Impact of Perceived Organizational Support on Constructive Deviance among Frontline Employees in Commercial Banks: Do Organizational Identification and Psychological Safety Matter?

Abstract

Constructive deviance is a unique behavior that can promote performance and general organizational effectiveness. The mechanism connecting perceived organizational support to constructive deviance is under-researched in organizational behavior literature. Consequently, this study examined the moderating roles of organizational identification and psychological safety on the relationship between perceived organizational support and constructive deviance. A cross-sectional research design and a quantitative approach for data collection were utilized. Systematic and convenience sampling was used to select 203 frontline employees, 110 males and 93 females, from Delta State, Nigeria, commercial banks. Standardized self-report measures were used to collect participant data, while regression analysis (complemented with Model 1 of Hayes’ PROCESS Macro) was used to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that perceived organizational support, identification, and psychological safety positively and significantly predicted constructive deviance. Also, psychological safety moderated the relationship between perceived organizational support and constructive deviance, while organizational identification did not. The results highlight the importance of high and low levels of psychological safety in increasing and attenuating the relationship between perceived organizational support and constructive deviance. It was recommended that employees should be respected and valued for their contributions, their well-being should be prioritized, and the psychological and general safety climate should be well established in the organization.