Psychological Understanding of the Sense of Ownership Towards Management Jobs

In psychology and management, psychological ownership is known as an important psychological antecedent for motivation, attitudes, and behaviors of managers at work. The present research aimed to understand the phenomenon of psychological ownership towards management positions among public managers conducted by the phenomenological approach. It was an applied and developmental study in terms of goal, which used semi-structured in-depth interviews for data collection. The statistical population was composed of the managers of public organizations in Ilam province, Iran. The sample was taken by purposive technique and continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Finally, 20 public organization managers were interviewed. The collected data were analyzed by the thematic method using the content analysis approach. The results revealed one theme, eight categories, and 21 sub-categories. The constituents of the concept of psychological ownership include attachment, continuity, fidelity, accountability, domineering, Identification, autonomy, and self-efficacy belief. Public agencies should take constructive actions to manage this phenomenon.