Investigating how to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in the light of positive psychological capital (case study: National Iranian Petrochemical Company)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. candidate in human resource management, Department of Public Administration, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran.

2 Associate Professor of production and operation, Department of Industrial Management, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran.

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ardakan University, Iran

4 Professor of Marketing, Department of Management, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran

5 Asistant Professor of management, Department of Public Administrator, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran

10.22080/shrm.2021.3772

Abstract

The present study aimed to offer a model to gain sustainable competitive advantage on the basis of positive psychological capital. The approach in the study is a mix of quantitative and qualitative with a pragmatic paradigm approach. From purpose view, it is an applied research and the method selected for the study is descriptive survey. Participant of the survey were managers and elites of National Iranian Petrochemical Company (NIPC) and some other companies active in petrochemical industry and were selected using nonrandom sampling method. In qualitative section of the study, data collected from semi-structured interviews with 17 elites in the industry were analyzed, using qualitative content analysis method in AtlasTi.8, and all conceptual model and concepts were extracted. In quantitative section, data were collected using questionnaires and the final research model was evaluated and prepared using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method. SEM results in AMOS26 software showed that positive psychological capital affects sustainable competitive advantage through direct and indirect impact on other variables, as social capital, human capital, intellectual capital, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), knowledge management and innovative work behavior. So, to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, positive psychological capital plays the pivotal role comparing other human resource capitals. Social capital is the second most important variable in this regard. The study findings include different indices and factors effective in achieving sustainable competitive advantage and present of an optimized model to reach sustainable competitive advantage on the basis of positive psychological capital in NIPC.

Keywords


 
Amidi, M., Hashemzadeh, G., & Alizadeh, A. (2019). Knowledge Management Pattern for Oil Industry Based On Grounded Theory Considering Technical and Human Related Issues. Strategic studies in the oil and energy industry, 10(39), 97-126. (In Persian)
 
Amrolahi, N., Danaee Fard, H., Fani, A., & Rezaeian, A. (2015). Designing Organizational Well-being Model: Explaining the Pivotal Role of Positive Psychological Capital in Iran’s Governmental Organizations.  Organizational behavior studies quarterly, 3(1), 73-100.( In persian)
 
Avolio, B. & Luthans, F. (2006). The high impact leader: moments matter in accelerating authentic leadership development. New York, NY: McGrawHill.
 
Babashahi, J., Batmani, M.A., & Tavasoli meimondi, O. (2021). Presenting a Policy Framework for Human Resource Management Subsystems. Journal of Sustainable Human Resource Management, 3(4), 177-194.
 
Badran, , M. A., & Youssef-Morgan, C. M. (2015). Psychological capital and job satisfaction in Egypt. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(3), 354–370.
 
Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3 (2), 77-101.
 
Chahal, H. & Bakshi, P. (2015). Examining intellectual capital and competitive advantage relationship. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 33(3), 376-399.
 
Cheung, M. W. L. (2015). Meta-analysis: A structural equation modeling approach. John Wiley & Sons.
 
Cheung, G. W., & Lau, R. S. (2008). Testing mediation and suppression effects of latent variables: Bootstrapping with structural equation models. Organizational research methods, 11(2), 296-325.
 
Chuang, M. Y., Chen, C. J., & Lin, M. ji J. (2016). The impact of social capital on competitive advantage: The mediating effects of collective learning and absorptive capacity. Management Decision, 54(6), 1443–1463.
 
Clews, R. J. (2016). Project Finance for the International Petroleum Industry. In Project Finance for the International Petroleum Industry. Elsevier.
 
Creswell, J.W.(2012). Qualitative Inquiry& Research Design, Choosing Among 5 Approaches. SAGE Publication.  http://www.ceil-conicet.gov.ar/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/CRESWELLQualitative-Inquary-and-Research-Design-Creswell.pdf
 
Cudeck, R., Jöreskog, K. G., Sörbom, D., & Du Toit, S. (2001). Structural equation modeling: Present and future: A Festschrift in honor of Karl Jöreskog. Scientific Software International.
 
Danaee Fard, Danaee Fard, H., Babashahi, J., Azar, A., & Kordnaiej, A. (2015). Achieving national wellbeing through promoting national competitiveness capacity. Journal of Public Administration, 7(2), 245–258. (In Persian)
 
Dekoulou, P. & Trivellas, P. (2016). Learning Organization in Greek Advertising and Media Industry: Away to face crisis and gain sustainable competitive advantage. Social and Behavioral Sciences 148, 338 – 347.
 
 Diego, E., & Almodóvar, P. (2022). Mapping research trends on strategic agility over the past 25 years: insights from a bibliometric approach. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 31(2), 219–238.
 
Ellstrom, D., Holtström, J., Berg, E., & Josefsson, C. (2022). Dynamic capabilities for digital transformation. Journal of Strategy and Management, 15(2), 272–286.
 
Elrehail, H., Abuhjeeleh, M., Harazneh, I., Alzghoul, A., Alnajdawi, S., & Ibrahim, H. (2019). Employee      satisfaction, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: the case of Northern Cyprus. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 29(2), 125-149.
 
Fallah faramarzi, M., Mohajeran, B., & Bagheri majd, R. (2015). An Appraisal of the Relationship between Social Capitals, Institutional Partnership, and Human Capital in Higher Education System.  Journal of research in human resource management, 7(3), 207-226. (In Persian)
 
Garbie, I. H. (2011). Implementation of agility concepts into oil industry. Journal of Service Science and Management4(02), 203.
 
Gheysarian Fard, J. (2018, June 30). Creating economic prosperity and job creation with the construction of a chemical park in Ilam. Iranian student news agency. https://www.isna.ir/news/ilam-47422 (In Persian)
 
Golestaneh, S.M. (2014). The Relationship between Psychological Capital and Organizational Citizenship Behavior.  Management and Administrative Sciences Review, 3(7), 1165-1173.
 
Grewal, R., Cote, J. A., & Baumgartner, H. (2004). Multicollinearity and measurement error in structural equation models: Implications for theory testing. Marketing science, 23(4), 519-529.
 
Guo, W., & Chen, M. (2021). Construction of structural dimensions of organizational human capital competitive advantage. Journal of Intellectual Capital, ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print).
 
 Hair, J. F., Howard, M. C., & Nitzl, C. (2020). Assessing measurement model quality in PLS-SEM using confirmatory composite analysis, Journal of Business Research, 109, 101–110.
 
 Hambrick, D.C., & Crossland, C. (2018). A Strategy for Behavioral Strategy: Appraisal of Small, Midsize and Large Tent Conceptions of This Embryonic Community. Advances in Strategic Management, 39, 23_39.
 
Hana, U. (2013). Competitive Advantage Achievement through Innovation and Knowledge. Journal of Competitiveness, 5(1), 82-96.
 
Bani-Hani, J. S., & AL-Hawary, F. (2009). The impact of core competencies on competitive advantage: Strategic challenge. International bulletin of business administration6(6), 93-104.
 
Hashemi, T., Babapour, J., & Bahadori, J. (2012). The roleof psychological capital in psychological well-beingby considering the moderating affects of socialcapital. Journal of Social Psychological Research, 1(4), 123-144. (In Persian)
 
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2009). Multivariate Data Analysis (7th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Limited.
 
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the academy of marketing science43(1), 115-135.
 
Hill, C.W.L., Jones, G.R., & Schilling, M.A. (2017). Strategic management: Theory: An Inegrate Approach. (11). (11TH Edition) CANADA: CENGAGE Learning.
 
Hoffman, J., Hoelscher, M.L., & Sherif, K. (2005). Social capital, knowledge management, and sustained superior performance. Journal of knowledge management, 9(3), 93-100.
 
Jan, Z., gul, A. (2016). Strategic use of organizational citizenship behavior a tool for gaining competitive advantage. International journal of economics, commerce and management, 4(6), 260-274.
 
Jiang. W. (2014). Business Partnerships and Organizational Performance: The Role of Resources and Capabilities, Contributions to Management Science, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
 
Jones, E., Chonko, L. B., & Roberts, J. A. (2003). Creating a partnership-oriented, knowledge creation culture in strategic sales alliances: A conceptual framework. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 18(4–5), 336–352.
 
Jung, Ho, S., & Yoon, H. H. (2014). The impact of employees’ positive psychological capital on job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors in the hotel. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(6), 1135-1156.
 
Kadir, A., Aminallah, A., Ibrahim, A. Soleiman, J., Yusof, M., Idris, M., Bahar, M, Hasanordin, R., Rahim, S & Malek, Z. (2018). The Influence of Intellectual Capital and Corporate Entrepreneurship towards Small and Medium Enterprises’ (SMEs) Sustainable Competitive Advantage: Building a Conceptual Framework. Springer Nature Singapore.
 
Kamukama, N. (2013). Intellectual capital: company's invisible source of competitive advantage Competitiveness.  An International Business Journal, 23(3), 260-283.
 
Khanifar, H., rashid, A., sadeghi matin, S., & Nejat, S. (2018). Exploring the effect of Psychological Capital on Intellectual Capital with Emphasis on The Role of Social Capital. Biaanual journal of psychological research in management, 4(1), 9-32. (In Persian)
 
Kidd, P. (2000). Two definitions of agility. Available at website address www.CheshiireHenbury.com
 
Kong, E. (2008). The development of strategic management in the non-profit context: Intellectual capital in social service non-profit organizations. International Journal of Management Reviews 10(3), 281-299.
 
Lee, V. H., Foo, A. T. L., Leong, L. Y., & Ooi, K. B. (2016). Can competitive advantage be achieved through knowledge management? A case study on SMEs. Expert Systems with Applications, 65, 136–151.
 
Liold, F.R. (2014). Conquering Change in Oil and Gas: How to Build a Learning Organization. Journal of Petroleum Technology, 66 (12), 80–83.
 
Liu, C. H. (2020). Creating competitive advantage: Linking perspectives of organization learning, innovation behavior and intellectual capital. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 66, 13–23.
 
Liu, C.H, Chang, A., & Fang, Y. (2019). Network activities as critical sources of creating capability and competitive advantage: The mediating role of innovation capability and human capital. Journal of management decision, 58(3).
 
Luthans, F., Youssef, C. M., & Avolio, B. J. (2007). Psychological capital: Developing the human competitive edge (Vol. 198). Oxford: Oxford university press.
 
Lux, A.A., Macau, F.R & Brown, K.A. (2020). Putting the entrepreneur back into entrepreneurial ecosystems. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 26(5), 1011-1041.
 
Madhavaram, S., & Hunt, S.,D. (2008). The service-dominant logic and a hierarchy of operant resources: developing masterful operant resources and implications for marketing strategy. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36(1), 67–82.
 
Mehregan, M.R., Asgharzade, E., & Safari, H. (2011). Identification Of  IRANs National Petrochemical Company Approach In Competitiveness Through Structural Equation Model And Analytical Hierarchy Process. Journal of  Commercial strategies, 9(47), 225-240.
 
Middle East Bank.(2014, July). Economic study of Iran's petrochemical industry.
 
Miller Hosley, S. M., Lau, A. T. W., Levy, F. K., & Tan, D. S. K. (1994). The Quest for the Competitive Learning Organization. Management Decision, 32(6), 5–15.
 
Mobini Dehkori, A., Vahabi, M., & Baghestani, B. (2016). Investigating the Effect of Internal Resource Re-configuration of Dynamic Capabilities on the Businesses Performance. Strategic studies in the oil and energy industry, 7(28), 4-27. (In Persian)
 
Mohseni Fard, GH., Rezaee, GH., & Hosseini Rad, S. (2014). The Relationship of Social Capital to Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management. Journal of new approaches in educational administration, 4(15), 139-154. (In Persian)
 
Nazari, M., Keimasi, M., & Ghodselahi, A. (2019). Designing a Model for Competitive Advantage in Electronic Banking Applying Grounded Theory. Journal of business management, 11(1), 45-62. (In Persian)
 
Nekooeezade, M., Hosseini, S. M., Gharache, M., & hajokarimi, A. (2014). A Model of Dynamic Capabilities Influence on the Firm's Performance. Strategic management thought, 8(2), 67-98. (In Persian)
 
Nikoukar, GH,. Asgari, N., Gholami, M., & Rahimi, E. (2014). The Role of Intellectual Capital in Facilitating Knowledge Management Practices. Journal of public administration, 2(2), 401-418. (In Persian)
 
Pahlavan Sharif, s., & Mahdavian, V.(2015). Structural equation modeling with Amos.Tehran, Bishe press. (In Persian)
 
Ployhart, R. E., & Hale Jr, D. (2014). The fascinating psychological microfoundations of strategy and competitive advantage. Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav.1(1), 145-172.
 
Powell, T. C., Lovallo, D., & Fox, C. R. (2011). Behavioral strategy. Strategic Management Journal, 32(13), 1369–1386.
 
Prieto, I.M., & Revilla, E. (2006). Assessing the impact of learning capability on business performance: empirical evidence from Spain. Management Learning, 37(4), 499–522.
 
Pundziene, P., Nikou, S., & Bouwman, H. (2021). The nexus between dynamic capabilities and competitive firm performance: the mediating role of open innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management, 25(6), 152-177.
 
Rijnsoever, , F. J., & Eveleens, C. P. (2021). Money Don’t matter? How incubation experience affects start-up entrepreneurs’ resource valuation. Technovation, 106, 102294.
 
Romme, G., Zollo, M.,& Berends, P. (2010). Dynamic capabilities, deliberate learning and environmental dynamism: a simulation model. Industrial and Corporate Change, 19(4), 1271-1299.
 
Saa-Perez, P.D. & Garcia-Falcon, J.M. (2002). A resource-based view of human resource management and organizational capabilities development. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(1), 123-140.
 
Saadi, H., & Khayyati, M. (2014). The mediating role of organizational citizenship behaviors in the relationship between job attitudes and building learning organizations. Journal of public administration, 3(3), 503-522. (In Persian)
 
Slatten, T., Lien, G., Evenstad, S.B.,  & Onshus, T. (2021). Supportive study climate and academic performance among university students: the role of psychological capital, positive emotions and study engagement. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences. Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-prin.
 
Santa, M. & Selmin, N. (2016). Learning organization modelling patterns. Knowledge Management Research and Practice, 14(1), 106-125.
 
Schilke, Schilke, O., Hu, S., & Helfat, C. E. (2018). Quo vadis, dynamic capabilities? A content-analytic review of the current state of knowledge and recommendations for future research. Academy of management annals, 12(1), 390-439.
 
Shahtahmasebi, E., Khodadad Hoseini, S. H., Kordnaeij, A., & Azad Armaki, T.(2013) Designing a Model for the Role of External Social Capital in Competitive Advantage Acquisition (Case Study: Color and Resin Industry). Organizational Resources Management Researchs, 3 (1), 69-87. (In Persian)
 
Sherehiy, B., Karwowski, W., & Layer, J. (2007). A review of enterprise agility: Concepts, frameworks, and attributes. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 37(5), 445-460.
 
Sune, A. & Gibb, J. (2015). Dynamic capabilities as patterns of organizational change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(8), 213-231.
 
Tamer, I., Dereli, B., & Saglam, M. (2014). Unorthodox forms of capital in organizations: positive psychological capital, intellectual capital and social capital. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 152, 963 – 972.
 
Teece, D.J., Peteraf, M.A., & Leih, S.(2016).  Dynamic Capabilities and Organizational Agility: Risk, Uncertainty and strategy in the Innovation Economy.  California Management Revie, 58(4), 13-35.
 
Toor, S., Ofori, G.(2010). Positive Psychological Capital as a Source of Sustainable Competitive Advantage for Organizations. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 136(3), 341-352.
 
Tuominen, T., Tuominen, P., Tuominen, H., & Jussila, I. (2013). Social Capital: A Source of Sustained Competitive Advantage for Consumer Co-operatives. International Business Research, 6(12), 60-73.
 
Turek, w. & Turek, D. (2015). Innovative behaviour in the workplace: The role of HR flexibility, individual flexibility and psychological capital: The case of Poland. European Journal of Innovation Management, 18(3), 397-419.
 
Wang, C.L. & Ahmed, P.K. (2007). Dynamic capabilities: a review and research agenda. International journal of Management Review, 9(1), 31-51.
 
Wang, H., Sui, Y., Luthans, F., Wang, D & Wu, Y. (2014). Impact of authentic leadership on performance: Role of followers’ positive psychological capital and relational processes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(1), 5-21.
 
Wilson, S. (2020). Building apparel manufacturing competitiveness through policy–a system dynamics approach. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 24(2), 277-302.
 
Yaseen, G., Dajani, D.B., & Yasmeen, H. (2016). The impact of intellectual capital on the competitive advantage: Applied study in Jordanian telecommunication companies. Computers in Human Behavior,  62,  168-175.