Does Organizational Support Promote Citizenship in Service Settings? The Moderating Role of Service Climate

The present study integrates social exchange, role theory, and climate research to suggest that employees who have contact with customers ("contact employees") will reciprocate felt obligations of high-quality employment relationships (i.e., perceived organizational support [POS]). They do this by expanding their role in ways that are consistent with contextual behavioral expectations. A longitudinal survey of 1,387 contact employees and 666 supervisors in a large supermarket chain in Taiwan demonstrated that the positive relationship between POS and service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (SOCB) role definitions was strengthened by service climate. In summary, organizational support resulted in expanded SOCB role definitions within a strong service climate, while this relationship was much weaker and not significant in weak service climate. I discuss theoretical and managerial implications through this empirical examination.