Linking psychological and social capital to organizational performance: A moderated mediation of organizational trust and proactive behavior

Abstract

Managing employees’ personal, psychological, and social capital is now considered key to sustained public sector organizational success. This study draws on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory to suggest the mechanisms and processes by which psychological capital and social capital are likely to influence such organizational performance. A phased, time-lagged online survey was conducted among 298 Israeli public servants at the managerial level working in government agencies. The theoretical model provides a novel, holistic perspective suggesting that stimulating personal and social resources will be fruitful, leading to improved organizational performance through organizational trust as a mediator and proactive behavior as a moderator. The result supports important insights from COR theory and its tenets, bearing on the under-researched public sector context. Practically, this study underlines how socio-psychological factors support the entire process of improving the human capital in the managerial level within the public sector.