From Networking to Attitudinal Outcomes: Psychological Capital as a Mediator

Building on conservation of resources (COR) theory and following recent recommendations, this study investigates the mediating role of Psychological Capital (PsyCap) in the relationships between networking behaviors and attitudinal outcomes (i.e., work engagement and work satisfaction). We propose that networking, as an investment of personal resources to gain access to other resources, contributes to the prediction of attitudinal outcomes. We surveyed 254 employees from a public Belgian administrative company. We use structural equation modelling and the bootstrapping method. PsyCap totally mediates the relationships between networking and both attitudinal outcomes. This study contributes to theoretical development by integrating Networking and PsyCap literatures into COR theory literature, and demonstrates the legitimacy of COR theory to explain these complex variables and their relationships.

The antecedents and outcomes of career optimism: a meta-analysis

Purpose

Given its importance, career optimism (CO) has drawn much attention from researchers. Fruitful evidence has been accumulated; unfortunately, a quantitative review is still lacking, which would limit the continuous development of this field. To address this, this paper uses the meta-analysis technology to evaluate the links between CO and its antecedents and outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used Hunter–Schmidt method random effect meta-analysis technology to systematically evaluate the true score correlations between CO and its antecedents and outcomes.

Findings

Among the CO antecedents, this study found significant links between CO and agreeableness (ρ = 0.11), career adaptability (ρ = 0.55), career knowledge (ρ = 0.43), career decision self-efficacy (ρ = 0.52), social support (ρ = 0.30), conscientiousness (ρ = 0.54), extraversion (ρ = 0.38), gender (ρ = 0.07), GPA (ρ = 0.11), neuroticism (ρ = −0.42), and openness (ρ = 0.27). Moreover, among the CO outcomes, significant links have been found between CO and academic satisfaction (ρ = 0.43), career choice satisfaction (ρ = 0.44), career decisiveness (ρ = 0.37), depersonalization (ρ = −0.48), and emotional exhaustion (ρ = −0.59).

Originality/value

By conducting the first meta-analysis of CO, our study contributes to the CO literature. Additionally, our study increases the knowledge of CO, which would help leaders in the school or workplace to understand the significance of CO better and thereby take actions to intervene and increase students or employees' CO.

Everything comes at a price: The influence of job seekers’ motives on preference in the trade-off between pay and leisure

Recruitment research has often neglected behavioral outcomes in the context of job choice acceptance, and insight into the relationship between individual differences and recruitment outcomes remains scarce. The present paper investigates how the need for achievement, the need for power, and the need for affiliation are related to the preference for either higher pay or more leisure, and we model this relationship as a trade-off. We test our hypotheses with data from 605 individuals. To measure job offer acceptance, we develop a new methodology that allows participants to choose between a set of contracts that are customized for each participant based on individual reference points. We find that the need for achievement and the need for power are significantly positively related to the preference for higher pay, which results in less leisure. We do not find a significant direct effect of the need for affiliation. We discuss the implications of the study in relation to the needs-supplies fit perspective and show the practical applicability of our approach to customizing working contracts.