EXPLORING THE INFLUENCE OF SUPPORTIVE SUPERVISORS ON ORGANISATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOUR: LINKING THEORY TO PRACTICE
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between supervisory support and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB). The mediating role of participation and job involvement (JI) is tested within the relationship of supervisory support and OCB. Data were collected from 509 employees working in large scale food processing companies in Punjab, India. Hypotheses have been tested through structural equation modelling. The study reveals that supportive supervisors play a significant role in developing organisational citizens. The findings also indicate that indirect effects of supervisory support on OCB through participation and JI are significant and greater than the direct effects resulting in partial mediation. The study is cross-sectional in nature and has been carried out in the Indian cultural context, which can be extended to other neighbouring countries in Asia.
The study enhances the knowledge about supervisory support and OCB relationship, and the ways of improving this relationship by creating opportunities for greater participation and involvement of employees at workplace. It empirically examines the relationship between supervisory support and OCB along with mediating effect of participation and JI on an Indian sample, and adds to the growing literature of these variables from non-western economies.