Linking psychological ownership to employee extra-role behaviours in small overseas Chinese family businesses: Does family status matter?

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of psychological ownership (both job and organisational based) on extra-role behaviours among family and non-family employees in small overseas Chinese family businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical evidence was drawn from a survey of 80 family owners/managers and non-family employees from 40 small overseas Chinese family businesses from the transport industry in Malaysia. All proposed hypothesis were tested using hierarchical moderated regression analyses.

Findings

Job-based psychological ownership was found to significantly predict both types of extra-role behaviours. Organisational-based psychological ownership, however, was only a significant predictor of voice extra-role behaviour. Interestingly enough, no significant moderating effects on the relationships between the two dimensions of psychological ownership and two types of extra-role behaviour were found.

Originality/value

Having a dedicated workforce of both family and non-family employees who are willing to display extra-role behaviours may be considered as an essential component of business success and long-term continuity for many family firms around the world. This particular paper represents one of the few empirical efforts to examine the extra-role behaviours of employees in family firms from emerging economies.

Citation

Mustafa, M., Ramos, H.M. and Man, T.W.Y. (2015), "Linking psychological ownership to employee extra-role behaviours in small overseas Chinese family businesses: Does family status matter?", Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 129-147. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-11-2014-0041