The relationship between organizational socialization and commitment in the workplace among employees in long‐term nursing care facilities

Abstract

PurposeThis paper seeks to examine the relationship between organizational socialization and commitment in the workplace (affective organizational commitment, occupational commitment, workgroup commitment, work involvement and job involvement). It also examines whether this relationship holds when organizational justice is included in the equation.Design/methodology/approachA total of 109 employees employed no longer than 3.5 years in long‐term nursing care facilities in Israel completed the questionnaire (a 70 per cent response rate).FindingsThe results showed that organizational socialization was related to all forms of commitment, particularly to organizational commitment, workgroup commitment and job involvement. The relationship held when organizational justice was added to the equations, particularly for the previously mentioned three commitment forms. The models explained a relatively large amount of the variance in commitment forms. The implications of the findings for future research on commitment and organizational socialization are discussed.Originality/valueWhile a number of studies have explored the relationship between socialization and commitment, very few studies have examined how socialization is related to more than one focus of commitment simultaneously. This paper aims to fill this gap.