategy research. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 3, 257-270.
89.
Slocombe, J.E., & Bluedorn, A.C. (1999). Organizational behavior implications of the congruence between preferred polychronicity and experienced work-unit polychronicity. Journal of Organizational Behavior , 20, 75-99.
90.
Snyder, C.R. (2000). Handbook of hope: Theory, measures, and applications . San Diego: Academic Press.
91.
Snyder, C.R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13, 249-275.
92.
Snyder, C. R., & Lopez, S. (Eds.). (2002). Handbook of positive psychology . New York: Oxford University Press .
93.
Snyder, C.R., Harris, C., Anderson, J., Holleran, S., Irving, L., Sigmon, S., Yoshinobu, L., Gibb, J., Langelle, C., & Harney, P. (1991). The will and ways: Development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 570-585.
94.
Snyder, C.R., & Shorey, H.S. (2003). Hope and leadership. In K. Christensen (Ed.), Encyclopedia of leadership. Harrison, N.Y.: Berkshire Publishers.
95.
Snyder, C.R., Sympson, S.C., Ybasco, F.C., Borders, T.F., Babyak, M.A., & Higgins, R.L. (1996). Development and validation of the state hope scale . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70: 321-335.
96.
Stajkovic, A. (2003). Introducing positive psychology to work motivation: Development of a core confidence model. Paper presented at the Academy of Management National Meeting, Seattle, WA.
97.
Stajkovic, A., & Luthans, F. (1998a). Self-efficacy and work-related performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 240-261.
98.
Stajkovic, A., & Luthans, F. (1998b). Social cognitive theory and self-efficacy: Going beyond traditional motivational and behavioral approaches. Organizational Dynamics, 26, 62-74.
99.
Van Marrewijk, M., & Timmers, J. (2003). Human capital management: New possibilities in people management. Journal of Business Ethics, 44, 171-184.
100.
Wandberg, C.R. (1997). Antecedents and outcomes of coping behavior among unemployed and reemployed individuals. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 731-744.
101.
Wright, P.M., & Snell, S.A. (1999). Social capital and strategic HRM: It's who you know. Human Resource Planning, 22, 62-65.
102.
Wright, T.A. (2003). Positive organizational behavior: An idea whose time has truly come. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24, 437-442.
103.
Wunderly, L.J., Reddy, W.B., & Dember, W.N. (1998). Optimism and pessimism in business leaders. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 751-760.
104.
Youssef, C., & Luthans, F. (2003). Developing resilient organizations and leaders . Paper presented at the Academy of Management, Organizational Development and Change Division,National Meeting, Seattle, WA.
