| Previous research has identified perceived supervisor support (PSS; Eisenberger et al., 1986) as a major contributing factor in the development of perceived organizational support (POS; Eisenberger et al., 1986), which has been found to lead to higher levels of positive work attitudes and behaviors. However, researchers have not yet explored the ways in which employees come to feel supported by their supervisors (i.e., how does PSS develop?). Based on social exchange theory (Blau, 1964; Thibaut & Kelley, 1959), the current study assessed the relation of employees' trust in their supervisor to PSS. This study also attempted to replicate the relationships between PSS, POS, and work attitudes as outlined in Rhoades and Eisenberger's (2002) meta-analysis. Lastly, relationships between work attitudes and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and counterproductive workplace behaviors (CWB) were also assessed.;Participants were 247 full-time employees working for an IT support company in the northeastern U.S. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses in this study and was found to have adequate fit to the data. Findings indicated that employees' trust in their supervisor is a significant contributing factor in explaining PSS. In addition, results supported predictions for the positive relationships between PSS and POS and POS and work attitudes, consistent with Rhoades and Eisenberger's (2002) meta-analysis. As hypothesized, work attitudes had a significant, negative relation to CWB. However, contrary to expectations, work attitudes did not have a significant relationship with OCB. Competing models were tested to investigate mediational pathways and the presence of a second-order factor among work attitude scores. The mediational models tested were not viable; however, support for the second-order factor model was substantial. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed. |
