Trusting the fair supervisor: the role of supervisory support in performance appraisals

Abstract

Applying social exchange theory and organisational support theory to a performance appraisal context, we hypothesised that perceived supervisory support would mediate the relationships between both interpersonal and informational justice, and trust in the supervisor. The data were collected from 526 full‐time working adults, who answered questions about the fairness of their organisation's current performance appraisal process. Using structural equation modelling, both calibration (n = 278) and cross‐validation (n = 248) field samples showed that perceived supervisory support mediated the justice–supervisor trust relationships. Our findings suggest that perceived supervisory support serves as a mechanism through which perceptions of interpersonal and informational justice foster trust in supervisors. Implications for organisational practice and areas for future research are discussed.