a social influence analysis of perceived organizational support

occurs because the norm of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960) obligates employees who receive
favorable treatment from the organization to help the organization reach its goals.
In the following sections, research on the attitudinal and behavioral consequences of POS
is reviewed briefly.
Attitudinal Consequences of POS. The fundamental proposition of POS research is that
employees’ beliefs regarding how committed the organization is to them will result in employee
commitment to the organization. To empirically assess this claim, researchers have investigated
the relationship between POS and affective organizational commitment. POS is hypothesized to
be positively related to affective commitment because it fulfills the socioemotional needs of
employees including respect, caring and approval (Armeli, Eisenberger, Fasolo, & Lynch, 1998)
and therefore results in a strong sense of belonging to the organization. Consistent with
expectations, studies consistently provide support for a positive relationship between POS and
affective organizational commitment (Eisenberger et al., 1990; Eisenberger et al., 2001; Gakovic
& Tetrick, 2003; O’Driscoll & Randall, 1999; Wayne et al., 1997).
Researchers have also speculated that POS would make employees satisfied with their
jobs because they believe that aid is available when they need it and have strong performance-
reward expectancies. That is, employees with high levels of POS realize that the organizations
that they work for will reward them for their efforts on the job. Research provides strong support
for this proposition as well (Eisenberger et al., 1997; Masterson et al., 2000; Witt, 1991).
Finally, researchers have explored the relationship between POS and job involvement.
Job involvement is defined as an individual’s identification with and interest in the specific work
that they perform (Lodhal & Kejner, 1965). O’Driscoll and Randall (1999) argued, and found
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