James B. Avey

The Additive Value of Positive Psychological Capital in Predicting Work Attitudes and Behaviors

Conventional wisdom and recent research have supported the importance of employee positivity. However, empirical analysis has not yet demonstrated potential added value of recently recognized psychological capital over the more established positive traits in predicting work attitudes and behaviors. This study found that psychological capital was positively related to extrarole organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and negatively to organizational cynicism, intentions to quit, and counterproductive workplace behaviors. With one exception, psychological capital also predicted unique variance in these outcomes beyond demographics, self-evaluation, personality, and person—organization and person—job fit. The article concludes with implications for future research and practical application.

Authentic Leadership and Positive Psychological Capital The Mediating Role of Trust at the Group Level of Analysis

This study investigates the relationship between authentic leadership, trust, positive psychological capital (PsyCap), and performance at the group level of analysis. Data were collected from a small Midwestern chain of retail clothing stores, a context in which the needs for both authentic leadership and a positive sales staff are integral to the firms performance. Constructs were aggregated to the store (group) level to test relationships between perceptions of authentic leadership, trust in management, positive psychological capital, and performance. Trust in management was found to mediate the relationship between PsyCap and performance and to partially mediate the relationship between authentic leadership and performance. Future discussions and implications are discussed.

The Implications of Positive Psychological Capital on Employee Absenteeism

Drawing from positive psychology and positive organizational behavior (Luthans, 2002a, 2002b) this study utilized a field study in a high tech manufacturing firm to demonstrate how positive psychological capital reduces levels of both involuntary and voluntary absenteeism. Previous studies setting out to determine job attitude antecedents of absenteeism have been generally disappointing and account for only small levels of variance. In addition, with few exceptions conceptualization of absenteeism has been uni-dimensional despite calls by previous researchers to consider the significant differences in semantic networks of voluntary and involuntary absenteeism as separate metrics. We make this dual dimension distinction and show how previous antecedents of absenteeism contribute to one dimension more than the other. The utility of the study findings conclude the article.

Using Positivity, Transformational Leadership and Empowerment to Combat Employee Negativity

– The purpose of this study is to hypothesize and test a conceptual model linking concepts of leadership and positive organizational behavior to a reduction in employee negativity, with empowerment as an important mediator in the causal relationships., – A heterogeneous sample of 341 working adults completed survey measures as two separate points in time. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate psychometric properties of instruments, and path analysis using structural equation modeling software was used to test hypotheses., – As hypothesized, both transformational leadership (β=0.27) and positive psychological capital (hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism) (β=0.61) were significantly related to feelings of empowerment. Empowerment was significantly related to intentions to quit (β=−0.38) but not employee cynicism. Empowerment also fully mediated the relationship between the independent variables and intentions to quit., – A convenience sampling method limited the generalizability of results. Causal and longitudinal research designs would extend findings discussed here. Implications for management are significant in terms of countering employee negativity using leadership processes, employee selection and development., – This study offers the first conceptual model integrating emerging concepts from positive organizational behavior, in the form of positive psychological capacities, with validated leadership models (transformational leadership). Both were suggested to influence negative outcomes, with empowerment as an effective mediator of these relationships. Findings generally support the hypotheses advanced herein.

The Interactive Effects of Psychological Capital and Organizational Identity on Employee Organizational Citizenship and Deviance Behaviors

We studied 199 working adults from a cross section of organizations in the United States to examine the relationship between positive psychological capital and organizational identity on employee deviance and organizational citizenship behaviors. Organizational identity was found to moderate the relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap) and both employee deviance and organizational citizenship behaviors such that employees highest in PsyCap and most strongly identified with the organization were most likely to engage in organizational citizenship behaviors and least likely to engage in deviance behaviors. We discuss implications for research and practice in the areas of PsyCap and employee identification with the organization.

Relationships Between Leadership and Followers’ Quitting Intentions and Job Search Behaviors

A model was developed and tested in which quality of leader—member exchange mediated the relationship between followers’ perceptions of transformational leadership behavior and their (a) intentions to quit the organization and (b) job search behaviors. The key contribution of this study was that the exchange relationship between leader and follower explained the majority of the relationship between transformational leadership and job search behaviors. A transformational leader may take individual followers’ motivations into consideration and so attempt to stimulate personal development, but the exchange between the two explains the action of seeking another employment situation. Limitations and implications are discussed.

A Longitudinal Analysis of Positive Psychological Constructs and Emotions on Stress, Anxiety, and Well-Being

Two studies were conducted including one involving a longitudinal research design to understand better the influential role of the positive psychological capacities of hope, efficacy, optimism, resilience, as well as positive emotions on individual stress, anxiety, and well-being. Study 1 (N = 1,316) was conducted to validate a hypothesized relationship between the positive capacities and well-being. Next, in Study 2 (N = 172), data were collected from participants at 12 points in time over 4 months and random coefficient modeling was used to test hypotheses between variables in a cognitive mediational theoretical framework. Results suggest positive psychological capacities can be a source of positive emotions. In addition, positive emotions and stress mediate the relationship between positive psychological capacities and well-being. A discussion of implications and future research conclude the article.

The Left Side of Psychological Capital: New Evidence on the Antecedents of PsyCap

A recent meta-analysis suggests since 2005 there have been dozens of studies with positive psychological capital (PsyCap) predicting optimal individual performance, behaviors (e.g., citizenship, deviance), and attitudes (e.g., satisfaction, commitment, well-being, turnover intentions). However, in reviewing this literature there is an obvious silence as to the antecedents of PsyCap. Outside the examination of developmental interventions, very little is known about how and why an individual reaches and stabilizes at a given level of PsyCap. To address this gap, this study seeks to better understand the antecedents of individual-level PsyCap. In a field study of 1,264 engineers and technicians, a categorical perspective on PsyCap antecedents is tested. In a second study of 529 Chinese technology employees, the results from Study 1 are replicated with less overall variance explained raising measurement and cultural boundary conditions of current tools employed for empirical research on PsyCap. Implications for managerial practices conclude the article.

Building the Leaders of Tomorrow: The Development of Academic Psychological Capital

The now widely recognized core construct of psychological capital (PsyCap) consists of the state-like positive psychological resources of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. PsyCap has been empirically shown in the research literature to be related to various employee attitudinal, behavioral, and performance outcomes and open to development and change. Most recently, PsyCap has also been shown to be significantly related to business student academic performance. Using a pretest, posttest control group design, the present study tested whether the PsyCap of business students can be developed through a micro-training intervention. Results from this quasi-experimental study provide initial support that the Academic PsyCap of business students can be positively affected by a short training intervention.

Having the will and finding the way: A review and meta-analysis of hope at work

Critics of the field of positive organizational psychology have expressed reservations with validity and utility of positive constructs, such as hope. The purpose of this article is to systematically review the existing research on hope at work and to determine the ‘true’ relationship between hope and work outcomes by meta-analyzing 133 effect sizes across 45 primary studies based on 11,139 employees. As predicted, we found that the overall corrected mean effect sizes between hope and work performance and employee well-being were positive and statistically significant. Gender and study location were significant moderators of these relationships, with women and US-based studies having stronger hope to work outcomes effects. Taken together, results demonstrate that positive psychology constructs, such as hope, play an important role in understanding and predicting employee behavior.