Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T07:46:17.710Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Psychological Capital of Chinese Workers: Exploring the Relationship with Performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Fred Luthans ,
Bruce J. Avolio ,
Fred O. Walumbwa  and
Weixing Li
Fred Luthans
Affiliation:
Department of Management, Gallup Leadership Institute, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
Bruce J. Avolio
Affiliation:
Department of Management, Gallup Leadership Institute, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
Fred O. Walumbwa
Affiliation:
Department of Management, Gallup Leadership Institute, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
Weixing Li
Affiliation:
Department of Management, Gallup Leadership Institute, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Everyone knows about China's huge population and the fast-growing economy. Although macro-level sociological and economic analyses have given some attention to the linkage between the two, at the micro level, the relationship between human resources and, more specifically, psychological capital of Chinese workers and their performance has been largely ignored. Within the context of three factories (two private and one state-owned) in the People's Republic of China, this exploratory study examined the relationship of a sample (n = 422) of Chinese workers’ positive psychological capital states and their performance. Results indicated the workers’ positive states of hope, optimism, and resiliency, separately and when the three were combined into a core construct of psychological capital, significantly correlated with their performance, as rated by their supervisors. An analysis of workers in one of the factories (n = 272) also found a significant relationship between the workers’ positive psychological capital and the performance outcome of relative merit-based salary. Limitations, future research, and practical implications conclude the article.

Type
Articles
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , July 2005 , pp. 249 - 271
Copyright
Copyright © International Association for Chinese Management Research 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, V. H., Snyder, G. R., Rand, K. L., King, E. A., Sigmon, D. R. and Pulvers, K. M. (2003). ‘Hope in the workplace’. In Giacolone, R. and Jurkiewica, C. (Eds), Handbook of Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Performance. New York: M. E. Sharp.Google Scholar
Adler, N.J. (2002). International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, 4th edn. Cincinnati, OH: Southwestern.Google Scholar
Adler, P. S. and Kwon, S. (2002). ‘Social capital: Prospects for a new concept’. Academy of Management Review, 27, 17–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, B. P. and Potkay, C. R. (1981). ‘On the arbitrary distinction between states and traits’. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 916–28.Google Scholar
Ambrose, M. L. and Kulik, C. T. (1999). ‘Old friends, new faces: Motivation research in the 1990s’. Journal of Management, 25, 231–92.Google Scholar
Avolio, B.J., Gardner, W. L., Walumbwa, F. O., Luthans, F. and May, D. R. (2004). ‘Unlocking the mask: A look at the process by which authentic leaders impact follower attitudes and behaviors’. Leadership Quarterly, 15, 801–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: Freeman.Google Scholar
Barrick, M. R. and Mount, M. K. (1991). ‘The ‘Big Five’ personality dimensions and job performance: A meta-analysis’. Personnel Psychology, 44, 1–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bass, B. M. (1990). Handbook of Leadership, 3rd edn. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Block, J. and Kremen, A. M. (1996). ‘IQ and ego-resiliency: Conceptual and empirical connections and separateness’. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 349–61.Google ScholarPubMed
Brislin, R. (1980). ‘Translation and content analysis of oral and written material’. In Triandis, H. C. and Berry, J. W. (Eds). Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, (Vol. 2, pp. 389–444).Google Scholar
Bruton, G. D., Lan, H., Lu, Y., Yu, Z., Wang, Z. M. and Shenkar, O. (2000). ‘China's township and village enterprises: Kelon's competitive edge/executive commentary’. The Academy of Management Executive, 14, 1, 19–29.Google Scholar
Bryant, F. B. and Cvengros, J. A. (2004). ‘Distinguishing hope, and optimism: Two sides of a coin, or two separate coins’? Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 273–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cameron, K. S., Dutton, J. E. and Quinn, R. E. (Eds). (2003). Positive Organizational Scholarship. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.Google Scholar
Chang, L. T. (2004). ‘The Chinese dream’. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), November 8, 2004, A.l.Google Scholar
Chen, G., Whiteman, J., Gully, S. M. and Kilcullen, R. N. (2000). ‘Examination of relationships among trait-like individual differences, state-like individual differences and learning performance’. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 835–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coutu, D. L. (2002). ‘How resilience works’. Harvard Business Review, 80, 3, 46–55.Google ScholarPubMed
Curry, L. A., Snyder, C. R., Cook, D. L., Ruby, B. C. and Rehm, M. (1997). ‘Role of hope in academic and sport achievement’. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1257–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Earley, P. G. (1989). ‘Social loafing and collectivism: A comparison of the United States and People's Republic of China’. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34, 565–80.Google Scholar
Erez, A. and Isen, A. M. (2002). ‘The influence of positive affect on the components of expectancy motivation’. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 1055–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Farran, C.J., Herth, A. K. and Popovich, J. M. (1995). Hope and Hopelessness: Clinical Constructs. Thousand Oaks: Sage.Google Scholar
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). ‘The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden and build theory of positive emotions’. American Psychologist, 56, 218–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fu, P. P. and Tsui, A. S. (2003). ‘Blending traditional culture and modern leadership: The role of the printed news media in the People's Republic of China’. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 20, 423–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardner, W. L., Avolio, B.J., Luthans, F., May, D. R., and Walumbwa, F. (2005). ‘Can you see the real me? A self-based model of authentic leader and follower development’. The Leadership Quarterly, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam.Google Scholar
Hamel, G. and Välikangas, L. (2003). ‘The quest for resilience’. Harvard Business Review, September, 1–13.Google Scholar
Hill, T., Smith, N. D. and Mann, M. F. (1987). ‘Role of efficacy expectations in predicting the decision to use advanced technologies’. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72, 307–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horne, J. and Orr, J. (1998). ‘Assessing behaviors that create resilient organizations’. Employment Relations Today, 24, 4, 29–39,Google Scholar
House, R.J., Wright, N. S. and Aditya, R. N. (1997). ‘Cross-cultural research on organizational leadership: A critical analysis and a proposed theory’. In Earley, P. C. and Erez, M. (Eds.), New Perspective on International/Organizational Psychology, San Francisco: New Lexington Press (pp. 535–625).Google Scholar
Judge, T. A. and Bono, J. E. (2001). ‘Relationship of core self-evaluation traits – self esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability – with job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis’. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 80–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Judge, T. A., Erez, A., Bono, J. E. and Thoresen, C.J. (2002). ‘Are measures of self-esteem, neuroticism, locus of control, and generalized self-efficacy indicators of a common core construct’? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 693–710.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kline, R. B. (1998). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Klonhlen, E. A. (1996). ‘Conceptual analysis and measurement of the construct of ego resiliency’. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 1067–79.Google Scholar
Larson, M. D. (2004). Positive Psychological Capital: A Comparison with Human Capital and Social Capital and Analysis of a Training Intervention: A Dissertation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.Google Scholar
Larson, M. D. and Luthans, E (2004). ‘Beyond human and social capital: The additive value of psychological capita] on employee attitudes’. Working paper, Gallup Leadership Institute, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.Google Scholar
Luthans, F. (2002a.). ‘The need for and meaning of positive organizational behavior’. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 695–706.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luthans, F. (2002b). ‘Positive organizational behavior: Developing and managing psychological strengths’. Academy of Management Executive, 16, 1, 57–72.Google Scholar
Luthans, F. (2003). ‘Positive organizational behavior (POB): Implications for leadership and HR development, authentic leadership development, and motivation’. In Steers, R., Porter, L. W. and Begley, G. A. (Eds), Motivation and Leadership at Work. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.Google Scholar
Luthans, F. and Avolio, B. (2003). ‘Authentic leadership development’. In Cameron, K., Dutton, J. and Quinn, R. (Eds.), Positive Organizational Scholarship. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, (pp. 241–58).Google Scholar
Luthans, F. and Jensen, S. M. (2002). ‘Hope: A new positive strength for human resource development’. Human Resource Development Review, 1, 304–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luthans, F., Luthans, K. W. and Luthans, B. C. (2004). ‘Positive psychological capital: Going beyond human and social capital’. Business Horizons, 47, 45–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luthans, F, Luthans, K. W., Hodgetts, R. M, and Luthans, B. C. (2002). ‘Positive approach to leadership (PAL): Implications for today's organizations’. Journal of Leadership Studies, 8, 3–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luthans, F., VanWyk, R. and Walumbwa, F. O. (2004). ‘ Recognition and development of hope for South African organizational leaders’. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 25, 512–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luthans, F., Welsh, D. H. B. and Rosenkrantz, S. A. (1993). ‘What do Russian managers really do? An observational study with comparisons to U.S. managers’. Journal of International Business Studies, Fourth Quarter, 741–61.Google Scholar
Luthans, F. and Youssef, C. M. (2004). ‘Human, social, and now positive psychological capital management: Investing in people for competitive advantage’. Organizational Dynamics, 33, 2, 143–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magaletta, P. R. and Oliver, J. M. (1999). ‘The hope construct, will and ways: Their relations with self-efficacy, optimism, and well-being’. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55, 539–51.3.0.CO;2-G>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S. (2001). ‘Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development’. American Psychologist, 56, 227–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P. and Caruso, D. (2000). ‘Models of emotional intelligence’. In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.), Handbook of Intelligence. Cambridge, UK; Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Mount, M. K., Barrick, M. R. and Stewart, G. L. (1998). ‘Five-factor model of personality and performance in jobs involving interpersonal interactions’. Human Performance, 11, 145–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Leary, B. S., Lindholm, M. L., Whitford, R. A. and Freeman, S. E. (2002). ‘Selecting the best and brightest: Leveraging human capital’. Human Resource Management, 41, 325–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, C. (2000). ‘The future of optimism’. American Psychologist, 55, 44–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peterson, C. and Seligman, M. E. (2004). Character Strengths and Virtues. Oxford, UK: Oxford.Google Scholar
Peterson, R. (1994). ‘A meta-analysis of Cronbach's coefficient alpha’. Journal of Consumer Research, 21, 381–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, S. J. and Luthans, F. (2003). ‘The positive impact and development of hopeful leaders’. Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, 24, 26–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y. and Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). ‘Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies’. Journal of Applied Psycholog 88, 879–903.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Putnam, D. (1997) ‘Psychological courage’. Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology, 4, 1–11.Google Scholar
Ralston, D. A., Egri, C. P., Stewart, S., Terpstra, R. H. and Kaicheng, Y. (1999). ‘Doing business in the 21st century with the new generation of Chinese managers: A study of generational shifts in work values in China’. Journal of International Studies, 30, 2, 415–28.Google Scholar
Reivich, K. and Shatte, A. (2002). The Resilience Factor. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Scheier, M. F. and Carver, C. S. (1985.) ‘Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies’. Health Psychology, 4, 219–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schermerhorn, J. R. Jr. (1987). ‘Organizational features of Chinese industrial enterprises’. The Academy of Management Executive, 1, 345–49.Google Scholar
Schermerhorn, J. R. Jr. and Nyaw, M. (1990). ‘Managerial leadership in Chinese industrial enterprises: Legacies of complex structures and Communist party involvement’. International Studies of Management and Organization, 20, 9–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schulman, P. (1999). ‘Applying learned optimism to increase sales productivity’. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 19, 31–37.Google Scholar
Seligman, M. (1998a). Learned Optimism. New York: Pocket Books.Google Scholar
Seligman, M. (1998b). ‘Positive social science’. APA Monitor, 29, 2, 5.Google Scholar
Seligman, M. (2002). Authentic Happiness. New York: Freep Press.Google Scholar
Seligman, M. and Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). ‘Positive psychology’. American Psychologist, 55, 5–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Slater, S. (1995). ‘Issues in conducting marketing research and strategy research’. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 3, 257–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, C. R. (2000). Handbook of Hope. San Diego: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Snyder, C. R., Irving, L. and Anderson, J. R. (1991). ‘Hope and health: Measuring the will and the ways’. In Snyder, C. R. and Forsyth, D. R. (Eds.), Handbook of Social and Clinical Psychology. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon, (pp. 285–305).Google Scholar
Snyder, C. R. and Lopez, S.J. (Eds). (2002). The Handbook of Positive Psychology. Oxford, UK: Oxford.Google Scholar
Snyder, C. R., Rand, K. L. and Sigmon, D. R. (2002). ‘Hope theory’. In Snyder, C. R. and Lopez, S. (Eds.), Handbook of Positive Psychology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, (pp. 257–76).Google Scholar
Snyder, C. R., Sympson, S. C., Ybasco, F. C., Borders, T. F., Babyak, M. A. and Higgins, R. L. (1996). ‘Development and validation of the state hope scale’. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 321–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stajkovic, A. D. (2003). ‘Introducing positive psychology to work motivation: Development of a core confidence model’. Paper presented at the Academy of Management, Organizational Behavior Division, National meeting. Seattle, WA.Google Scholar
Stajkovic, A. D. and Luthans, E (1998). ‘Self-efficacy and work-related performance: A metaanalysis’. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 580–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sulloway, F. (1997). Born to Rebel. New York: Vintage Books.Google Scholar
Sutcliffe, K. M. and Vogus, T. (2003). ‘Organizing for resilience’. In Cameron, K. S., Dutton, J. E. and Quinn, R. E. (Eds) Positive Organizational Scholarship. San Francisco: Barrett-Koehler, (pp. 94–110).Google Scholar
Tangney, J. (2000). ‘Humility: Theoretical perspective, empirical findings and directions for future research’. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19, 70–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tiger, L. (1971). Optimism: The Biology of Hope. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Triandis, H. C. (1995). Individualism and Collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Tsui, A. S. and Lau, C. M. (Eds) (2002). The Management of Enterprises in the People's Republic of China. Boston: Kluwer Academic Press. Translated into Chinese (2004 edition).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vera, D. and Rodriguez-Lopez, A. (2004). ‘Strategic virtues: Humility as a source of competitive advantage’. Organizational Dynamics, 33, 393–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Youssef, C. M. and Luthans, F. (2005). ‘Resiliency development of organizations, leaders and employees: Multi-level theory building for sustained performance’. In Gardner, W. L., Avolio, B.J., and Walumbwa, F. (Eds.) Monographs in Leadership and Management, Vol. 3: Authentic Leadership Theory and Practice. Oxford, UK: Elsevier.Google Scholar