a social influence analysis of perceived organizational support
a social influence analysis of perceived organizational support
a social influence analysis of perceived organizational support
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it does not require that the role model interact with the employee who considers him or her to be<br />
a role model.<br />
More recently, however, researchers have recognized that employees consider coworkers<br />
who are at the same or lower hierarchical levels in the organization to be role models. For<br />
instance, Gibson defines role models as “person(s) an individual perceives to be similar to some<br />
extent, and because <strong>of</strong> that similarity, the individual desires to emulate (or specifically avoid)<br />
aspects <strong>of</strong> that person’s attributes or behaviors” (2003: 592). Gibson’s definition highlights the<br />
fact that employees select other employees who are not mentors or other senior <strong>organizational</strong><br />
members as role models. Gibson’s qualitative study, which required employees to describe the<br />
characteristics <strong>of</strong> their role models, revealed that employees do indeed select other employees<br />
who are at the same level <strong>of</strong> the organization to be their role models. Overall, these definitions<br />
<strong>of</strong> role models agree that role models are organization members who are emulated by others<br />
because they have admirable attributes or useful skills. Indeed, the definition <strong>of</strong> role models<br />
<strong>of</strong>fered by Shapiro and colleagues may best capture all <strong>of</strong> the definitions presented above; these<br />
researchers described role models “as individuals whose behaviors, personal styles, and specific<br />
attributes are emulated by others” (52).<br />
In this study, I define a role model in an <strong>organizational</strong> context as an individual who is<br />
<strong>perceived</strong> by another employee to have a high level <strong>of</strong> performance and serve as an excellent<br />
example <strong>of</strong> the goals and values <strong>of</strong> the organization. I emphasize that the employee is a role<br />
model in the context <strong>of</strong> the organization and that the employee is knowledgeable and successful<br />
within that context. This definition also allows for employees to select role models from any<br />
level <strong>of</strong> the organization, rather than just supervisors or mentors. In addition, my focus is not on<br />
whether or not an individual is or is not a role model, but whether or not he or she is <strong>perceived</strong> to<br />
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