Abstract

Research on organisational psychological capital (PsyCap) has been limited to evidence from large, publicly traded firms with few insights into the overlooked small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. Previous studies on PsyCap and SME performance have focused only on individual PsyCap or have used aggregated individual PsyCap data as proxies for the organisational construct. Although organisational PsyCap is expected to promote sustainable performance through enhanced resource acquisition and effective business functioning, a greater understanding of the importance of context is critical. Attention must also be given to situational influences that impact the internal resource generation–performance relationship (Grözinger et al., 2022).

References

  1. Ashfaq, F., Abid, G. and Ilyas, S. (2021) ‘Impact of ethical leadership on employee engagement: role of self-efficacy and organizational commitment’, Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 619523. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.619523
  2. Chen, Q., Wen, Z., Kong, Y., Niu, J. and Hau, K.T. (2017) ‘Influence of leaders' psychological capital on their followers: multilevel mediation effect of organizational identification’, Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1776. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01776
  3. Clapp-Smith, R., Vogelgesang, G.R. and Avey, J.B. (2009) ‘Authentic leadership and positive psychological capital: the mediating role of trust at the group level of analysis’, Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 15(3), pp. 227–240. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051808326596
  4. Gillert, J.E. (2014) The relationship of psychological capital and burnout with training and performance. PhD thesis. Oklahoma State University.
  5. Grözinger, A.C., Wolff, S., Ruf, P.J. and Moog, P. (2022) ‘The power of shared positivity: organizational psychological capital and firm performance during exogenous crises’, Small Business Economics, 58(2), pp. 689–716. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00506-4
  6. Jeong, J.G., Choi, S.B. and Kang, S.W. (2022) ‘Leader's perception of corporate social responsibility and team members' psychological well-being: mediating effects of value congruence climate and pro-social behavior’, Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 851800. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.851800
  7. Mahmud, A., Ali, Z., Ashanuzzaman, M. and Ashrafuzzaman, M. (2023) ‘How and when community-oriented corporate social responsibility affects employee societal behavior: a moderated-mediated model’, Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1118254. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37809610/ (Accessed: 27 February 2026).
  8. Meng, J., Wang, X., Xie, M., Hao, Z., Yang, J. and Liu, Y. (2023) ‘Ethical leadership and TMT decision-making of corporate social responsibility – a perspective of self-determination theory’, Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1268091. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1268091
  9. Peterson, S.J., Luthans, F., Avolio, B.J., Walumbwa, F.O. and Zhang, Z. (2011) ‘Psychological capital and employee performance: a latent growth modeling approach’, Personnel Psychology, 64(2), pp. 427–450. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01215.x
  10. Qalati, S.A., Zafar, Z., Fan, M., Sánchez Limón, M.L. and Khaskheli, M.B. (2022) ‘Employee performance under transformational leadership and organizational citizenship behavior: a mediated model’, Heliyon, 8(11), e11374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11374
  11. Saleem, M., Qadeer, F., Mahmood, F., Han, H., Giorgi, G. and Ariza-Montes, A. (2021) ‘Inculcation of green behavior in employees: a multilevel moderated mediation approach’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(1), 331. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18010331
  12. Schwarz, S. (2018) ‘The effect of psychological capital on growth and entrepreneurs' use of human and social capital’, Academy of Management Proceedings, 2018(1), 263. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2018.263
  13. Tziner, A. and Persoff, M. (2024) ‘The interplay between ethics, justice, corporate social responsibility, and performance management sustainability’, Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1268029.
  14. Ur Rehman, F., Rehman, F., Sabir, J. and Nawaz, T. (2014) ‘Determining the influence of psychological capital on the ethical behavior of sales force: a case of telecom sector’, European Journal of Business and Management, 6(37), pp. 290–296.