Building positive workplace behaviors: how trust in the manager enhances sportsmanship behaviors through organizational trust

Sportsmanship, a key dimension of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), refers to employees’ willingness to maintain a positive attitude at work by tolerating inconveniences and avoiding unnecessary complaints. Although sportsmanship behavior plays an important role in sustaining cooperative and supportive workplace environments, relatively little research has examined the trust-related mechanisms that encourage it. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Leader-Member Exchange (LMX), this study examines how trust-based relationships within organizations influence employees’ sportsmanship behavior. Specifically, the study proposes that trust in the manager contributes to sportsmanship behavior both directly and indirectly through organizational trust. When employees perceive their managers as competent, fair, and supportive, they are more likely to interpret their interactions with managers as positive exchanges. According to SET, employees tend to reciprocate these positive experiences through constructive discretionary behaviors that benefit the organization. Over time, trust in the manager may extend beyond the interpersonal level and develop into a broader sense of trust in the organization. Data from 287 employees in Saudi Arabia were analyzed using PLS-SEM to examine how trust influences workplace behavior. The results indicate that when employees trust their manager, they are more likely to demonstrate sportsmanship behavior. Trust in the manager also strongly strengthens trust in the organization. In turn, organizational trust encourages sportsmanship behavior and partially explains how managerial trust translates into more positive behavior at work. Drawing on SET and LMX, the findings emphasize that building trustful manager, employee relationships can strengthen organizational trust and support a more cooperative, supportive work environment.