Job engagement denotes the extent to which an employee invests the full self in performing the job. Extant research has investigated the positive outcomes of job engagement, paying little attention to its potential costs to the organizations. Integrating the extended self theory and the literature on psychological ownership as our overarching theoretical framework, we develop and test the double-edged effects of job engagement on workplace outcomes through the mediating role of job-based psychological ownership. Analyses of two survey studies with multisource multiphase data support that job engagement can lead to positive workplace outcomes including in-role performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) through job-based psychological ownership. At the same time, job engagement is also positively related to negative workplace outcomes including territorial behavior, knowledge hiding, and pro-job unethical behavior through the same mechanism of job-based psychological ownership. These indirect effects of job engagement on negative work outcomes are amplified by employees' avoidance motivation. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
We theorized and tested an integrated model that examines the simultaneous effects of authentic self-expression and self-enhancement (including authentic and exaggerated self enhancement) on employee outcomes. Using a multisource, two-wave survey design and a sample of 143 working groups from 566 employees, we tested the indirect effects of self-presentation on job performance through (a) trust from coworkers and (b) felt trust from coworkers. We found that through trust from coworkers, authentic self-expression had a positive indirect effect on job performance, whereas authentic and exaggerated self-enhancement had negative indirect effects. Via felt trust from coworkers, authentic self-enhancement had a positive indirect effect on job performance, whereas exaggerated self-enhancement had a negative indirect effect. In addition, we identified a boundary condition of these relationships. The positive relationship between authentic self-expression and trust from coworkers and the negative relationship between exaggerated self-enhancement and trust from coworkers were stronger when working for highly authentic leaders. Contrary to expectations, the relationship between authentic self-enhancement and trust from coworkers was negative and significant when working for less authentic leaders.
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