Beyond agency and pathways: Expanding Snyder’s hope theory for organizational research

This paper aims to expand Snyder’s Hope Theory by addressing its conceptual limitations and enhancing its relevance for organizational research. It critiques the model’s excessive individualism, its conflation of agency with self-efficacy, and its omission of relational and temporal dimensions of hope. To advance this theoretical agenda, the study analyzes 108 critical incidents of hope, identifying five new sources— personal purpose, interpersonal relationships, collective agency, historical consciousness, and spiritual transcendence—and additional
behavioral expressions such as active waiting and collective action. The paper’s main contribution is a multidimensional conception of hope that integrates cognitive, relational, collective, and existential dimensions.