Perceived Organizational Support and Job Performance: Mediating Role of Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Abstract

Introduction: With the ever-increasing competition in the changing business environment, it becomes imperative for the organizations to focus on improving job performance of the employees. It is critical for organizations to understand the key relevance of positive employee interactions. It is vital for organizations to recognise people as valued sources of human capital as it improves focus on organizational objectives and performance while reducing absenteeism and attrition.
Objectives: The present study explores the Organization Support theory (OST) which analyses how Perceived Organizational Support (POS) influences job performance while considering the role of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in IT industry. As now-a-days IT industry faces a dual challenge: limited resources on the one hand, and a need for highly skilled people on the other along with external ambiguity exacerbating the problems. This cumulates the need for effective HR practices to become a competitive force in the IT industry.
Methods: A descriptive research study is conducted to apply univariate and bivariate statistical analysis techniques to validate research objectives. A modified version of the standardised scales for POS, OCB and job performance was adopted for data collection of 380 IT employees. Responses were collected on 5-point Likert scale. The analysis was done using SPSS and AMOS 23.
Results: A significant correlation exists between POS and job performance. The results reveal that OCB partially mediates between POS and job performance. It was observed that POS is associated with job performance, but it is significantly diminished in the presence of OCB. The findings provide evidence that job performance can be improved by optimising POS which develops the organizational citizenship behavior among employees.
Conclusions: The current research validates that job performance of the employees reinforced through perceived organizational support and organizational citizenship behavior has mediating impact on this relationship. It is found that employee friendly organizational strategies necessitate a paradigm shift by transforming the organizational environment which encourages employees to display optimistic and assertive behavior towards their workmates and management beyond their current employment responsibilities. HR professionals, supervisors and managers are required to follow employee friendly organizational strategies to optimise perceived organizational support to upsurge citizenship behavior, consequently enhancing employee performance.