**Hypothesis 1a.** *Leaders' expectations (Pygmalion effect) have a positive impact on improving employees' task performance.*

The organizational commitment is described as an individual's personal feelings about the organization. Commitment is observed when an employee's personal values, priorities and goals harmonize with the organization's objectives.

In a study by Joo and Lim (2009), higher commitment levels were observed among employees and firms where employees' and organizational values are aligned; commitment itself refers to employees' psychological attachment to a firm. Smith and Meyer (2009) mention that *in order to create and sustain a desirable organizational outcome, everyone must be a part of the organization hence obey and respect the organization's norms*, so organizational commitment has a critical and positive impact on employee performance.

Despite the *promising management tool* role of the Pygmalion effect Eden (1984), few studies have been conducted at the organizational level. The latest research addressed the so called self-fulfilling prophecy (SFP) phenomenon, leaving however the problem of inconsistencies and challenges in organizational performance (e.g., individual) in the context of the Pygmalion concept unattended Tierney and Farmer (2004). Still, the importance of Pygmalion mechanism lies within the concept of subordinates' high performance as a result of high expectations and a high level of employees' inspiration to perform well and dedicate themselves to achieve better results.

**Hypothesis 1b.** *Leaders' expectations (Pygmalion effect) have a positive impact on the employee performance linked to organizational commitment that individuals perceive as supportive of high performance.*
