Is it all positive? A critical analysis of the current state of psychological capital research

This millennium has no doubt witnessed a growing emphasis on positivity within organisational behaviour research and literature. A positive organisational behaviour (POB) movement has emerged, along with constructs such as Psychological Capital (PsyCap), demonstrating promising relationships between positivity and individual, team and organisational level outcomes. However, the POB movement has been met with scepticism and criticism at both the conceptual and methodological levels. This paper aims to specifically review the current literature pertaining to the core construct of POB, PsyCap. A structured psychometric-focused review will provide the keystone to highlight several critical shortcomings of the field, along with some encouraging developments, before asserting possible directions for future research and the potential practical implications for managers.