# The Effect of Organizational Support Climate on Employees’ Positive Deviance: A Parallel Mediation Model

## TL;DR

This study explores how a supportive work environment encourages employees to act innovatively by taking risks and feeling connected to their workplace.

## Contribution

The study introduces a parallel mediation model showing how organizational support climate influences positive deviance through risk-taking and workplace belongingness.

## Key findings

- Risk-taking willingness mediates the relationship between organizational support climate and positive deviance.
- Workplace belongingness also mediates this relationship, linking organizational support to positive deviance.

## Abstract

To remain competitive and viable in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, organizations must strengthen their innovation capabilities. Innovative employee behavior often arises from disrupting established norms and deviating from conventional practices, making it crucial for organizations to focus on positive deviance. This study adopted organizational support theory to propose a parallel mediation model demonstrating how organizational support climate influences employees’ positive deviance. Based on a questionnaire survey distributed to 459 employees from Beijing, China, this study found that risk-taking willingness and workplace belongingness mediated the relationship between the organizational support climate and employees’ positive deviance. This study provides novel perspectives on the mechanisms of such behavior by highlighting that risk-taking willingness is a crucial factor in fostering positive deviance and that workplace belongingness plays an important role in bridging the two.