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a social influence analysis of perceived organizational support

a social influence analysis of perceived organizational support

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job conditions that were considered non-discretionary, such as long hours worked on a<br />

demanding job. While attributions mattered such that POS was more strongly affected by<br />

discretionary treatment provided by the organization, they did not matter for job satisfaction. Job<br />

satisfaction changed regardless <strong>of</strong> the attribution that the employee made for job conditions.<br />

These findings indicate that job satisfaction assesses an employees’ evaluation <strong>of</strong> their job, while<br />

POS assesses employees’ evaluations <strong>of</strong> treatment provided by the organization.<br />

Finally, Kottke and Sharfinski (1988) investigated the distinctiveness <strong>of</strong> POS and<br />

<strong>perceived</strong> supervisor <strong>support</strong>. Perceived supervisor <strong>support</strong> is defined as employees’ general<br />

views concerning the degree to which supervisors value their contributions and care about their<br />

well-being (Kottke & Sharfinski, 1988). Factor <strong>analysis</strong> revealed that employees differentiate<br />

<strong>support</strong> <strong>of</strong>fered by the organization from <strong>support</strong> <strong>of</strong>fered by supervisors. Hutchinson (1997)<br />

replicated and extended this study by showing that employees distinguish between perceptions <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>support</strong> from their supervisor, the management <strong>of</strong> the organization and the organization itself<br />

(POS).<br />

Overall, the results <strong>of</strong> research investigating the conceptual and empirical distinctiveness<br />

<strong>of</strong> POS reveal that it is distinct from affective and continuance <strong>organizational</strong> commitment,<br />

psychological contracts, job satisfaction, <strong>perceived</strong> supervisor <strong>support</strong> and managerial <strong>support</strong>.<br />

Antecedents <strong>of</strong> Perceived Organizational Support<br />

Given that POS is a distinct construct and related to important outcomes such as<br />

<strong>organizational</strong> commitment, going “above and beyond” duties specified in job descriptions, and<br />

turnover (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002), researchers have investigated the factors that lead to<br />

POS within employees. Eisenberger et al. (1986) proposed that employees’ POS results from<br />

favorable <strong>organizational</strong> treatment attributed to the discretion <strong>of</strong> the organization. Generally,<br />

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