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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A second contribution this dissertation makes to <strong>social</strong> <strong>influence</strong> literature is its attention<br />
to reciprocated vs. non-reciprocated ties. The results suggest that Nelson’s (1989) observation<br />
that all elements <strong>of</strong> Granovetter’s (1973) definition <strong>of</strong> tie strength are captured by frequent<br />
contact may not be the case when <strong>social</strong> <strong>influence</strong> is the outcome. In this study, frequent contact<br />
and reciprocity were not synonymous. It may be important to pay attention to the reciprocal<br />
nature <strong>of</strong> ties in the future research.<br />
Third, results <strong>of</strong> this study suggest that role models are an important source <strong>of</strong> <strong>social</strong><br />
<strong>influence</strong>. Past <strong>social</strong> <strong>influence</strong> research has largely considered the effects <strong>of</strong> friendship and<br />
advice ties, but had not considered the possibility that whether or not an employee was<br />
considered by others to be a role model could make that employee more or less influential. The<br />
results <strong>of</strong> this study indicate that advice ties regarded as role models are more influential than<br />
advice ties that are not regarded as role models. This is significant because employees today<br />
change jobs more frequently than they have in the past, or have collocated work arrangements in<br />
which they spend a great deal <strong>of</strong> their time away from their organization at client sites. Because<br />
employees do not remain with their organizations long enough to develop a meaningful<br />
relationship with a mentor, or because they are unable to interact frequently with a supervisor,<br />
employees create their own developmental relationships to quickly acquire the information and<br />
learn the norms and behaviors that will make them successful in the organization (Higgins &<br />
Kram, 2001). Some researchers suggest that role models are one example <strong>of</strong> such a<br />
developmental relationship (Ibarra, 1999; Gibson, 2003; 2004). The results <strong>of</strong> this research show<br />
that employees’ role models can <strong>influence</strong> their beliefs about the treatment that they receive from<br />
their organizations.<br />
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