The relationship between psychological ownership and sustainable behavior in coworking spaces

Purpose It is currently unknown if psychological ownership of a coworking space affects coworking members’ engagement in sustainable behaviors and to what extent. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the relationship between psychological ownership and sustainable behaviors in coworking spaces. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a cross-sectional design to test the hypothesized relationship between the independent variable psychological ownership of a coworking space and the dependent variable sustainable coworking behavior. Sustainable coworking behavior is a multidimensional construct consisting of prosocial behavior, responsible space-sharing behavior, task performance and creative performance. Data were collected from 423 members of coworking spaces via a global survey. The structural equation modeling method was used for data analysis. Findings The findings indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship between psychological ownership and all four dimensions of sustainable coworking behavior. Specifically, a positive relationship was found between psychological ownership and prosocial behavior (R-sq = 17%, p < 0.001), task performance (R-sq = 12%, p < 0.001) and creative performance (R-sq = 3%, p = 0.013). A negative relationship was found between psychological ownership and responsible space-sharing behavior (R-sq = 1%, p = 0.093). Originality/value From an academic perspective, this study is among the first to incorporate psychological ownership theory in the unique setting of coworking spaces. From a managerial perspective, these findings highlight that by cultivating psychological ownership, providers may activate an underutilized resource, the members themselves, as actors of sustainable behavior.