Psychological Ownership and Ambivalent Employee Behaviors: A Moderated Mediation Model

Abstract

Prior studies regard psychological ownership as a positive thing, but this study suggested two faces of psychological ownership. Specifically, we focused on the psychological process wherein two different routes via disparate mediators led to two seemingly contradictory outcomes: organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and workplace aggressive behavior (WAB). In addition, we also examined the moderating role of a structural factor (i.e., network position) in the mediation process. Drawing on the social exchange theory, we proposed that psychological ownership would produce both OCB and WAB through organization-based self-esteem and psychological entitlement respectively, and an individual’s network position would moderate the effects of this process. Data from 189 nurses from a general hospital in Korea revealed that psychological ownership was positively related to two ambivalent outcomes, OCB and WAB. Further, a central position in a friendship network among nurses strengthened the positive relationship between psychological ownership and OCB. Overall, this study showed that psychological ownership was like a double-edged sword. We discussed the theoretical and practical implications of this finding.