Impact of perceived organizational support on employee performance in IT firms – a comparison among Pakistan and Saudi Arabia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the influence of perceived organizational support on employees’ performance in information technology (IT) firms in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Organizational support is critical as it ensures support given by the organization to workers and to complete one’s job proficiently and effectively. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from IT firm employees through a self-administered questionnaire survey where a total of 400 questionnaires were distributed, i.e. 200 in each country’s IT firms. A total of 383 completed questionnaires were received (190 from Pakistan and the remaining 183 from Saudi Arabia) representing a response rate of 95%. The hypothesis was tested using confirmatory factor analyzes and direct relations were confirmed using AMOS v24. Findings The results indicate that perceived organizational support and affective commitment have a significant positive impact on employee performance. Findings of the study show that perceived organizational support and affective commitment directly and significantly correlated ( r = 0.439**; p < 0.05) ( r = 0.489**; p < 0.05) with employee performance. On other hand, results of structural equation modeling indicate that perceived organizational support and affective commitment have a significant and positive impact ( ß = 0.284; p < 0.01) and ( ß = 0.370; p < 0.01) on employees’ performance. Moreover, affective commitment partially mediates the relationship between perceived organizational support and employee performance. Research limitations/implications The outcomes are not generalized, as the researcher analyzed working employees in the IT firms in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The relationship between perceived organizational support and employees’ performance may be checked in a longitudinal study. If all items are considered because of the ambiguity of human feeling and acknowledgment, it is hard to precisely assess employees’ performance and their needs. This research proposes a straightforward and handy model that supports managers to feature the most powerful factors in building up their employees’ performance. Originality/value This study proposes managers to give chances to proficient advancement, improved occupation and satisfying the necessities identified through deference, mindfulness and endorsement. Furthermore, they ought to make more good working conditions, for example, preparing chances to support workers in their wants for self-improvement and accomplishment. The research additionally recommends recording the unmistakable standard operation procedure to clarify the understanding of the employees. In addition, managers ought to invest sensible energy with their front-line employees through socialization and training. These efforts could limit fatigue work, enhance organizational duty and performance.