조직의 사회화 전략들과 근거리 사회화 결과들 그리고 원거리 사회화 결과들 사이의 관계에 관한 연구 (Organizational Socialization Tactics, Proximal Socialization Outcomes, and Distal Socialization Outcomes)

이 연구는 그 동안 사회화에 대한 연구들에서 과정을 무시해왔다는 비판을 고려하여, 사회화 결과들을 근거리 결과들(개인-조직 적합성과 역할명확성)과 원거리 결과들(조직몰입, 직무만족, 이직의도)로 구분하고, 조직의 사회화 전략들, 근거리 결과들, 원거리 결과들 삼자 간의 관련성을 실증연구를 통해 검증하였다. 조직의 사회화 전략들을 측정하는 데에는Cable과 Parsons(2001), Jones(1986)가 제안한 삼분법적 분류방식을 따라 맥락 사회화 전략, 내용 사회화 전략, 사회적 사회화 전략이라는 세 범주를 활용하였다. 우리나라의 9개 조직을 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하여 347명의 신입사원들로부터 자료를 수집하여 분석한 결과는 다음과 같은 세 가지로 요약된다. 첫째, 내용 사회화 전략과 사회적 사회화 전략은 개인-조직 적합성과 역할명확성에 正(+)의 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 개인-조직 적합성과 역할명확성은 조직몰입 및 직무만족과는 正(+)의 인과관계를, 그리고 이직의도왿�는 負(-)의 인과관계를 갖고 있었다. 셋째, 조직의사회화 전략들과 원거리 결과들 간의 관계를 근거리 결과들이 부분적으로 매개하는 효과를 갖고 있음이 확인되었다. 마지막으로 이 연구가 갖는 이론적 실천적 함의를 논의하고 연구의 한계왿� 후속 연구의 방향을 제시하였다.

The past organizational socialization studies have devoted their attention to examining how organizational socializations affect various individual outcomes. Although they have provided useful insights on organizational socialization, they have generally failed to examine the processes by which organizational socialization tactics affect various socialization outcomes. In addition, Jones (1986) provided a 3-factor conceptualization of socialization tactics (i.e., context, content, and social aspects) which is conceptually richer and allows for greater hypothesis-testing regarding specific classes of socialization tactics than a single continuum. However, only Cable and Parsons (2001) used the framework to examine the relationship between organizational socialization and person-organization fit (P-O fit).
To address these limitations, this study investigated the effects of the 3-factor conceptualization of socialization tactics on socialization outcomes, based on the process model proposed by Saks and Ashforth (1997). According to Saks and Ashforth, socialization tactics are predicted to result in proximal socialization outcomes that are more directly affected by organizational socialization than others. Proximal socialization outcomes are then expected to influence a wide variety of more distal socialization outcomes. That is, proximal socialization outcomes mediate the relationship between organizational socialization and distal socialization outcomes.
In this study, we examined how person-organization fit and role clarity (i.e., proximal socialization outcomes) mediate the relationship between the 3-factor socialization tactics and various distal socialization outcomes (i.e., organization commitment, job satisfaction, and intention to quit).
To test this research model, we collected data from newcomers whose tenure is between 3 months and 2 years in 9 Korean organizations. Based on 347 completed surveys, we conducted structural equation modeling analysis using AMOS 4.0. The results show that overall the proposed research model fits to the data well based on various fix indices such as CFI and GFI. More specifically, significant tests of each path coefficient show that, as expected, content and social aspects of socialization were positively associated with person-organizational fit and role clarity. P-O fit and role clarity were also significantly associated with three distal socialization outcomes. In addition, P-O fit and role clarity partially mediated the relationship between organizational socialization and the distal socialization outcomes. For example, person-organizational fit and role clarity fully mediated the relationship between content aspect of socialization and organizational commitment and job satisfaction. However, as unexpected, collective and formal socialization (i.e., context aspects of socialization) was negatively and significantly associated with P-O fit. It is possible that when organizations provide the same socializations to newcomers while separating them from the existing employees, the newcomers may develop their own subcultures that may deviated from the current organizational culture and values. In particular, in Korea, where generation differences are substantial (Inglehart, 1990), the negative impact of collective and formal socialization on person-organizational fit may be not unusual. Thus, when organizations use collective and formal socialization tactics (i.e., the context aspect of socialization), they have to pay more attentions to clarifying the purpose and the content of the socialization. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.