Contributions of Anticipated Change in Organizational Support to Employee Commitment and Performance

Increasing uncertainties in the working environment have drawn the attention of employees to the possible changes in future organizational support. Extending previous research on employees’ perceptions regarding current valuation and care from the organization (perceived organizational support, or POS), anticipated change in organizational support (ACOS) concerns employees’ perception that their valuation by the organization will increase or decrease in the future. The current study compared mediational mechanisms that may distinguish ACOS from POS. Using three-wave data being collected from Korean employees, ACOS was found to relate to employee positive prospect-based emotions (i.e., hope) beyond the effect of POS, which, in turn, was associated with increased affective organizational commitment. The findings of this study can potentially contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of employees’ future outlook of the relationship with the organization.