Linking Perceived Organizational Support to Organizational Trust and Commitment: Moderating Role of Psychological Capital

Extant organizational behaviour (OB) literature widely acknowledges the importance of perceived organizational support (POS) in affecting workplace attitude and behaviour. However, studies that investigate the role of individual's mental disposition in shaping the aforementioned relationship are scant, particularly in the Indian context. This study is intended to address this gap. Here, we examine the role of POS in the development of organizational trust and organizational commitment. By virtue of its conceptualization, psychological capital represents individual's positive state of mind. Therefore and more importantly, we test the moderating role of psychological capital in the aforementioned relationships. We undertook a field-based questionnaire survey (N = 289) in a leading Indian information technology (IT) company. Results revealed that POS was positively related to both organizational trust and organizational commitment, and the strength of these relationships diminished with higher levels of psychological capital, albeit in varying degree. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed, and the future course of research is suggested.