The Impact of Organizational Socialization as a Mediator on Relationship between Locus of Control and Organizational Identity in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

پژوهش نامه مدیریت تحول

Article 6, Volume 9, Spring & summer 2017, September 2017, Pages 96-114   

Document Type: Articles

DOI: 10.22067/pmt.v9i1.52772

Authors

masood hakimi^{* 1}; Hamid Erfanian Khanzadeh²; Masoud Taheri Lari²

¹azad university of mashhad

²Azad

Abstract

1- INTRODUCTION
These Days, organizations are heavily looking for members who believe their organization is a good place to work and show their loyalty to it, and even identify their identities with the organization's identity. Thus, organizational identity is a tool for providing coherence within organizations, and interest to it has recently grown in organizations. Lack of employees' belonging to organizations is very dangerous and it reduces their productivity, satisfaction and presence. Given the importance of employees’ understanding of organizational identity, it is needed to be determined that personal thinking and the type of individual perception of the environment are effective in understanding organizational identity and, on the other hand, organizational values should be clarified for employees to help them accept the company. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the role of mediating organizational socializations in the relationship between locus of control (internal - external) and organizational identity.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Scientists define organizational identity with the sense of employee belonging to the organization, which increases the effectiveness and improves organizational performance.
Rotter (1996) introduced the concept of locus of control based on social learning theory, which currently has one of the most popular studies in psychology. It means that people are controlling their living conditions or events beyond their control. Some schools regard individuals as absolute and some free absolutes, the viewpoint of Islam does not regard man as absolute, but absolute authority. A group that attributes success and failure to their own endeavors or abilities has an internal locus of control, and those who attribute success and failure to environmental external factors such as fortune or luck have an external locus of control. Organizational socialization is a process in which individuals acquire and align with the values, norms, behavioral patterns and regulations of the organization to play a role in the organization, which reduces ambiguity for them, and employees are aware of the expectations that the organization has from them, and give them a more secure feeling. Wen Lee (2013) and Buttgen, Schumann and Atus (2012) concluded that if people had belief in controlling their fate, they would better adapt to the organization's requirements and pursue the organization's socialization agenda with eagerness. In fact, employees with an internal control are more socialized. It is clear that employees who adhere to the organization's rules and adopt to the culture of the organization are more in line with their own goals and values. Wen Lee (2008) also found that employees who have internal control, that is, their own skills, are aligned with the organization's rules, values, and regulations, and can sometimes make changes in the organization and its values.
3- METHODOLOGY
This research is a kind of applied research, and in this research, out of 637 formal and pious employees of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, 242 people were selected by random sampling as sample size.
Data were collected using three organizational identity questionnaire (Edwards & Peccei, 2007), Locus Control questionaire (Rotter, 1996), and socialization questionnaire (Taormina, 2004). The validity of the construct was confirmed using Confirmatory factor analysis, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the questionnaire is 0.896 for organizational identity, 0.689 for internal control, 0.797 for external control, and 0.719 for socialization.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
In order to analyze the collected data, a structural equation model was used to examine whether there is a simultaneous relationship between the research variables. According to the t-statistic obtained for the relationship between the internal locus control and socialization, which is 8.722, and the statistics for the relation socialization and Organizational identity is 9.505, The first hypothesis is confirmed, since both statistics are larger than 1.96. Also, according to t statistics, socialization can mediate the relationship between internal locus control and organizational identity. Since the t statistic is 0.305 in the path of external locus control and socialization, and is less than 1.96, it can be said that there is no significant relationship between the external locus control and socialization of the university staff, as well as between the external locus control and organizational identity of There is not a meaningful relationship between the mediation of organizational socialization, so the second hypothesis of the research is rejected.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
The results of the first hypothesis showed that socialization mediates the relationship between internal control and organizational identity. In the findings of researchers such as Wen Lee (2013) and Buttgen et al. (2012), the relationship between internal control and socialization has been confirmed, which shows that employees who are trusted in their capabilities are more socialized. There is a meaningful relationship between organizational socialization and organizational identity, as well as the findings of Jianhua (2010), Hatch and Schultz (2002) Riketta (2005) Wen Lee (2013) and Hayashi (2013). That is, employees who are accustomed to the organization's customs and culture have a better alignment between their goals and their values and organization. Wen (2008) showed that employees with an internal locos of control, with precision and planning, can combine their identity with the organization's identity. Regarding the rejection of the second hypothesis, Wen Lee (2013), Buttgen et al. (2012) and Adams and Shea (1978) also reached to similar results, meaning that employees with external control do not see successes and failures as the product of their performance. Managers of of Ferdowsi University are suggested to engage employees in formal and informal sessions to address work issues as well as meeting them to improve organizational identity and strengthen their self-esteem. Since the perception of the future of the job among the staff of Ferdowsi University is low, it is better to give job independence and encourage creativity and innovation among employees so that their attitudes towards the prospects of a job become positive. Training can also be used to strengthen positive-thinking skills in order to shift the external locus of control to internal.

Keywords

Organizational identification; Organizational socialization; External Locus of Control; Internal Locus of Control

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