Sena Uslu

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
The growing diversity of Hungary’s service sector has created both opportunities and challenges for organizations in fostering employee engagement. This study aims to examine the impact of diversity management practices (DMP) on employee engagement, emphasizing the mediating role of conflict management climate (CMC) and the moderating role of leadership support. Grounded in social exchange theory and the resource-based view, the paper addresses the need to understand how DMPs influence engagement within multicultural workplaces.
Data were collected through an online self-administered questionnaire distributed via social media and email channels. Using a snowball sampling approach, 744 potential respondents were reached across different service companies. After excluding incomplete responses, 461 valid questionnaires were retained, yielding a 62% response rate.
Well-established scales from prior research were employed to measure the constructs, and reliability and validity were confirmed through Cronbach’s alpha, AVE, CR, and CFA. Structural equation modeling (AMOS v22) and PROCESS macro (Model 8) were applied to test the hypotheses. Results indicate that DMP significantly improves employee engagement (β = 0.348, p < 0.001), with career development and performance appraisal showing the strongest effects. CMC positively predicts engagement (β = 0.193, pм < 0.01) and fully mediates the relationship between DMP and employee engagement (indirect effect: β = 0.196, p < 0.001). Leadership support significantly moderates the effects of DMP on engagement (β = 0.351, p < 0.001) but not on CMC. The model explains 29.9% of the variance in CMC and 49.2% in engagement.