Antecedents and Consequences of Perceived Follower Support

This study extends organizational support theory and leadership theory by investigating antecedents and consequences of perceived follower support (PFS), defined as the leaders’ perception of the extent their workgroups value their contributions and care about their well-being. Data collected from employees, supervisors, and managers of supervisors of 149 workgroups in a municipal organization provided evidence for validity of PFS in predicting important leader’s outcomes. PFS was associated with reduced leader’s psychological strain, increased leader’s job satisfaction, and increased leadership effectiveness. In addition, several antecedents of PFS were identified. PFS was predicted by the follower workgroup’s average self-monitoring (negatively) and conscientiousness (positively). The leader’s conscientiousness (positively), reciprocation wariness (negatively), and narcissism (positively) predicted PFS. Contrary to my hypothesis, the follower workgroup’s feedback-seeking behavior was negatively related to PFS. The workgroup’s average ingratiation did not predict PFS. Leader personality variables did not moderate the relationships between the workgroup’s behaviors and PFS. The results shed light on upward influence processes in organizations, by showing the role of PFS and, by implication, the role of followers in influencing the leader’s outcomes.