We advance organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) theory by exploring its proximal psychological antecedent variables (self-perceived competence and social acceptance) in two time-lagged studies. Further, we examine the relationships between the distal antecedents of job crafting and self-verification, the proximal variables, and OBSE (Study 1). Organizational newcomers who engage in higher levels of job crafting and self-verification on the job report higher self-perceived competence and acceptance, and in turn, greater increases (change) in their OBSE. Study 2 partially replicates and builds on Study 1 by being one of the few studies of OBSE to explore its relationships with objective, as opposed to subjective and/or self-report, measures of motivation and performance. Specifically, in a sample of salespeople from a U.S.-based direct-sales company, work motivation was measured objectively as the number of sales events hosted by the individual, and work performance was measured objectively as the monetary value of sales made. Results replicated those of Study 1, and advanced OBSE theory, as we found that self-perceived social acceptance and competence predict motivation and performance by way of OBSE as a mediator.

It has been over a decade since the conceptual foundation of collective psychological ownership (CPO) was first built in the organizational behavior and management literature. A significant body of empirical studies has been conducted to examine CPO at either the team level or the individual level, providing divergent views of CPO and its application in different contexts. This article offers insights into the genesis and emergence of CPO as an outgrowth of prior scholarship on psychological ownership at the individual level to the team level. It also includes a systematic literature review of 96 studies that cited the seminal study of collective psychological ownership and had CPO as a major construct in its conceptualization and empirical setting. We conclude with directions for future scholarship that would enhance the theory of CPO, as well as methodological recommendations for testing the role of CPO in different applied contexts.

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This is designed to be a fun and interactive session focused on the stories and people behind some of our major management theories. As a relatively young academic discipline, we are fortunate to have many pioneers and second-generation thought leaders that have observed and participated in the evolution of our theories from inception to present day. “Then & Now” is an annual symposium that appeals to new and seasoned scholars from across the academy. This year’s session focuses on Psychological Ownership. The symposium will begin with Jon Pierce and Kurt Dirks describing how they became interested in this topic, collaborators/supporters, and how this construct developed. Graham Brown and Markus Baer will talk about how their research on psychological ownership and territoriality has expanded into entrepreneurship and marketing. The “Now” panelist, Chris Stein, will describe how his recent research on territoriality has evolved from the original body of work, and where it is likely to go next. The symposium concludes with the audience sharing their own perspectives and stories related to the ideas and people who have shaped this growing body of research.

One of the more important responsibilities for HRD professionals is to help employees fit into the organization. This fitting in, or adjustment, to the organization includes the skills to perform one's job, understanding the relationships of one's role to the broader organization, and feeling accepted by one's peers. Onboarding, or more broadly, organizational socialization, is a proven practice that enhances employee adjustment through learning and development. Prior research reveals favorable relationships between organizational socialization (OS) practices and employee adjustment. Much less is known about which aspects of OS the HRD professional should focus on, why employees are motivated to use the knowledge gained from socialization to improve job performance, or whether relationships discovered in past research on newcomers can or should be generalized to more experienced employees. The current research is based on the multidomain, continuous model of OS. Consistent with that model, we found that effective socialization enhances employee organizational adjustment, which subsequently raises their organization-based self-esteem (OBSE), and that OS has stronger relationships with adjustment for less experienced employees than those with more experienced employees. Our results also reveal that adjustment mediated growth in OBSE that accompanied the ongoing process of OS, and that employees who perceived higher levels of socialization had greater increases in OBSE. We discuss the implications of our results for HRD professionals in designing OS programs, particularly as they relate to the targeted employees, and the framing of the communications.

Many universities around the world depend on financial donations to maintain and enhance their operations. We propose that donating money to an organization is a specific form of organizational citizenship behavior. We theorize that perceived values congruence between alumni and their colleges/universities and normative organizational commitment each provide motivation for people to donate money. We tested our hypotheses using alumni from a private college in the USA, measuring both the amount as well as the frequency of their donations to the college. We also measured alumni self-reports of values congruence and normative organizational commitment. We found empirical support for a positive relationship between values congruence and commitment and between commitment and financial giving. Values congruence, however, was not related to giving behavior; normative organizational commitment fully mediated the relationship between values congruence, and the alumnus’ financial giving behaviors. Higher education organizations that depend on donations from members to sustain their operations might focus advancement efforts on developing a perception of values congruence in potential donors, and/or by stimulating a sense of obligation to give back to the colleges from which they have previously derived benefits.

While there are many empirical studies of psychological ownership, there are few that examine the origins of it. Why do people develop feelings of ownership over various entities in their lives? In this investigation we empirically explore the role played by basic psychological needs as motives for the development of job-based psychological ownership. Specifically, we hypothesize that person-job fit is positively related to job-based psychological ownership through three major routes (experienced control, intimate knowing, and/or investment of the self). Further, based on extant theory but not previously studied, we hypothesized that self-identity needs and effectance motivation act as first stage moderators of these mediated relationships. Based on data from 308 employees in China, and employing a time-lagged design, we observed a significant positive relationship between person-job fit and psychological ownership through the three routes. Most of these mediated relationships were moderated by the need for self-identity and effectance motivation, such that the positive effects became stronger as the motivational needs strengthened. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Psychological ownership critically entails the need for home (a place in which to dwell or a place of belongingness). However, the question of how an individual’s need for belongingness within an organization affects their psychological ownership of organization-linked objects remains unexplored. We first conducted a behavioral study to determine whether psychological ownership of object can be elicited by marking the object with the name of the subjects’ organization. The participants in this behavioral study reported a higher level of psychological ownership when objects were marked with their own organization’s name (i.e., in-organization objects) compared with objects marked with another organization’s name (i.e., out-organization objects). Importantly, this effect was more pronounced among subjects who experienced a stronger sense of organizational belongingness. We subsequently conducted a second study to explore its underlying neural mechanism. Our findings indicated that participants with a higher level of perceived organizational belongingness exhibited a significantly larger amplitude of the P300 component of event-related potential in response to in-organization objects compared with their response to out-organization objects. However, no significant difference in the P300 component was found for participants who lacked a sense of organizational belongingness.

Purpose Social comparison and job-based psychological ownership (JPO) are compared and contrasted as explanations for relationships between organization relational psychological contract fulfillment (ORPCF) and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 241 employees and 82 of their managers at an information services company. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling to test for hypothesized and exploratory indirect relationships. Findings Consistent results were found for sequential mediation from ORPCF to employee investment of the self into the job, to JPO, to supervisor-rated helping and voice OCBs. Employees' perception of their relational psychological contract fulfillment (social exchange) did not simultaneously mediate the relationships between ORPCF and employees' OCBs. Research limitations/implications Psychological ownership presents a complement to social exchange to explain effects of relational psychological contract fulfillment on employee outcomes. Because of the cross-sectional nature of the data conclusions about causality are quite limited. Practical implications Organizations and managers should emphasize that fulfillment of relational psychological contract obligations represent a significant investment in employees, who reciprocate by investing themselves into their work. This in turn bolsters JPO and its positive employee outcomes. Originality/value This is the first study to directly compare social exchange and psychological ownership explanations for effects of psychological contract fulfillment on employees.

As 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.