By Hector Martinez
University of Kentucky
Kylie Rochford
University of Utah
Diane Bergeron
Center for Creative Leadership
Summary
Psychological capital is an individual’s positive psychological state of development and is composed of four positive psychological resources: self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience. Employees with high levels of psychological capital (PsyCap) believe they have control over their own success (efficacy, hope), expect good things to happen (optimism), and rebound more easily following failure (resilience). Using social exchange theory, we hypothesized that higher PsyCap individuals, due to their greater citizenship behaviors (helping, speaking up), would be perceived as more attractive social exchange partners, thereby achieving greater social network centrality (i.e., having more relational connections in an organizational network). Our findings showed that individuals with higher PsyCap engaged in more workplace helping behaviors and more voice behaviors (i.e., speaking up, making suggestions). PsyCap was positively correlated with network centrality in the social support network (i.e., relationships based on camaraderie and affection), but not in the advice network (i.e., relationships based on information and assistance exchanges). Finally, helping (but not voice) behaviors mediated the relationship between PsyCap and network centrality across both types of social networks.
These insights suggest that fostering PsyCap can enhance an individual’s integration and influence within social support networks, with helping behavior playing a crucial explanatory role. Given the strong links between social network positions and important individual and organizational outcomes (e.g., greater access to the information, career sponsorship and opportunities embedded within social networks), understanding the factors that influence central network positions has implications for individual leaders and organizations. For leaders, higher PsyCap may result in greater network centrality because such individuals require fewer resources, which makes them more desirable as social exchange partners. For organizations, greater PsyCap may result in higher-performing teams and organizations – not only due to PsyCap but also to its positive relationship to citizenship behaviors (helping, voice), which research shows are related to greater organizational efficiency, profitability, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Taken together, psychological capital seems to be a source of competitive advantage – both for high PsyCap individuals as well as for the organizations employing them.
Citation
Martinez, H., Rochford, K. & Bergeron, D. M. (2025). Helping you, helping me? The mediating role of organizational citizenship behavior in the relationship between psychological capital and social network positions. Center for Creative Leadership.
