Exploring the role of organizational identification in the nexus of psychological capital and organizational-oriented citizenship behaviors: evidence from healthcare professionals in India.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the mediation of organizational identification (OI) in the relationship between employees' psychological capital (PsyCap) and their engagement in organizational-oriented citizenship behaviors (OCBO). We examine the proposed theoretical model through the lens of the job demand and resources (JD-R) model and social identity theory (SIT), focusing specifically on the healthcare setting.

Design/methodology/approach: Employing a structured questionnaire, responses were collected from 240 healthcare professionals working in multinational pharmacovigilance firms in select Tier-I Indian cities using purposive sampling. Model testing constituted performing statistical analyses using partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in the R environment, an open-source software.

Findings: Results revealed a significant positive association between PsyCap and OCBO. In addition, we found that OI mediated the relationship between PsyCap and OCBO. This suggests that practitioners can stimulate extra-role performance in employees through enhancing PsyCap and fostering psychological oneness with the organization.

Research limitations/implications: The research emphasizes the significant role of employees' personal resources, manifested in the form of PsyCap, in having a bearing on their attitudes and feelings towards the organization. We explore the under-researched latent mechanism of the PsyCap and OCBO relationship through employees' social identification process.

Originality/value: In this research, we uncover the underlying mechanism of PsyCap and OCBO association by highlighting the latent role of OI on a unique set of healthcare professionals.