%0 Journal Article
%T Activating and Integrating Multiple Routes of Psychological Ownership through Design Thinking in Family-Owned SMEs
%A Haruto Fujikawa
%A Satoru Goto
%J Journal of Organizational Behavior Research
%@ 2528-9705
%D 2026
%V 11
%N 3
%R 10.51847/s1XI06HS2t
%P 22-34
%X This study examines how design thinking (DT) implementation in family-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) activates and links multiple routes of psychological ownership (PO) formation. While prior research has identified various antecedents of PO, these have largely been examined in isolation, leaving limited understanding of how different routes of PO formation interact in practice. This gap is particularly salient in family-owned SMEs, where centralized decision-making often constrains employees’ opportunities to engage with organizational targets, requiring integrative approaches that enable multiple forms of engagement. Drawing on a multiple-case study, the findings reveal that DT creates mechanisms that facilitate multiple routes of PO formation by enabling employees to simultaneously engage in practices that foster control, intimate knowledge, and self-investment. More importantly, these routes operate as a recursive and mutually reinforcing system, through which PO emerges and is continually reconstructed over time. This study contributes to the PO literature by offering a process-oriented explanation of how multiple routes interact while extending existing understandings of individual routes. Moreover, the findings further suggest the potential relevance of DT for understanding the emergence of collective PO.
%U https://odad.org/article/activating-and-integrating-multiple-routes-of-psychological-ownership-through-design-thinking-in-fam-b6h6tpgqo4xsrix