Psychological Capital, Quality of Work Life,

and Quality of Life of Marketers: Evidence

from Vietnam

Journal of Macromarketing
32(1) 87-95
The Author(s) 2012
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0276146711422065
http://jmk.sagepub.com

Tho D. Nguyen1 and Trang T. M. Nguyen2

Abstract
This study examines the roles of psychological capital (PsyCap) in job performance and quality of work life (QWL) of marketers in
a transitioning market, Vietnam. It also investigates the impacts of marketers QWL on their job performance and quality of life
(QoL). A test based upon a sample of 364 marketers in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City reveals that PsyCap has positive impacts on both
job performance and QWL of marketers. In addition, QWL underlies both job performance and QoL of marketers. These findings
confirm the importance of PsyCap in marketers work and lives in a transitioning market.
Keywords
quality of work life, quality of life, psychological capital, job performance, Vietnam

Introduction
People play a key role in economic productivity (Gavin and
Mason 2004) and the flat world competition has allowed
or forced people around the world to cooperate and to compete
with each other (Friedman 2007). Such a new business environment requires firms to have a new approach to human resource
management in order to survive and to create sustainable
growth and development (Luthans et al. 2008). Regarding
people in the workplace, there are two areas, among others, that
have received much attention by researchers in the last few
years. The first is the positive organizational behavior and its
derivative psychological capital, which is defined as an individuals psychological state of development (PsyCap; Luthans
et al. 2005; Luthans et al. 2008). The second is quality of work
life (QWL; Sirgy 2006; Wright and Cropanzano 2004) and the
relationship between work and life (Harrington and Ladge
2009). Research shows that there is a relationship between
PsyCap and job performance (Luthans et al. 2005; Luthans
et al. 2008), and a relationship between QWL and job performance (Koonmee et al. 2010). However, little empirical evidence exists on the nature of or relationships among PsyCap,
QWL and quality of life (QoL), especially in transitioning
markets. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, little attention has been paid to the role of PsyCap in QWL and QoL of
marketers in transitioning markets such as Vietnam. Thus, the
purpose of this study is to investigate the roles of PsyCap in job
performance and QWL, and subsequently, in QoL of marketers
in Vietnam.
Vietnam provides a good case for the study of PsyCap and
QWL of marketers. In 1986, the Vietnamese government

initiated a new economic reform program, aiming to transform

from a centrally planned economy to a market-oriented economy under socialist guidance. Under the centrally planned
system, business activities of Vietnamese firms focused primarily on production. These firms lacked knowledge about
market economics and marketing management (Nguyen and
Nguyen 2010). The movement toward a market economy,
together with entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO),
has forced Vietnamese firms to change business practices.
Instead of focusing on production and relying primarily on the
government planning system for distribution and other functions typically associated with marketing management, firms
now are required to make products, to develop brands, and to
find markets for their products/brands. They are also required
to produce higher quality and more competitive brands and are
required to effectively market their brands to compete successfully with international brands in their home markets, and,
when possible, in export markets. In so doing, they are confronted with several difficulties, one of which is a shortage of
qualified marketers (Nguyen and Nguyen 2011). Thus,
research in the area will assist firms in understanding the role
of PsyCap in QWL of marketers in order to stimulate them to
1

University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

University of Economics and Law, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh
City, Vietnam

Corresponding Author:
Tho D. Nguyen, University of Economics, HCM City, 17 Pham Ngoc Thach,
District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Email: ndtho@ueh.edu.vn

88

Journal of Macromarketing 32(1)

Psychological
Capital

H4

employee performance productivity and loyalty (Korunka,

Hoonakker, and Carayon 2008; Rego and Cunha 2008). To
reiterate, marketers QWL is expected to have a positive
impact on their performance. Therefore, the authors propose
the following hypotheses:

Job
Performance
H2

H3
Quality of
Work Life

H1

Quality of Life

Hypothesis 1: QWL has a positive impact on QoL.

Hypothesis 2: QWL has a positive impact on job
performance.

Figure 1. Conceptual model.

effectively and efficiently work for firms, which in turn may

enhance worker well-being and Vietnams socioeconomic
development. Below, the authors provide a literature review
and hypotheses; articulate the research method, data analysis,
and results; offer a discussion and implications; and conclude
with limitations and directions for future research.

Literature Review and Hypotheses

Conceptual Model
Figure 1 depicts a conceptual model explaining the role of
PsyCap in QWL and subsequently in job performance and QoL
of marketers. Specifically, the model proposes that PsyCap of
marketers will have positive impacts on both marketers QWL
and job performance. Further, QWL of marketers underlies
their job performance and QoL.

QoL and QWL

Employees worklife integration is a critical issue for several
organizations because it is associated with employees wellbeing (Harrington and Ladge 2009). Gavin and Mason (2004)
observe that work is an important source of the QoL for people
and that peoples general happiness in life is closely related to
their happiness at work. However, there is a lack of empirical
evidence for this relationship in Vietnam. In this study, the
authors propose a positive relationship between marketers
QWL and QoL.
QWL is about the well-being of employees (Sirgy et al.
2001) and there are several different definitions of QWL
(Martel and Dupuis 2006). In the context of this study, following Sirgy et al. (2001), the authors define QWL as marketers
satisfaction with a set of human needs when participating in the
workplace. The set of human needs includes health and safety
needs, economic and family needs, social needs, esteem needs,
actualization needs, knowledge needs and aesthetics needs.
Similar to QWL, QoL is complex and the concept has
been measured in a variety of ways (Lee et al. 2002; Vaez,
Kristenson, and Laflamme 2004). It can be defined as the overall satisfaction with life (Vaez, Kristenson, and Laflamme
2004). Based on the satisfaction approach to QoL, there is a
link between job satisfaction and life satisfaction because life
satisfaction is influenced by satisfaction with life domains,
including work (Sirgy 2006). Thus, QoL is affected by QWL.
In addition, QWL is important for firms because it relates to

Psychological Capital
Concern about trait-like personality and state-like psychological capacities of employees has received little attention by
organizational behavior researchers (Luthans et al. 2005).
Trait-like personality is not specific to any task or situation and
tends to be stable over time, whereas state-like psychological
capacities are more specific to certain situations or tasks and
tend to be more malleable over time (Chen et al. 2000). Several
related concepts that describe state-like psychological capacities of employees can be found in the literature on positive
organizational behavior such as psychological ownership
(Avey et al. 2009), PsyCap (Luthans et al. 2005; Luthans
et al. 2008). This study focuses on PsyCap of marketers.
Luthans, Youssef, and Avolio (2007) propose four components of PsyCap: self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resiliency.
They define PsyCap as:
an individuals positive psychological state of development that
is characterized by: (1) having confidence (self-efficacy) to
take on and put in the necessary effort to succeed at challenging
tasks; (2) making a positive attribution (optimism) about succeeding now and in the future; (3) persevering toward goals
and, when necessary, redirecting paths to goals (hope) in order
to succeed; and (4) when beset by problems and adversity, sustaining and bouncing back and even beyond (resiliency) to
attain success. (Luthans, Youssef, and Avolio 2007, 3)

Luthans et al. (2008) note that PsyCap has both conceptual

and empirical support.
Self-efficacy refers to people judgments about their capability to perform particular tasks (Parker 1998, 835). Applied
to the marketing professional level, self-efficacy helps marketers to be confident about their knowledge and skills in performing their assigned marketing tasks. Optimism is broadly defined
as the tendency to maintain a positive outlook (Schneider
2001, 253). Positive organizational behavior focuses on realistic
optimism, which involves enhancing and focusing on the
favorable aspects of our experiences (Schneider 2001, 253).
Applied to the marketing professional, optimistic marketers are
characterized by having positive expectations of outcomes in a
changing work environment (Luthans et al. 2008). Hope reflects
the belief that one can find pathways to desired goals and
become motivated to use those pathways (Snyder, Rand, and
Sigmon 2002, 257). Hope comprises two dimensions: pathways
(way power) and agency (will power). Pathways refer to ones

Nguyen and Nguyen

capability of generating workable routes to the desired goal
and agency relates to ones perceived capacity to use the pathways to reach the desired goal (Snyder et al. 1996; Snyder,
Rand, and Sigmon 2002). Applying hope to the marketing
professional level in a firm, pathways facilitate marketers
to recognize the goals set by the firm and to translate those
goals into their own actions to achieve the goals. Agency
assists marketers in controlling their actions to achieve the
desired goals and especially, in applying the requisite motivation to the best alternative pathway (Luthans et al. 2008; Snyder,
Rand, and Sigmon 2002). Finally, resiliency refers to positive
adaptation in the context of significant adversity or risk
(Masten and Reed 2002, 75). Applying resiliency to the marketing professional, resiliency can be characterized by coping
responses to both adverse and extreme positive events (Luthans
2002; Luthans et al. 2008).
Research shows that these four components (self-efficacy,
optimism, hope, and resiliency) of PsyCap have positive relationships with performance, happiness, well-being, and satisfaction of workers. For example, self-efficacy has been found
to have a positive impact on performance (Stajkovic and
Luthans 1998; Legal and Meyer 2009). Employees optimism
is related to their performance, satisfaction, and happiness
(Youssef and Luthans 2007). Hope is related to employees
performance, satisfaction, happiness, and retention (Youssef
and Luthans 2007). Resiliency has a positive relationship with
employee performance (Luthans et al. 2005) and happiness and
satisfaction (Youssef and Luthans 2007). In sum, self-efficacy,
optimism, hope and resiliency are related to the performance
and QWL of employees.
Luthans, Youssef, and Avolio (2007) found that PsyCap
overall is a better predictor of employee performance than are
its individual components. For that reason, in this study, the
authors focus on the predictive power of overall PsyCap rather
than its individual components. And, the authors propose that
overall PsyCap will have positive impacts on both QWL and
performance of marketers. Thus,
Hypothesis 3: PsyCap has a positive impact on QWL.
Hypothesis 4: PsyCap has a positive impact on job
performance.

Method
Design and Sample
Two phases comprised the research, a pilot and a main survey,
and was undertaken in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City, the principal
business center of Vietnam. Respondents were marketers working for firms in HCM City. The pilot study consisted of two
steps: qualitative and quantitative. First, the authors conducted
a series of in-depth interviews with eighteen marketers in HCM
City to modify the measures by examining how consumers
described their PsyCap and QWL. Although most of the measures of constructs were available in the literature, this step is
important to make them appropriate for the context of this

89
study (a transitioning market). The quantitative pilot study was
undertaken by face-to-face interviews with 125 marketers to
refine the scales. Cronbachs alpha reliability and exploratory
factor analysis (EFA) were used to preliminarily assess the
scales. The main survey was also undertaken by using faceto-face interviews. A convenience sample of 364 marketers
working for various types of firms in HCM City was interviewed in this survey. The purpose of this main survey was
to validate the measures and to test the structural model.
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was utilized to assess the
measures and structural equation modeling (SEM) were
employed to test the theoretical model and hypotheses.

Measurement
Constructs examined included PsyCap, QWL, and job performance. QoL, PsyCap, and QWL were second-order constructs
and job performance and QoL were first-order constructs.
PsyCap was comprised of four components: hope, optimism,
resiliency, and self-efficacy. Hope was measured by 4 items
borrowed from Snyder, Rand, and Sigmon (2002). Note that
hope used in this study is state hope (Snyder, Rand, and Sigmon
2002). Optimism was measured by 3 items adopted from
Carver and Scheier (2002). Resiliency was measured by
4 items, adopted from Block and Kremen (1996). Selfefficacy was measured by 4 items, borrowed from Parker
(1998). QWL was measured by 9 items addressing need satisfaction of marketers (Sirgy et al. 2001). Job performance was
measured based on marketers self-assessment. Although
self-assessment has been criticized for being less accurate compared to objective criterion measures, it is valuable when anonymity is guaranteed and/or individuals perceive no need to
present themselves favorably for career, performance appraisal, and/social acceptance purposes (van der Heijden and
Nijhof 2004; Rego and Cunha 2008) as in the case of this study.
The scale included 4 items, adopted from Staples, Hulland, and
Higgins (1999) and Rego and Cunha (2008). Finally, QoL was
measured by 3 items, adopted from Peterson, Ekici, and Hunt
(2010).
Seven-point Likert-type scale, anchored by 1 (strongly disagree) and 7 (strongly agree) was used for all items in this
study. The questionnaire was initially prepared in English and
then translated into Vietnamese by an academic fluent in both
languages. This procedure was undertaken because English is
not well understood by all marketers in Vietnam. Back translation was undertaken to ensure the equivalence of meanings.

Measurement Refinement
The measures were refined via Cronbachs alpha reliability and
EFA, using the data collected from 125 marketers in the pilot
study. Specifically, EFA (principal components with varimax
rotation) extracted four factors from the items measuring PsyCap with 66.38 percent of variance extracted: self-efficacy
(Eigenvalue 4.38); optimism (Eigenvalue 1.62); resiliency
(Eigenvalue 1.34); and hope (Eigenvalue 1.18). The

90
Cronbachs alphas for these scales were .66 (hope), .72
(optimism), .68 (resiliency), and .87 (self-efficacy). Note that
1 item measuring optimism (Im always optimistic about my
future) and 1 item measuring hope (At this time, I am meeting
the goals that I have set for myself) were deleted due to their
low item-total correlations (<.30) in the reliability analysis.
EFA extracted three factors from 9 items measuring QWL
with 70.44 percent of variance extracted. The first factor
(eigenvalue 4.04) covered items measuring marketers satisfaction with health and pay, termed survival needs. The second
factor (eigenvalue 1.27) included items measuring marketers satisfaction with social and esteem needs, termed belonging needs, and the third factor (eigenvalue 1.03) comprised
items measuring marketers satisfaction with actualization,
knowledge, and aesthetics needs, termed knowledge needs.
The Cronbachs alpha scores for these scales were .75 (survival
needs), .70 (belonging needs), and .84 (knowledge needs).
Finally, for the items measuring the two first-order constructs,
EFA attracted two factors with 71.31 percent variance
extracted: job performance (eigenvalue 3.38) and QoL
(eigen-value 1.82). The Cronbachs alpha for job performance was .86; for QoL it was .85. In addition, all factor loadings were high (.50). In sum, the results of the preliminary
assessment indicated that all scales satisfied the requirement
for reliability. Accordingly, these measures were used in the
main survey.

Sample Characteristics
The sample included 167 (45.9%) male and 197 (54.1%)
female marketers. There were 181 (49.7%) marketers working
in the service industry and 183 (50.3%) working in the manufacturing industry. In terms of firm ownership, 46 (12.6%)
marketers worked for state-owned companies, 165 (45.3%)
worked for joint-stock companies, 15(4.1%) worked for jointventure companies, 96 (26.4%) worked for limited proprietary
companies, and 42 (11.6%) worked for private firms. In terms
of firm size, 148 (40.6%) marketers worked for firms that had
less than or equal to 100 employees, 85 (23.4%) worked for
firms that had 100 to 300 employees, and 131 (36.0%) worked
for firms that had more than 300 employees.

Data Analysis and Results

As discussed previously, CFA was used to validate the scales,
and then SEM followed to test the theoretical model and
hypotheses. The screening process shows that the data exhibited slight deviations from normal. Nonetheless, most of the
univariate kurtoses and skewnesses were within the range of
[1, 1]. Therefore, maximum likelihood estimation was used
(Muthen and Kaplan 1985).

Measurement Validation
Four constructs were investigated: PsyCap, QWL, job performance, and QoL. The scales measuring these constructs were

Journal of Macromarketing 32(1)

refined via Cronbachs alpha and EFA using the data set
(n 125) collected in the pilot study. These scales were then
assessed via CFA using the data set (n 364) collected in the
main survey. The authors used two steps in validating measures. First, the authors used two CFA models to assess the
two second-order constructs: PsyCap and QWL. We then
incorporated the two first-order constructs (job performance
and QoL) into the first two CFA models to form a saturated
model (final measurement model).

Psychological Capital
PsyCap was comprised of four components: hope, optimism,
resiliency, and, self-efficacy. The CFA results indicate that
the measurement model of PsyCap received an acceptable
fit to the data: w2(62) 166.28 (p .000); Goodness-of-fit
Index (GFI) .936; CFI .935; and root mean square error
of approximation (RMSEA) .068. In addition, all factor
loadings were high (l  .53) and significant (p < .001;
Table 1). These findings indicate that the scales measuring the
components of PsyCap were unidimensional and the withinmethod convergent validity was achieved (Steenkamp and
van Trijp 1991).

Quality of Work Life

QWL consisted of three components: satisfaction with survival needs, satisfaction with belonging needs, and satisfaction
with knowledge needs. The CFA results indicate that the measurement model of QWL received an acceptable fit to the data:
w2(23) 63.78 (p .000); GFI .963; CFI .967; and RMSEA
.070. In addition, all factor loadings were high (l  .52) and
significant (p < .001; Table 1). These findings indicate that
the scales measuring the components of QWL were unidimensional and the within-method convergent validity was achieved
(Steenkamp and van Trijp 1991).

Saturated Model
The saturated model (final measurement model) was formed by
incorporating the CFA model of the two first-order constructs
(job performance and QoL) into the two CFA models of the two
second-order constructs (PsyCap and QWL). Because the measures of the components of PsyCap and QWL were unidimensional, summates were used to test the structural models. The
use of summates helps decrease the number of free parameters
considerably, which makes the estimation more reliable without increasing the sample size (Bagozzi and Edwards 1998).
Consequently, four summates (indicators) were formed for
PsyCap (hope, optimism, resiliency, and self-efficacy), and
three summates were formed for QWL (survival needs, belonging needs, and knowledge needs).
The final CFA model received an acceptable fit to the data:
w2(71) 167.41 (p .000); GFI .938; CFI .957; and
RMSEA .061. The factor loadings of all items measuring the
two first-order constructs (job performance and QoL) were

Nguyen and Nguyen

91

Table 1. Standardized CFA Loadings of Items

Items

SD

Loadings

t-Statistic

1.220
1.338

0.75
0.80

14.56

1.261
1.195

0.81
0.70

15.77
15.92

1.529
1.405
1.430

0.71
0.64
0.70

9.97
9.44

1.363
1.315
1.423

0.53
0.67
0.70

7.92
8.02

1.329
1.274
1.414

.60
.55
.57

8.19
7.71

4.98
4.29
4.42

1.525
1.596
1.430

0.52
0.85
0.80

9.20
9.19

5.30
4.83
5.19

1.427
1.457
1.287

0.71
0.61
0.72

9.40
10.37

4.83
4.82
4.60

1.375
1.454
1.459

0.74
0.83
0.82

14.26
14.21

5.09
4.96
4.97
5.05

1.190
1.230
1.176
1.209

0.76
0.78
0.81
0.80

14.69
15.03
15.28

4.23
4.36
4.14

1.379
1.388
1.471

0.84
0.80
0.78

15.83
15.47

Psychological capital: Self-efficacy: rc .87; rvc .62

I feel confident of analyzing a long-term problem to find a solution
5.06
I feel confident of presenting my work area in meetings
5.10
with senior management
I feel confident of contacting people outside the company
5.36
I feel confident of presenting information to a group of colleagues
5.55
Psychological capital: Optimism: rc .72; rvc .47
In uncertain times, I usually expect the best
4.91
I always expect things go to my way
5.23
Overall, I expect more good things to happen to me than bad
5.10
Psychological capital: Hope: Composite reliability rc .67; Average variance extracted rvc .41
At the present time, I am energetically pursuing my goals
5.47
There are a lot of ways around any problem that I am facing now
5.10
I can think many ways to reach my current goals
5.00
Psychological capital: Resiliency: rc .60; rvc .33
I quickly get over and recover from being startled
4.91
I am generous with my colleagues
5.71
I get over my anger at someone reasonably quickly
4.66
Quality of work life: Survival needs: rc .77; rvc .54
My job provides good health benefits
I am satisfied with what Im getting paid for my work
My job does well for my family
Quality of work life: Belonging needs: rc .72; rvc .47
I have good friends at work
I have enough time away from work to enjoy other things in life
I feel appreciated at work
Quality of work life: Knowledge needs: rc .84; rvc .63
I feel that my job allows me to realize my full potential
My job allows me to sharpen my professional skills
My job helps me develop my creativity
Job performance: rc .87; rvc .62
I believe I am an effective employee
I am happy with the quality of my work output
My manager believes I am an efficient worker
My colleagues believe I am a very productive employee
Quality of life: rc .85; rvc .65
Conditions of my life are excellent
I am satisfied with my life
I have gotten the important things I want in life

high ( .61) and significant (p <.001). These findings indicate

that the scales measuring these two first-order constructs used
in this study were unidimensional and the within-method
convergent validity was achieved. The correlations between
constructs, together with their standard errors (Table 2), indicate that they were significantly different from unity, thus supporting the construct discriminant validity (Steenkamp and van
Trijp 1991). The CFA loadings of items, composite reliability
(rc), and average variances extracted (rvc) of all scales are
shown in Table 1.

Structural Results
SEM was used to test the theoretical model and hypotheses.
The proposed model received an acceptable fit to the data:

Table 2. Correlations between Constructs

Correlations
QWL $ QoL
QWL $ Job performance
PsyCap $ Job performance
QWL $ PsyCap
PsyCap $ QoL
Job performance $ QoL

r (SE)

1r

t(1  r)

.63 (.088)
.69 (.094)
.73 (.087)
.39 (.070)
.68 (.096)
.45 (.070)

.37
.31
.27
.61
.32
.55

4.19
3.24
3.14
8.62
3.34
7.93

Note. r(SE) correlation with standard error.

w2(73) 168.24 (p .000); GFI .937; CFI .957; and

RMSEA .060. Note that no improper solution was found
in any model: Heywood cases were absent; all error-term variances were significant; and all standardized residuals were less

92

Journal of Macromarketing 32(1)

Table 3. Unstandardized Structural Paths in the Model

Hypothesis

Structural Path

H1
H2
H3
H4

QWL ! QoL
QWL ! Job performance
PsyCap ! QWL
PsyCap ! Job performance

Est (SE)

t-Statistic

p-Value

.32 (.038)
.15 (.032)
.48 (.059)
.13 (.023)

8.41
4.57
8.20
7.78

.000
.000
.000
.000

Note. Est (SE) Estimate (standard error).

.64
.58
.75

.76
Psychological
Capital

Job
Performance
b
.66*
.61

.47a

.76

.78
.81
.80

.38a

.67a

.78

Quality of
Work Life
.45b
.70

.72

.63a

.80

.84

Quality of Life
.39b

.62

2 [73]= 168.24 (p = .000); GFI = .937 CFI = .957; RMSEA = .060

(a) p < .001; (b) squared multiple correlations

Figure 2. Structural results (standardized estimates).

Table 4. Standardized Direct, Indirect and Total Effects between

Constructs
Effect Type
QWL

Job performance

QoL

Direct
Indirect
Total
Direct
Indirect
Total
Direct
Indirect
Total

PsyCap

QWL

0.67
0.00
0.67
0.47
0.25
0.73
0.00
0.42
0.42

0.38
0.00
0.38
0.63
0.00
0.63

than |2.58|. Table 3 shows the unstandardized estimates of the

structural paths and Figure 2 presents the standardized ones.
Table 4 shows the standardized direct, indirect, and total effects
between constructs in the model.

Hypothesis Testing
Consistent with Hypothesis 1, a positive relationship between
QWL and QoL was found (b .63, p < .001). Hypothesis 2
proposes a positive relationship between QWL and job

performance. The estimated structural path between

QWL and job performance was significant (b .38, p <
.001), thus Hypothesis 2 was supported. Finally, Hypotheses
3 and 4 propose that PsyCap has positive impacts on both
QWL and job performance. The results reveal that these two
hypotheses also received support from the data (Hypothesis
3: g .67, p < .001 and Hypothesis 4: g .47, p < .001;
Figure 2).
The results also indicate that PsyCap was a key factor
predicting the QWL (gtotal .67) and job performance (gtotal
.73; Table 4) of marketers. PsyCap explained 45 percent
of the variance of quality work life and, together with QWL,
explained 61 percent of the variance of marketers job performance (Figure 2).

Discussion and Implications

Realizing the role of PsyCap in the QWL and QoL for marketers, this study examines the impacts of PsyCap on both QWL
and job performance, and subsequently, on QoL of marketers
in a transitioning market, Vietnam. The results of this study
offer a number of implications for theory and practice.
First, QWL has positive impacts on both QoL and job performance of marketers. These findings confirm the benefit of
worklife integration, which is one of the most important

Nguyen and Nguyen

business issues in the twenty-first century (Harrington and
Ladge 2009) in a transitioning market. Gavin and Mason
(2004, 381) argue:
[w]hen a workplace is designed and managed to create meaning
for its workers they tend to be more healthy and happy. Healthy
and happy employees tend to be more productive over the long
run, generating better goods and more fulfilling services for their
customers and the others with whom they interact and do business.

Firms establishing an appropriate human resources management system that enhances QWL for marketers will benefit
from their performance. In so doing, firms not only attend to
pay and promotions but also create a working environment that
enhance marketers satisfaction with their needs, including survival, belonging and knowledge needs, as found in this study.
Improving QWL for marketers will also make their lives more
meaningful and thus may be a motive for qualified marketers to
continue working for the firms (Rego and Cunha 2008).
Further, the results show that PsyCap underlies QWL and
job performance of marketers. The findings of this study signal
firms to recruit, develop, and manage marketers who are generally higher in PsyCap. Research shows that PsyCap is a more
state-like factor than personality traits, that is, it is more open to
be developed and managed (Luthans et al. 2008). Therefore,
recruiting marketers with high levels of PsyCap and establishing appropriate human resource policies and practice to further
develop marketers PsyCap (i.e., self-efficacy, optimism, hope,
and resilience) are desirable for Vietnamese firms. And, in so
doing, Vietnamese firms could enhance the performance of
their marketers, leading to an increase in firm performance.
This also improves marketers QWL, which is a critical factor
for productivity (Wright and Cropanzano 2004).
Finally, research has explored the role of marketing in the
well-being or QoL of consumers (Peterson and Ekici 2007) and
of nations (Pan, Zinkhan, and Sheng 2007). However, little
attention has been paid to the QoL of marketers, who contribute
in part to the QoL of consumers and nations at large. An indirect relationship between PsyCap and QoL of marketers found
in this study indicates that PsyCap also plays an indirect role in
improving QoL of marketers. Therefore, employing marketers
with higher levels of PsyCap will not only benefit firms but also
play a part in enhancing the well-being of nations.

Limitations and Directions for Future Research

This study has a number of limitations. First, the model was
tested with a convenience sample of marketers working for
companies in HCM City, Vietnam. The model should be tested
with marketers in other cities and provinces in Vietnam, such
as Can Tho, Da Nang, and Hanoi with a probability sample
to enhance the generalizability of the results. In addition, the
model needs further replication, extension, and critical evaluation in other transitioning markets, such as China, to provide
useful insights. Second, the model only examined the roles of
human resources at the marketing professional level. Testing

93
the model with other business functions within firms, such as
accounting, finance, and so on, will enhance our understanding
of the relationships between PsyCap, QWL, and QoL of
employees. This is another direction for future research.
Finally, the authors focus on the state-like components of psychological factors of people, that is, PsyCap of marketers.
Incorporating trait-like components such as psychological
hardiness, personality of marketers will provide further insights
into the role of psychological aspects of people in their work
and lives. This is also an appropriate area for future research.
Acknowledgment
The authors thank the UEH International School of Business for funding
the field research and Clifford Shultz, the special issue editor, and three
anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to
the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the
research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was
funded by a grant from the UEH International School of Business,
University of Economics, HCM City, Grant No. UEH.ISB.11.001.

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Nguyen and Nguyen

Bios
Tho D. Nguyen is a business faculty member of the University of Economics, HCM City, Vietnam, and an adjunct professor at the University of Western Sydney, Australia. He has published in International
Business Review, Journal of International Marketing, Journal of
Macromarketing, among others. He received a PhD in Marketing from
the University of Technology, Sydney.

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Trang T. M. Nguyen is a lecturer in Marketing at the University of
Economics and Law, VNU-HCM, Vietnam. She has published in
Advances in International Marketing, Management Research Review,
The Learning Organization, among others. She received a PhD in
Marketing from the University of Technology, Sydney.