The Leverage of Psychological Capital: A Conservation of Resources Theory Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54518/ebh.4.2.2025.640Keywords:
Employee Performance, Transformational Leadership, Psychological Capital, Conservation of ResourcesAbstract
This study aims to bridge the inconsistency found in previous research regarding the role of transformational leadership on employee performance by proposing a conceptual model derived from the perspective of Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory. The study involved 200 respondents who have worked for five years in a financial company located in Semarang City, Central Java. Statistical data analysis was conducted using Analysis Moment of Structural (AMOS) software. Empirical testing through the formulation of five hypotheses yielded significant and acceptable results. The main findings of this study highlight the crucial role of psychological capital, viewed through the lens of COR Theory, as an effective bridge that stimulates the influence of transformational leadership on enhancing employee performance. Therefore, companies are encouraged to allocate resources to develop and strengthen employees' psychological capital, which includes self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience. This study confirms that psychological capital is a strategic asset that can be optimized to support the success of transformational leadership, ultimately contributing to improved productivity and the overall competitive advantage of employees.
References
Aljaddouih, H. N., & Alkhraishi, M. Y. (2024). Impact of leadership style on employee performance and job satisfaction among Jordanian physiotherapists. Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management, 19(1), 49-58.
Almadana, A. V., Suharnomo, S., & Perdhana, M. S. (2022). Work engagement through social exchange mechanisms: does the role of knowledge-sharing behavior matter?. VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, 55(1), 135-145.
Arifin, S., & Narmaditya, B. S. (2024). Fostering employee performance of civil servants in Indonesia: The mediating role of organisational citizenship behaviour. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(1), 2412
Bado, B., Tahir, T., Thamrin Tahir, M. I., & Hasan, M. (2025). Positive psychological capital, entrepreneurial knowledge transfer, and entrepreneurial mindset growth: a synthesis of MSMEs’ challenges. Cogent Business & Management, 12(1), 2457441.
Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1988). On the Evaluation of Structural Models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16(1), 74-94.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The Moderator-Mediator Variable Distinction in Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 15(6), 1173-1182.
Bartram, T., Cooper, B., Cooke, F. L., & Wang, J. (2020). High-performance work systems and job performance: the mediating role of social identity, social climate and empowerment in Chinese banks. Personnel Review, 50(1), 285-302.
Ha, H. D., & Oanh, D. L. K. (2024). Unlocking Employee Performance in the Vietnamese Banking Sector: The Interplay of Transformational Leadership, Organizational Culture, and Organizational Commitment. Journal of Logistics, Informatics and Service Science, 11(4), 87-103.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2019). Multivariate data analysis. Cengage learning. Hampshire, United Kingdom, 633(1), 321-344.
Hanafy, H. A., Al-Hajla, A. H., & Elsharnouby, M. H. (2025). Empowering leadership and employee innovation: unraveling the roles of psychological empowerment and knowledge sharing. Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences, 11(5), 12-36.
Helalat, A., Sharari, H., Alhelalat, J., & Al-Aqrabawi, R. (2025). Transformational Leadership and Employee Performance: A Further Insight Using Work Engagement. Economics, 13(1), 333-352.
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of Resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513-524.
Hobfoll, S. E. (2011). Conservation of resource caravans and engaged settings. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 84(1), 116-122.
Jeong, J. (2025). Psychological capital and individual performance via social capital. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences / Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l'Administration, 7(3), 224-256.
Khan, M. S., & Zulfiqar, S. (2024). Creative efforts in banking services: a moderated mediation analysis of perceived organizational obstruction and knowledge sharing behavior. Evidence-based HRM: a Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship, 13(1), 123-140.
Khasanah, U., & Sasana, H. (2022). Empirical relationship between gender equality and socio-economic developments: An error correction model. Arthatama, 6(1), 12-25.
Layaman, L., Harahap, P., Djastuti, I., Jaelani, A., & Djuwita, D. (2021). The Mediating Effect of Proactive Knowledge Sharing among Transformational Leadership, Cohesion, and Learning Goal Orientation on Employee Performance. Business: Theory and Practice, 22(2), 470-481.
Mahendra, A. B., Ferdinand, A. T., & Putri, Y. M. (2025). The role of pro-comparative advantage absorptive capacity in improving marketing performance using a resource advantage theory of competition perspective. Bisma (Bisnis dan Manajemen), 17(2), 192-216.
Marpaung, C. R., Za’im Tsabit, I. A., & Pangestuti, I. R. D. (2024). The role of Gen-Z in supporting sustainable development through green economy towards Golden Indonesia 2045. Research Horizon, 4(4), 315-320.
Nazarian, A., Rodríguez Molina, M. A., Velayati, R., Ruiz-Alba, J. L., & Atkinson, P. (2024). Trust in leader and positive employee outcomes: To transform or to serve in cross-cultural leadership. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 25(1), 159-182.
Peethambaran, M., & Naim, M. F. (2024). The workplace crescendo: unveiling the positive dynamics of high-performance work systems, flourishing at work and psychological capital. Industrial and Commercial Training, 56(4), 377-389.
Pham, T., Dao, T. T. A., Nguyen, T. T. L., & Vo, V. T. K. (2025). Transformational Leadership and Adhocracy Culture: Drivers of Innovative Work Behaviour and Employee Performance. Scientific Papers of the University of Pardubice, Series D: Faculty of Economics and Administration, 32(3), 144-211.
Sreejesh, S., Mohapatra, S., & Anusree, M. R. (2014). Business Research Methods An Applied Orientation. Springer International Publishing Switzerland.
Suparjo, S., & Dana, Y. A. (2024). The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility and Reputation Management in Global Marketing Success. Economic and Business Horizon, 3(3), 102-107.
Supriharyanti, E., Sukoco, B. M., Ubaidi, A., Susanto, E., Widianto, S., Nasution, R. A., Fauzi, A. M., & Wu, W.-Y. (2024). Empowering leadership and team change capability: the mediating effect of team PsyCap. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 45(6), 1083-1101.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidel, L. S. (2013). Using Multivariate Statistic (6 ed.). Pearson Education.
Umrani, W. A., Bachkirov, A. A., Nawaz, A., Ahmed, U., & Pahi, M. H. (2023). Inclusive leadership, employee performance and well-being: an empirical study. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 45(2), 231-250.
Vandavasi, R. K. K., McConville, D. C., Uen, J.-F., & Yepuru, P. (2020). Knowledge sharing, shared leadership and innovative behaviour: a cross-level analysis. International Journal of Manpower, 41(8), 1221-1233.
Waseem, M. (2025). The dynamics of workplace behavior: psychological capital, mediating effect of team engagement and the moderating influence of team cohesion on organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Facilities Management, 13(1), 136-154.
Yang, H., Xu, L., Malisa, M., Xu, M., Hu, Q., Liu, X., ... & Yuan, J. (2022). Analysing observed categorical data in SPSS AMOS: a Bayesian approach. International Journal of Quantitative Research in Education, 5(4), 399-430.
Zhao, F., Lu, Y., Zhang, P., & Wang, J. (2025). How employees perceive work–family balanced HR practices: a moderated mediation analysis with psychological capital and differentiated leader–member exchange. Evidence-based HRM: a Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship, 12(6), 32-46.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
