Psychological capital

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Psychological capital is a management concept with which the following claim is connected: The control or design of "psychological capital" helps managers to achieve relevant business results more effectively and efficiently than with "conventional" management concepts. There is now a multitude of evidence to confirm this claim.

The term “psychological capital” was coined by the American management scientist and consultant Fred Luthans and first introduced to a wider public in 2004 with the article “Human, Social, and Now Positive Psychological Capital Management: Investing in People for Competitive Advantage”.

According to Luthans et al. from four components - from resources that are available to the individual in both professional and private life:

  • Self-efficacy : You are convinced of your own abilities.
  • Hope : You stick to your goals.
  • Optimism : You look to the future with confidence and believe in your success.
  • Resilience : You master problems and overcome hurdles (resistance).

Psychological capital as a concept of the "Positive Organizational Scholarship"

The “ Positive Psychology Movement ” describes a current within academic psychology that has set itself the task of researching concepts that describe the positive sides, strengths and abilities of individuals and groups. In the meantime, a start has been made to transfer these considerations into organizational contexts - on various emergence levels. This resulted in different terms depending on the level under consideration: “positive organizational behavior” (mostly individual or team level), “positive organizational scholarship” (mostly organizational level) or concepts such as “positive management” or “positive leadership”.

The central assumption here is that such positive concepts can be understood as organizational resources, the consideration or design of which on the one hand contribute to higher effectiveness and efficiency and on the other hand make an important contribution to achieving the human goals of an organization. Of particular importance are the criteria that such a positive concept must meet:

  1. It has to be novel, that is, it cannot conform to established concepts.
  2. It has to be measurable.
  3. It must contribute to the (individual or organizational) increase in performance.
  4. The properties or behaviors that the concept describes must be changeable, i. H. they can be learned or developed.

The application of these criteria ensures that such concepts meet both scientific ( objectivity , reliability and validity ) and practice-related requirements (changeability or design and benefit orientation). The management concept of “Psychological Capital” fulfills these criteria.

Psychology and capital

Perhaps it is unfamiliar to see the term “capital” in a close connection with “psychology”. Therefore this should be explained in more detail.

First approach: capital as a source of funds

Basically it is known that the term capital in the balance sheet represents the sum of all financial resources made available by the investors. This shows where the funds for the assets came from (source of funds). In addition, it is broken down into equity and debt capital according to its origin. This idea of ​​the source of funds is also contained in the term “psychological capital”. One of Luthans' concerns was to better understand the "origin" of motivation, commitment, performance and health - that is, their origins - from a psychological perspective and thus to be able to shape them. The term “capital” - in the sense of origin - thus relates on the one hand to the individual requirements on the employee and managerial side, on the other hand to their changeability or supportability and ultimately to the organizational framework conditions that are favorable for this. If one leaves this accounting-related perspective of this consideration, it makes sense to speak of “psychological resources”.

Second approach: capital as a social resource

The term “capital” has received further interpretations beyond the economy. The sociologist Pierre Bourdieu describes capital in general as the resources that are available to people to achieve their goals, i.e. the prerequisites they bring with them to improve their position in social life. He discusses the following forms of capital: economic capital, cultural capital, social capital and symbolic capital. The term “psychological capital” can thus also be understood as an extension of these considerations: Self-efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience are resources that are available to the individual in private and professional life.

Third approach: resources and competitiveness

If you stick to the business perspective and look into the question of which influencing factors the competitiveness of a company depends on, you will find - in historical terms - the following perspectives:

  • The economic business administration - derived from economics - knows - building on the considerations of Adam Smith in the late 18th century - of the need to combine successful corporate management with the management of tangible and financial assets (" economic capital ").
  • Since the beginning of the 1960s - again initially from an economic point of view - attempts have been made to answer the question of the importance of (initially formal) education for overall economic prosperity. These considerations, which are linked to the concept of human capital , were very quickly adapted in business administration - initial considerations about the return on training and the financing of training were answered.
  • Another 20 years later, borrowings from sociology were made in both economic and behavioral business administration with regard to the question of the value of relationships and networks - the preoccupation with the concept of social capital was born.
  • With the increasing importance of intangible value creation for corporate success, attempts have been made since the mid-1990s to take into account the contribution of human, organizational and relationship capital to corporate success using the concept of intellectual capital . The increasing consideration of the "intellectual capital statement" instrument can illustrate this accordingly.
  • Last but not least - based on the considerations of positive psychology - the question of the importance and value of the identity of the organization members for the company's success was asked.

Thus the concept of psychological capital was born.

The question of the sustainability of the company's success was answered comparatively late: starting with Porter's market-oriented approach , which focuses on the “right” choice of industry, through to resource-oriented approaches, of which the concept of core competencies has also established itself in practice Today there is a consensus that a resource must meet the following criteria if it is to make a contribution to sustainable corporate success: uniqueness, scarcity, lack of substitutability or imitability, accumulation, linkability with other resources, renewability. A corresponding analysis shows that it is precisely the four components of psychological capital that best meet the criteria of sustainable competitiveness.

The components of psychological capital

Self-efficacy

In summary, self-efficacy can be defined as the ability to master a certain task without having to compare yourself with others. This ability is based on the belief

  • motivate yourself
  • activate one's own mental resources, and
  • to be able to choose the appropriate behavior,

to be able to act successfully within a specific context.

People with high self-efficacy differ from other people in terms of the following characteristics:

  • You set yourself higher goals and choose more demanding tasks on your own initiative.
  • You are motivated by problems.
  • You are intrinsically motivated to a high degree.
  • You try hard enough to actually achieve your goals.
  • Experiencing obstacles stimulates your own stamina.

hope

Hope becomes clear when the probability of the “better future” occurring is low, that is, its realization requires a great deal of effort or external help - and attempts are made to realize it anyway. Hope can be described in terms of three dimensions:

  • The emotional component conveys feelings of strength, courage, trust and confidence.
  • The motivational component leads to “wanting to assert oneself”, to “not wanting to give up”.
  • The cognitive component, which includes “referring to the future”, “focusing on positive goals”.

Hope is closely linked to the awareness of one's own continuity in the future. It serves as a buffer against resignation and despair and is a resource for active attempts at coping with stress. So hope has nothing to do with wishful thinking, positive attitudes, emotional climaxes, or illusions. Rather, hope is closely related to sticking to the goals that have been set - even when resistance arises.

It has been found that people with high levels of hope can be described by the following characteristics:

  • They are determined to achieve their goals, and they believe they can do so.
  • You worry about ways and means to achieve these goals.
  • They develop appropriate plans and strategies to accomplish this.
  • They generally have a positive attitude towards the future.
  • You are confident and can still see something as positive even when it appears negative to others.
  • They hope for the best for the future and do what they can to achieve their goals. They have a clear picture of what they want for the future and how they imagine the future.
  • If something does not work out, hopeful people try to look positively into the future despite challenges or setbacks.

optimism

Optimism is to be understood as follows: It is not just about the conviction that positive things will happen in the future, but especially about how this expectation is justified, i.e. attributed. For example, you can spend a lot of time painting a positive future - a career - but the development of this career can be explained in an optimistic - or even in a pessimistic - way: “I am decisive for the creation of the desired positive future responsible ”- in contrast to:“ I cannot do anything to prevent a negative future from coming about ”.

People with high levels of optimism differ from other people in the following traits:

  • Optimists create “self-fulfilling prophecies”. That is, their high positive expectations are often confirmed. This learning process is in turn the basis for further positive expectations.
  • Optimists experience the world as more controllable. In particular, the belief that this control is in one's own hands seems to play a role. Anyone who believes they have control over their environment can also take control of their fate.
  • Above all, optimists use active, problem-oriented coping strategies: they confront life's hurdles and thus learn to overcome them better. Pessimists are more likely to use avoidance strategies, which makes them less adaptable to stressful situations.
  • Pessimists are more likely to use emotional forms of coping: they are more likely to brood, criticize themselves, withdraw and often fail to address their problems. Optimists, on the other hand, adapt their coping strategies flexibly to the situation.
  • Optimists don't fear being turned away. They therefore actively seek social support. Social support represents a "buffer" that is noticeable in stressful times. Optimists are "easier to bear" for their fellow men and less hostile and cynical.
  • Optimists can therefore be more certain of the support of their social environment, since here people can be more friendly and open towards them.
  • Better knowledge of how to cope with crises makes optimists "tougher" in difficult times. It is therefore important to know, to know your strengths - you have to know when to do what.

Resilience

The term resilience describes the ability of a person to adapt to threatening situations and to be able to cope with them. Resilience should not be seen as a rigid, fixed personality trait of the individual, but as a flexible resistance that is adapted to the respective circumstances. Resilience thus means the ability or the resource of an individual to maintain or restore normal development and functionality despite risks or trauma. According to this, an individual who has a high degree of resilience as a character trait can withstand hardship and misery or quickly recover from these after drastic experiences.

People with high resilience differ from other people in terms of the following characteristics:

  • You exude optimism and confidence.
  • You show a high willingness to analyze situations thoroughly.
  • Overall, you appear balanced and at peace with yourself.
  • You are serene.
  • You have clear goals in mind and pursue them consistently and with great discipline.
  • They are empathetic and can withdraw to listen carefully to the other.
  • They have a sense of humor and accept the negative aspects of life as something given that is part of life.

Results: Benefit for leadership practice

The benefits of psychological capital can be demonstrated by a large number of empirical studies.

Effects on performance requirements

An increase in psychological capital has positive effects on

  • the emotional level (wellbeing, happiness)
  • health
  • the job satisfaction
  • developing your own skills
  • the commitment
  • the Organizational Citizenship Behavior

The development of psychological capital also helps to remove a number of different barriers to achievement. In particular, here are the

  • emotional level (cynicism, depersonalization)
  • Health level, and the
  • Behavioral level - especially willingness to quit and active job search

to name.

Effects on performance-related results

In summary, an increase in psychological capital has positive effects on

  • individual performance
  • the performance of the organizational unit
  • Release of resources in the sense of a productive intention
  • increase of productivity
  • Reduction of the workload through a functioning work unit
  • Improved coordination of activities between team members and work groups
  • Improving the stability of organizational performance
  • Improvement of organizational performance

Meta-analysis

In addition to a large number of individual case studies, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies (see above), the meta-analysis by Avey et al. really important. This meta-analysis is based on 51 independent studies in which a total of 12,567 people were involved. The objective was to find out which generalizable effects psychological capital has. Overall, the following became clear: Psychological capital contributes to

  • to positively influence job satisfaction, commitment to the organization and general wellbeing to a high degree.
  • To reduce the intention to quit and the experience of stress and anxiety.
  • Promote the level of performance of employees - regardless of how this is measured.
  • the willingness of employees to perform beyond what is expected (“Organizational Citizenship Behavior”) and, conversely, prevent performance deficits from occurring.

On the special role of managers

Walumbwa et al. asked 79 police department and department heads and their 264 employees about their psychological capital, the general service atmosphere of the department and about their work performance. The service atmosphere examined the importance of work and service quality in daily work. The work performance of the employees was assessed by their direct superiors. Here the following became clear:

  • Those executives who themselves had a higher degree of psychological capital were able to strengthen the self-efficacy, the level of hope and optimism as well as the resilience of their employees.
  • This also had the consequence that the service quality and the performance of the employees improved.
  • So it can be said that the employees' psychological capital can be seen as a kind of "mediator" between manager and work performance. Only if the manager succeeds in making the team members optimistic and more resilient will they work better.

The authors come to the following conclusions for management practice:

  • If managers want to have more efficient employees, they have to be role models: They have to set an example of how to build on your strengths - on your psychological capital.
  • Consequently, managers should be selected according to the extent to which they have psychological capital.
  • In a nutshell: Without a role model, there would be no psychological capital among employees and therefore no leaps in performance!

Looking at this overview of the results, it can be stated that the expectations that were connected with the development of the concept of “psychological capital” can be regarded as fulfilled: It is related to a large number of individual and organizational performance criteria and can therefore important drivers for the company's success.

Open questions

Psychological Capital - More Than Its Components?

It then makes sense to speak of a superordinate variable “psychological capital” if it is possible to show that this variable has a greater benefit than the use of its components. This can be shown by appropriate statistical analyzes: The variable “psychological capital” is better able to predict relevant variables such as performance, satisfaction or health better than its components. Luthans was able to prove this impressively by means of a large number of studies.

Psychological capital: stable personality trait or developable resource?

In personality psychology , a distinction is made between two “types” of variables: “trait” is understood to mean stable personality traits that are difficult to change, while “state” denotes traits whose characteristics vary depending on the situation. Luthans et al. propose a continuum model for this. State and trait are positioned on the extremes. The criteria for differentiation are the relative stability measured by their “openness to change and development”. On this continuum, in their argumentation, the various variables could be assigned to different levels. Thus, the classification of psychological capital could be clearly and unambiguously defined:

  • "States": very strong momentary reference, unstable and subject to rapid changes, such as E.g .: positive mood, being happy.
  • “State-like”: relative stability over time and open to developments; this construct can contain more than hope, resilience, self-efficacy and optimism. Wisdom, gratitude, courage, etc. have similar qualities.
  • “Trait-like”: relatively stable and difficult to change. This includes personality traits and strengths. Constructs on this level would be the "Big five" and "characters, strengths and virtues".
  • “Traits”: very stable, very difficult to change. Examples would be intelligence, talent, and positive inheritable traits.

Since the psychological capital had proven to be state-like in research, the development and implementation of intervention measures and training programs for its development could now also move into the focus of interest.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ F. Luthans, CM Youssef, BJ Aviolio: Psychological Capital Oxford. University Press, 2007.
  2. ^ JB Avey, RJ Reichart, F. Luthans, KH Mhatre: Meta-analysis of the Impact of positive psychological capital on employee attitudes, behaviors, and performance. In: Human Resource Development Quarterly. Volume 22, No. 2, 2011, pp. 127-152.
  3. ↑ F. Luthans, CM Youssef: human, social, and now positive psychological capital management: investing in people for competitive advantage. In: Organizational dynamics. Volume 33, 2004, pp. 143-160.
  4. ↑ F. Luthans, CM Youssef, BJ Aviolio: Psychological Capital Oxford. University Press, 2007
  5. ↑ Seligman, MEP / Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000): Positive Psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55 (1): pp. 5-14.
  6. ↑ Cameron, KS / Spreitzer, GM (2012): The Oxford handbook of positive organizational scholarship. new York
  7. ↑ Luthans, F. (2002): Positive Organizational Behavior. Developing and managing psychological strengths. Academy of Management Executive, 16 (1): pp. 57-72.
  8. ↑ Bourdieu, P. (1982): The subtle differences. On the critique of social judgment. Frankfurt.
  9. ↑ Becker, GS (1964): Human Capital. Chicago.
  10. ↑ Bourdieu, P. (1982): The subtle differences. On the critique of social judgment. Frankfurt.
  11. ↑ Bornemann, M./Reinhardt, R. (2008): Knowledge accounting for practice: theory, methods, implementation. Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag
  12. ↑ Porter, ME (1980): Competitive Strategy: Methods for the Analysis of Industries u. Competitors. Frankfurt, Main [among others]
  13. ↑ Hamel , G. / Prahalad , CK (1994): Competing for the Future. Mass .: Harvard Business School Press: Boston.
  14. ^ Barney, JB (1986): Strategic Factor Markets. Expectations, Luck and Business Strategy. Management Science. 32 (10), pp. 1231-1241.
  15. ↑ Luthans, F./Luthans, KW / Luthans, BC (2004): Positive psychological capital: Beyond human and social capital. Business Horizons, 41 (1), pp. 45-50, 2004
  16. ^ Bandura, A. (1977): Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191-215
  17. ↑ Bandura, A. (1997): Self-Efficacy - The exercise of control. New York: Freemann and Co., 1997.
  18. ^ Rego, A., Sousa, E., Marques, C., & Cunha, MP (2012). Retail employees' self-efficacy and hope predicting their positive affect and creativity. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 21 (6), 923-945.
  19. ↑ Lipps, B./Huppmann, Gernot (2006): For medical psychology of hope (201-211). In: Lipps, B./Huppmann, G .: Prolegonema of a psychology of hope. Würzburg: Würzburg: Königshausen and Neumann
  20. ^ Rego, A., Sousa, E., Marques, C., & Cunha, MP (2012). Retail employees' self-efficacy and hope predicting their positive affect and creativity. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 21 (6), 923-945.
  21. ^ Snyder C. (2003): Handbook of Hope: Theory, Measures / Applications: Theory, Measures, and Applications. New York: Academic Press.
  22. ↑ Alexander, E. (2008): How to Hope: A model of the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors involved in transcending challenge and uncertainty. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag.
  23. ↑ Seligman ME P (1990): Learned Optimism. New York: button.
  24. ↑ Seligman ME P (1991): You don't kiss pessimists. Munich: Droemer Knaur.
  25. ^ Armor, DA, & Taylor, SE (1998). Situated optimism: Specific outcome expectancies and self-regulation. In MP Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 30, pp. 309-379). New York: Academic Press.
  26. ^ Scheier, MF / Carver, CS: Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies, Health Psychology , 4 (3), 219-247, 1985.
  27. ↑ Radcliffe, N./Klein, WMP (2002): Dispositional, unrealistic, and comparative optimism: Differential re-lations with the knowledge and processing of risk information and beliefs about personal risk, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28 (6), 836-846, 2002.
  28. ^ Masten AS (2004): Ordinary Magic - Resilience Processes in Development. American Psychologist, Vol. 56, No. 3/2004, pp. 227-238.
  29. ↑ Mourlane, D. (2012): Resilienz. The undiscovered ability of the truly successful. BusinessVillage.
  30. ↑ Werner, E., & Smith, R. (1992). Overcoming the odds: High-risk children from birth to adulthood. New York: Cornell University Press.
  31. ↑ Welter-Enderlin, R. (2006): Resilience from the perspective of counseling and therapy, in: Welter-Endelin, Rosemarie / Hildebrand, Bruno (ed.): Resilienz. Thrive despite adverse circumstances, Auer Verlag: Heidelberg.
  32. ↑ J. 11. Avey, TS Wernsing, F. Luthans: Can positive employees help positive organizational change? Impact of psychological capital and emotions on relevant attitudes and behaviors. In: The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. Volume 44, No. 1, 2008, pp. 43-70.
  33. ↑ JB Avey, F. Luthans, M. Smith, NF Palmer: Impact of positive psychological capital on employee well-being over time. In: Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Volume 15, No. 1, 2010, pp. 17-28.
  34. ↑ B. Avey, F. Luthans, 5. M. Jensen: Psychological capital: A positive resource for Combating employee stress and turnover. In: Human Resource Management. Volume 48, No. 5, 2009, pp. 677-693.
  35. ↑ Avey. JB, patent. JL & West. 8th J. (2006). The implications of positive psychological capital on employee absenteeism. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 13, 42-60.
  36. ↑ Clapp-Smith, R., Vogelgesang, GR & Avey. JB (2009). Authentic leadership and positive psychological capital. The mediating red of trust at the group level of analysis. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies. 15 (3), 227-240.
  37. ^ Gooty, J., Gavin, M., Johnson, PD, Frazier, LM, & Snow. BD (2009). In the eyes of the beholder: Transformational leadership, positive psychological capital and performance. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies. 15 (4), 353-367.
  38. ↑ Luthans, F, Avolio. BJ , Avey, JB, & Norman, SM (2 (} 07). Positive psychological capital: Measurement and relationship with performance and satisfaction. Personnel Psychology. 60. 541-572.
  39. ↑ Luthans, F. Avey. JB, Avolio, BJ_ & Peterson. S. (2010). The development and resulting performance impact of positive psychological capital. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 21 (1). 41-66.
  40. ↑ Luthans. F., Norman. SM, Avolio, BJ & Avey. JB (2008). The mediating red of psychological capital in the supportive organizational climate employee performance relationship. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29. 219-238.
  41. ↑ Reinhardt, R. (2012): Psychological Capital as a Success Factor. In: R. Reinhardt (ed.): Business psychology and organizational success. Lengerich, pp. 212-248.
  42. ^ Avey, JB, Reichart, RJ, Luthans, F. & Mhatre, KH (2011). Meta-analysis of the impact of positive psychological capital on employee attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Human Resource Development Quarterly 22 (2), 127-152.
  43. ↑ Walumbwa, Fred O., Avolio, Bruce, Zhu, Weichun; How Transformational Leadership Weaves Its Influence on Individual Job Performance: The Role of Identification and Efficacy Beliefs; Personnel Psychology 61; 2008
  44. ↑ Walumbwa, Fred O., Avolio, Bruce, Zhu, Weichun; How Transformational Leadership Weaves Its Influence on Individual Job Performance: The Role of Identification and Efficacy Beliefs; Person-nel Psychology 61; 2008
  45. ↑ Luthans, F./Youssef, CM / Aviolio, BJ (2007: Psychological Capital Oxford: University Press)
  46. ↑ Amelang, M. & Bartussek, D. (1997): Differential Psychology and Personality Research Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
  47. ↑ Luthans, F./Youssef, CM / Aviolio, BJ (2007): Psychological Capital Oxford University Press

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