The role of leader member exchange in the effect of organizational socialization on organizational i̇dentification

The experiences of business employees in organizational socialization have an impact on their identification with their organizations. These effects can be directly or indirectly influenced by the thoughts, behaviours, and practices of managers who hold important roles within the organization. This study has been prepared with the aim of contributing to the examination and discussion of the relationships between organizational socialization, leader-member exchange, and organizational identification, and to emphasize the importance of the concepts for organizations. In this study, a research model has been developed considering the potential relationships among the research variables. The hypotheses put forward have been investigated on a sample composed of employees from thermal hotel establishments in the province of Afyon. The data obtained from the survey study, totalling 384 entries, have been subjected to various analyses using the IBM SPSS 22.0 and SMART PLS 4 software packages. According to the results of the regression analysis and structural equation modelling, it has been revealed that leader-member exchange plays a mediating role in the relationship between organizational socialization and organizational identification. According to the results of the regression analysis and structural equation modelling, it has been demonstrated that the mediating role of leader-member exchange in the relationship between organizational socialization and organizational identification has a partial mediating effect on the dimension of employee support within organizational socialization, and a full mediating effect on the dimensions related to understanding of the organization and future expectations. The results of the thesis study possess implications for encouraging desired behaviours related to work in hotel businesses. The study has contributed to a better understanding of the variables considered within the scope of the research in order to provide organisational environments that carry out more effective activities. Information and results that will contribute to the generation of positive outcomes in terms of the relevant variables have been revealed. The data obtained have helped clarify previous findings in the literature where interactions among the variables could not be identified. Keywords: Organizational Socialization, Leader-Member Exchange, Organizational Identification, Thermal Hotel Employees, Structural Equation Modelling