The effects of newcomer proactive behaviours on socialization outcomes: A meta-analysis

Organizational researchers and practitioners have shown increasing interest in how newcomer proactivity contributes to socialization. This meta-analysis synthesizes the existing empirical research that examines the relationships between frequently performed newcomer proactive behaviours (sensemaking, relationship building, positive framing and job change negotiation) and proximal and distal socialization outcomes. Proximal outcomes include role clarity, task mastery and social integration; distal outcomes include job performance, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intention. Based on 45 independent samples (N = 11,508), proactive behaviours were found to be generally beneficial for newcomer socialization. Relative weight analyses identified positive framing as the strongest predictor of five of the seven reviewed outcomes while relationship building accounted for the greatest part of the variance in social integration. Job change negotiation was the weakest predictor of socialization outcomes. The study also explored the impact of boundary conditions, including culture, study design and sample type, on the magnitude of these effects. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of these findings, along with the study's limitations and suggestions for future research.     

A Test of a Model of New Salespeople’S Socialization and Adjustment in a Collectivist Culture

Drawing largely on organizational socialization theory and its derivations, such as uncertainty reduction and sense-making theory, the authors propose and test empirically a process model of newcomer salesperson socialization in the South Korean context. The results indicate that both organization-initiated and newcomers’ proactive socialization tactics (i.e., seeking performance feedback and information seeking, building relationships and networks) significantly influence newcomers’ perceived level of accommodation (i.e., role clarity and social integration) and thus their adjustment to the new work environment (i.e., level of organizational commitment, job performance, and job satisfaction). The authors discuss the theoretical and managerial implications and present future research directions.     

The neglected role of proactive behavior and outcomes in newcomer socialization

This study examined the direct, mediating, and moderating effects of proactive outcomes in the relationship between newcomer proactive behaviors and socialization outcomes. Based on a sample of 204 co-op university students who completed surveys at the end of their work term, the results indicated that newcomers who more frequently engaged in a proactive behavior (e.g., information seeking) were more likely to receive the corresponding proactive outcome (e.g., information). We also found that proactive outcomes mediate the relationship between proactive behaviors and socialization outcomes and several of the proactive behaviors were more strongly related to socialization outcomes for newcomers who obtained more proactive outcomes. These results indicate the important yet previously neglected role of proactive outcomes for understanding the relationship between newcomer proactive socialization behaviors and outcomes.     

UNDERSTANDING NEWCOMERS’ ADAPTABILITY AND WORK‐RELATED OUTCOMES: TESTING THE MEDIATING ROLES OF PERCEIVED P–E FIT VARIABLES

Using longitudinal data from a Chinese newcomer sample (N = 671), we investigated the predictive effects of adaptability on newcomers’ work‐related outcomes. Specifically, we tested 4 perceived P–E fit variables (i.e., P–O fit, needs–supplies fit, demands–abilities fit, and P–G fit) as mediators between adaptability variables and newcomers’ work‐related outcomes. Our results showed that after controlling for demographic effects and other personality variables (i.e., proactive personality and openness to experience), newcomers’ adaptability dimensions (i.e., cultural adaptability, work stress adaptability, interpersonal adaptability, and learning adaptability) were differentially associated with improvement in newcomers’ P–E fit perceptions over a 3‐month time period. In turn, the perceived P–E fit variables were related to the newcomers’ work‐related outcomes (i.e., job performance, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions), after controlling for the socialization process variables (i.e., institutionalized socialization experience, role clarity, and job‐related self‐efficacy). The mediating roles of perceived P–E fit variables were also confirmed. Both theoretical and practical implications in terms of adaptability, newcomer adaptation processes, and P‐E fit are discussed.     

Socialization preferences and intentions: Does one size fit all?

The purpose of this study was to investigate student preferences for socialization tactics and their intentions to be proactive when they begin a new job. We examined the relationship between the Five Factor Model of personality and proactive personality with socialization tactics preferences and proactive behavior intentions in a sample of 243 undergraduate university students enrolled in a cooperative management program. The results indicate that personality predicts preferences for socialization tactics and intentions to be proactive. In particular, individuals high on agreeableness prefer institutionalized socialization tactics and individuals high on extraversion and proactive personality report higher intentions to be proactive when they begin a new job. These results suggest that one size does not fit all newcomers when it comes to socialization. The implications for research and practice before and after organizational entry are discussed.     

The relative importance of proactive behaviors and outcomes for predicting newcomer learning,well-being,and work engagement

New employees can accelerate and optimize their socialization by behaving proactively, although the key behaviors vary across studies. Recent research suggests that newcomer proactive behaviors influence socialization through the mediating effect of corresponding proactive outcomes. This may partly explain differences across studies, along with possible variations in the relative importance of specific proactive behaviors. This study investigates further the mediating role of proactive outcomes, and the relative importance of different proactive behaviors and proactive outcomes in predicting newcomer learning, well-being, and work engagement. Based on a sample of 176 temporary agency workers, support for the mediating role of proactive outcomes was found, although some proactive behaviors were effective in their own right. Relative importance analyses revealed that different proactive behaviors were important for different socialization criteria. Practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Feedback environment and well-being at work: The mediating role of personal control and feelings of helplessness

This study examines employees' personal control and feelings of helplessness at work as partial mediators of the relationship between the supervisor–employee feedback environment and well-being (job satisfaction, job depression, job anxiety, turnover intentions) at work. Findings are reported from a cross-sectional field study with 345 participants from three different industries. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that feedback environment was positively related to job satisfaction, personal control over information and decisions, and was negatively related to helplessness, job depression, and turnover intentions. Furthermore, personal control partially mediated the relationships between feedback environment and job satisfaction as well as job depression. Helplessness partially mediated the relationships between feedback environment and job depression, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. This study adds to the literature on feedback environment in highlighting the importance of the supervisor–employee feedback environment for well-being at work and introducing personal control and helplessness as mediating variables.     

Organizational socialization tactics and newcomer proactive behaviors: An integrative study

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between organizational socialization tactics, newcomers’ self-efficacy, proactive behaviors, and socialization outcomes. Based on a sample of 140 co-op university students who completed surveys at the end of their work term, the results indicated that newcomers’ self-efficacy and institutionalized socialization tactics were positively related to newcomer proactive behaviors. The results also indicated that newcomer proactive behaviors partially mediated the relationship between their self-efficacy and organizational socialization tactics with a number of proximal and distal socialization outcomes. Furthermore, feedback-seeking and information-seeking moderated the relationship between socialization tactics and several socialization outcomes. Institutionalized socialization tactics were more strongly related to socialization outcomes for newcomers who engaged in less feedback-seeking and information-seeking behavior. These results support an interactionist approach to organizational socialization in which newcomers’ self-efficacy, proactive behavior, and organizational socialization tactics all contribute to newcomers’ adjustment and socialization.     

新员工主动行为及其在组织社会化中的作用

组织社会化是组织行为学的热点研究问题之一, 最近学者们开始更多关注新员工主动行为在组织社会化中的作用。综合以往的研究, 新员工主动行为可以分为三类：角色定位、关系构建、自我提升。人格特质、目标取向、自我效能、情境变量对新员工主动行为有显著的预测作用。角色定位、关系构建和自我提升在新员工组织社会化过程中有着明显的积极作用。未来, 有必要在前因研究中整合情境因素与个人特质因素, 研究新员工的主动行为可能产生的负面影响以及开展本土化研究和跨文化的比较研究。     

Antecedents and outcomes of career plateaus: The roles of mentoring others and proactive personality

Although mentoring others and career plateaus are both common experiences for seasoned employees, they are rarely examined together. In this study, we considered mentoring others as an antecedent of career plateaus and emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions as outcomes of career plateaus for mentors. We also examined the moderating role of mentors' proactive personality. Results of hierarchical regression analyses based on 188 mentoring dyads indicated that career-focused mentoring alleviated both hierarchical and job content plateauing perceptions. Mentors' proactive personality moderated the relationship between career-focused mentoring and hierarchical plateauing such that the negative relationship is stronger for low proactive personality mentors. Hierarchical plateaus were positively related to mentors' emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions whereas job content plateaus only positively related to turnover intentions. Proactive personality moderated the relationship between job content plateaus and mentors' work-related attitudes such that the positive relationships were stronger for more proactive mentors. The implications and future research suggestions are discussed.     

Unwrapping the organizational entry process: disentangling multiple antecedents and their pathways to adjustment

This 4-wave longitudinal study of newcomers in 7 organizations examined preentry knowledge, proactive personality, and socialization influences as antecedents of both proximal (task mastery, role clarity, work group integration, and political knowledge) and distal (organizational commitment, work withdrawal, and turnover) indicators of newcomer adjustment. Results suggest that preentry knowledge, proactive personality, and socialization influences from the organization, supervisors, and coworkers are independently related to proximal adjustment outcomes, consistent with a theoretical framework highlighting distinct dimensions of organizational and work task adjustment. The proximal adjustment outcomes partially mediated most of the relationships between the antecedents of adjustment and organizational commitment, work withdrawal, and turnover.     

Complex Relationships Among Personality Traits,Job Characteristics,and Work Behaviors

The aim of the study was to investigate the additive, mediating, and moderating effects of personality traits and job characteristics on work behaviors. Job applicants (N=161) completed personality questionnaires measuring extraversion, neuroticism, achievement motivation, and experience seeking. One and a half years later, supervisors rated the applicants' job performance, and the job incumbents completed questionnaires about skill variety, autonomy, and feedback, work stress, job satisfaction, work self‐efficacy, and propensity to leave. LISREL was used to test 15 hypotheses. Perceived feedback mediated the relationship between achievement motivation and job performance. Extraversion predicted work self‐efficacy and job satisfaction. Work stress mediated the relationship between neuroticism and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction and experience seeking were related to propensity to leave. Autonomy, skill variety, and feedback were related to job satisfaction.     

Newcomer adjustment during organizational socialization: a meta-analytic review of antecedents, outcomes, and methods

The authors tested a model of antecedents and outcomes of newcomer adjustment using 70 unique samples of newcomers with meta-analytic and path modeling techniques. Specifically, they proposed and tested a model in which adjustment (role clarity, self-efficacy, and social acceptance) mediated the effects of organizational socialization tactics and information seeking on socialization outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job performance, intentions to remain, and turnover). The results generally supported this model. In addition, the authors examined the moderating effects of methodology on these relationships by coding for 3 methodological issues: data collection type (longitudinal vs. cross-sectional), sample characteristics (school-to-work vs. work-to-work transitions), and measurement of the antecedents (facet vs. composite measurement). Discussion focuses on the implications of the findings and suggestions for future research.     

幼儿园新教师学历与离职意向的关系:入职适应、工作满意度的多重中介作用

以783名教龄3年以内的幼儿园新教师为被试,采用问卷法考察入职适应和工作满意度在新教师学历与离职意向之间的中介作用。结果表明：工作满意度在幼儿园新教师学历与离职意向的关系中具有正向独立中介作用;入职适应、工作满意度在幼儿园新教师学历与离职意向的关系中具有负向链式中介作用。这些结果说明,良好的入职适应是提高幼儿园高学历新教师工作满意度、降低其离职意向的关键因素。     

From Passive to Proactive Motivation: The Importance of Flexible Role Orientations and Role Breadth Self-efficacy

Despite the widely held belief that a proactive workforce is necessary for competitive advantage, research investigating how to assess and promote such change is limited. Two potentially important precursors to proactivity include flexible role orientation (FRO) and role breadth self-efficacy (RBSE). These concepts have been shown to have construct validity and to be distinct from related dispositional variables, but their discriminant validity in terms of outcome variables has not been demonstrated. In this article, I show that FRO and RBSE are factorially distinct from outcomes commonly used in organisational research (job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and job strain). I also show that, as expected, the proactive motivation and traditional outcome variables have different relationships with various predictor variables. I outline the study implications, and suggest a broader research agenda on proactive motivation.     

The role of personal work goals in newcomers' job satisfaction and organizational commitment: a longitudinal analysis

This study examined the importance of 3 characteristics of personal work goals (i.e., commitment, attainability, and progress) in accounting for changes in newcomers' affective job attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction and organizational commitment) during the 1st months of employment. Twenty weeks after organizational entry, 81 newcomers provided a list of their personal work goals. Goal attributes and job attitudes were assessed at 3 testing periods covering 8 months. Goal commitment was found to moderate the extent to which differences in the attainability of personal goals at the workplace accounted for changes in job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Goal progress mediated the interactive effect of goal commitment and attainability on newcomers' job attitudes. Findings are discussed with respect to their relevance for proactive approaches to organizational socialization.     

Individual versus organizational predictors of job satisfaction and turnover among professionals

In a constructive replication and extension of previous research, the relative importance of individual (personality and professional attitudes) versus organizational (professional reward system and tenure) variables in predicting job satisfaction and turnover was investigated for the case of professionals. Support among a sample of computer specialists was found for the notion that, among professionals, individual variables are more important than organizational factors in predicting satisfaction with the work itself; but individual variables often played a major role in satisfaction with contextual aspects of the job as well. Organizational factors were found to be significantly predictive of satisfaction with all aspects of the job, but were the only significant predictors of turnover. Thus the importance of organizational factors over individual factors for professionals was supported more clearly for the behavioral outcome, turnover, than for attitudinal outcomes.     

Situational and Individual Determinants of Feedback Seeking: A Closer Look at the Process

The present study investigated the effects of situational (the feedback seeking context) and individual (public self-consciousness and self-esteem) determinants on the feedback seeking process (cf. Ashford & Northcraft, 1992; Northcraft & Ashford, 1990). A model was developed based on past research and theory (Ashford & Cummings, 1983; Larson, 1989; Morrison & Bies, 1991) which attempts to explicate how both situational and individual variables fit into this complicated process. Multiple measures of the seeking process were used to further our understanding in this area. Individuals′ intent to seek feedback, feedback seeking frequency, and the tendency to reconsider and modify their initial intentions were measured behaviorally over time. The importance of each of these variables was empirically demonstrated through the use of a computerized scheduling task on which individuals had the opportunity to request feedback. The results provide new insight into the feedback seeking process and have widespread organizational implications. Some new directions for feedback seeking research are also suggested.     

ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION AS A LEARNING PROCESS: THE ROLE OF INFORMATION ACQUISITION

This study investigated newcomers'information acquisition about organizational contextual domains from different sources, the relationship between information acquisition and knowledge of domains, relationships between information acquisition from sources, knowledge of domains and socialization outcomes, and shifts in these processes over time. Questionnaires assessing information acquisition strategies, knowledge and socialization outcomes were completed by 151 new organizational members across a variety of organizations, after an average of 17 weeks on the job and again several months later. Results of the study indicated that newcomers differentially relied on sources to gather information, that different sources were of varying importance for gaining knowledge, and that supervisors, coworkers, task and role mastery were related to the assimilation process of new employees. Research and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Sales Organization Recovery Management and Relationship Selling: A Conceptual Model and Empirical Test

This paper presents and tests a model of recovery management practices in business-to-business (B2B) sales organizations. The linkages between organic and mechanistic approaches are integrated to provide a more comprehensive conceptualization of sales organization recovery management relationships than currently exists in the literature. Responses from 177 B2B sales managers indicate that maintaining a positive service recovery culture, analyzing service failures, implementing recovery strategies, and monitoring, evaluating, and seeking feedback about recovery efforts are linked with important customer and financial outcomes. Results indicate the importance of proactive integration of service recovery concepts and behaviors into relationship selling efforts.