Support, trust, satisfaction, intent to leave and citizenship at organizational level : A social exchange approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose to test a research model to gain a better understanding of the connection between perceived support, trust, satisfaction, intention to quit and citizenship at the organizational level. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 355 white‐collar employees were recruited among alumni of a business school in France. Structural equation modeling was used to test the predicted relationships. Findings – Except for the relation between perceived organizational support (POS) and intention to leave, study results showed strong support in favour of the different hypothetical relations in the research model. Research limitations/implications – The results are based on a single sample and a transversal research design. For these reasons, the data should be approached with caution. Practical implications – The paper highlights the importance of considering trust over and above organizational efforts directed at supporting employees through a show of appreciation for their contribution and concern for their well‐being. Originality/value – This paper provides data that lead to a better understanding of the relationship between POS, trust and satisfaction for the purpose of predicting outcomes such as intention to leave an organization and citizenship behaviour towards an organization.