The standard measure of employees' belief that the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being.
| Construct measured | Perceived organizational support |
|---|---|
| Developed by | Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison & Sowa (1986) |
| Original publication | Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(3), 500–507. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.71.3.500 |
| Number of items | 36 (full form); 16- and 8-item short forms are the research standard |
| Response format | 7-point agreement scale (0 = Strongly disagree to 6 = Strongly agree) |
Unidimensional — the original 36 items load on a single POS factor, which is why researchers can defensibly use the high-loading 16- or 8-item subsets.
Alphas are commonly reported above .90 for the full and 16-item forms and around .90 for the 8-item form.
Grounded in organizational support theory and social exchange; the unidimensional structure is well replicated, and meta-analyses document strong links with fairness antecedents and with commitment, performance and reduced withdrawal. Discriminant validity from affective commitment has been demonstrated despite conceptual closeness.
Employees across sectors and countries; one of the most used constructs in HRM and OB survey research.
United States. Widely translated with generally supportive validation evidence.