When and why do social resources influence employee advocacy? The role of personal investment and perceived recognition

Integrating social exchange (SET) and conservation of resources (COR) theories, this research investigates whether employees' personal resource investment in commitment and effort, mediate the relationships between social resources (i.e., co-workers' and supervisors' support) and employee advocacy behaviors. In addition, whether such indirect effects are contingent on the boundary condition of perceived recognition. We test the model using data of employees of a large health insurance company in Australia. Structural equation modeling (SEM) results showed commitment and effort mediate the relationships between co-workers' and supervisors' support and advocacy. Moderated-mediation results showed that the indirect effect of commitment is stronger between co-workers' support and supervisors' support with advocacy, when perceived recognition is low. In contrast, the indirect effect of effort is stronger between co-workers' support and supervisors' support with advocacy when perceived recognition is high. Findings of this study advance theoretical development of employee advocacy behaviors, and help managers design supportive work environments.