Psychological Ownership and the Organizational Context ─ Theory, Research Evidence, and Application

Psychological ownership as a phenomenon and construct attracts an increasing number of scholars in a variety of fields. This volume presents a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the psychological ownership literature with particular attention paid to the theory, research evidence, and comments on managerial applications. The authors address key elements that examine an employee’s ownership feelings for his or her employing organization. The chapters address, among others, the following themes: the meaning of psychological ownership, the genesis of ownership feelings, the experiences and paths down which people travel that give rise to experiences of ownership, and the consequences (the personal and work outcomes) that stem from the sense of ownership. While the majority of the book is focused on feelings of ownership that exist at the individual-level, the authors introduce the construct of collective psychological ownership as well. This work acknowledges that teamwork has become increasingly commonplace in organizations and that like individuals, teams can come to a collective sense of ownership for a variety of targets within their work environment. The book closes by drawing upon the existing science of psychological ownership to provide a perspective on its applied (managerial) implications. This book will make a noteworthy addition to scholars’ libraries: university libraries will also value it among their collections. Students of organizational psychology, management, organizational behavior, sociology and communication and their professors will find much of interest here.

Jon L. Pierce, Professor of Organizations and Management, University of Minnesota, Duluth, US and Iiro Jussila, Professor of Management and Organization, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland