Organizational and Individual Level Antecedents of Psychological Capital and its Associated Outcomes: Development of a Conceptual Framework

Abstract

The importance of positivity in life has been recognized long time back with the pioneering works of Seligman. Positive psychology as a field was founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within them, and enhance their experiences of love, work and play. However, the potential need to incorporate the principles of positive psychology to enhance the lives of employees at workplace has been identified very lately. This review article starts with the journey from positive psychology to positive organizational behaviour (POB) followed by the elaborated conceptual development of psychological capital (PsyCap) and its uniqueness in relation to other positive constructs. Next section of the article presents evidence of major theoretical contributions in developing the field of POB and PsyCap along with distinction between states versus trait paradigm in Psychology. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of recently introduced concept of PsyCap and reveal its antecedents and consequences. We have synthesized and integrated recent empirical research examining the nature of the construct of PsyCap and develop a conceptual framework regarding its individual and organizational antecedents and consequences for further understanding of the relevant issues in the area of PsyCap and POB. The organizational level antecedents of PsyCap included in this article are work engagement, organizational justice, workplace social support and authentic leadership. Likewise, individual level antecedents of PsyCap covered in this article are sense of humour and positive emotions. The major potential outcomes of PsyCap in the present article included both desirable (mental health, organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), creative performance and ethical performance) and undesirable (incivility) work-related organizational outcomes. Several preliminary propositions have been offered to guide future research and the role of PsyCap within a broad theoretical and empirical context is discussed. Finally, we have discussed the gaps in the relevant literature, major issues for future research on PsyCap along with implications and interventions about how management can enhance each within their employees for performance management, leadership development and HR development.