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When supervisors perceive non-work support: test of a trickle-down model.
The Journal of Psychology
|April 2, 2014
Summary
Supervisors’ non-work support influences employees’ organizational citizenship behaviors through perceived support from their direct supervisors. This effect is stronger for employees perceived as out-group members.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Behavior
- Social Psychology
- Management Studies
Background:
- The trickle-down model suggests that support from higher levels can influence lower levels within an organization.
- Non-work support from supervisors is increasingly recognized for its impact on employee outcomes.
- Understanding the mechanisms and boundary conditions of this support is crucial for organizational effectiveness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mediating role of subordinates' perceived non-work support in the relationship between supervisors' perceived non-work support and subordinates' organizational citizenship behaviors.
- To examine whether subordinates' in-group/out-group status moderates the relationship between supervisors' and subordinates' perceived non-work support.
Main Methods:
- Dyadic data were collected from 132 employees and their immediate supervisors.
- Statistical analyses were employed to test mediation and moderation hypotheses.
- The trickle-down model served as the theoretical framework.
Main Results:
- A significant mediation effect was found: supervisors' perceived non-work support indirectly influenced subordinates' organizational citizenship behaviors via subordinates' perceived supervisory non-work support.
- Supervisors' perception of subordinates' in-group/out-group membership moderated the relationship between supervisors' and subordinates' perceived non-work support.
- The positive relationship between supervisors' and subordinates' perceived non-work support was stronger for subordinates perceived as out-group members.
Conclusions:
- Perceived supervisory non-work support acts as a crucial mediator in the trickle-down of non-work support from higher management to subordinates.
- Organizational citizenship behaviors are influenced by this mediated support, particularly when considering in-group/out-group dynamics.
- Findings highlight the importance of supervisors' non-work support and suggest tailored approaches for different employee groups.
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