THE EFFECT OF LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE ON JOB EMBEDDEDNESS: THE ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT: A CASE STUDY OF WHITE-COLLAR EMPLOYEES

Abstract

One of the most significant ideas for organizations is job embeddedness, which was examined in this study by focusing on the influence of leader-member exchange and psychological contracts. In this context, firstly, the concepts used in the research were explained and an in-depth literature review was conducted on the variables. Organizations' importance was discussed and relationships between variables explained after the theoretical study of the variables. This study, which is quantitative in nature, utilized not just demographic information but also three different measurement methods to determine the correlations between these variables during the research data collection process. In this context, data were obtained using the self-reporting technique through the Leader-Member Exchange LMX-7 Scale, the Work Embedded Scale and the Psychological Contract Scale. White-collar workers in Istanbul's service industry make up the study's sample. There were 301 participants in all who completed the survey, and the results were analyzed using SPSS (version 21), a statistical software for social science research. First, the construct validity and reliability of the scales were tested, and then hypothesis tests were started. As a result of the regression and moderator analyzes adopted in testing the hypotheses, the relationships between the variables were explained. According to the results of the research, firstly, there is a strong relationship between leader member exchange and the degree of job embeddedness (β-value .702, R2= .787, P value .000). This relationship shows that leader-member exchange has a significant impact on job embeddedness. In testing the sub-hypotheses, leader member exchange have a significant effect on fit to community, as evidenced by the statistical significance of all sub-variables (β-value .774, R2= .733, P-value .000). Moreover, iii leader-member exchange have a significant impact on the organization to fit (β-value .678, R2= .682 P-value .000). In addition, leader-member exchange has a deep impact on community-related sacrifice (β- value .673, R2= .634, P value ,000). In addition, leader-member exchange is found to significantly affect organization related sacrifice (β- value .685, R2= .727, P-value 0.000). The results of the study reveal that leader-member exchange has an important impact on job embeddedness. The findings show that increasing exchange between leaders and their subordinates has a positive effect on job embeddedness Finally, the moderator analysis applied in the research found that the psychological contract had a moderating effect on the link between leader member change and job embeddedness. However, the value of this interaction is that the psychological contract has a low level of moderator effect. Thus, the findings of the research were evaluated, and it was seen that the hypotheses of the research were also supported in the light of the statistical analyzes applied. For this reason, the study explains the effect of leader-member exchange, which has an important place in the literature, on job embeddedness. In addition, the role of psychological contract in this relationship confirms that moderator variables can be effective in explaining such a relationship between variables