Predictors and outcomes of proactivity in the socialization process

This 3-wave longitudinal study aimed to extend current understanding of the predictors and outcomes of employee proactivity (involving information seeking, feedback seeking, relationship building, and positive framing) in the socialization process. Two personality variables, extraversion and openness to experience, were associated with higher levels of proactive socialization behavior. Of the proactive behaviors studied, feedback seeking and relationship building were highlighted in their importance because of their various relationships with the work-related outcomes assessed in this study (e.g., social integration, role clarity, job satisfaction, intention to turnover, and actual turnover). The results also highlighted the importance of 2 control variables (opportunity to interact with others on the job and skill level of the new job) in the experience of socialization into a new job.     

Age Differences in Proactive Newcomer Socialization Strategies in Two Populations

We investigated the role of age as a predictor of newcomer socialization behaviors, and documented relationships between specific strategies and subsequent role-relevant outcomes. Academic and retail newcomer populations were each surveyed over three time periods. A negative relationship was found between age and covert forms of information seeking in both samples. Further, the use of covert information seeking was related to lower subsequent levels of role clarity and job satisfaction.     

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.     

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.     

新员工工作重塑会带来积极的结果吗?领导成员交换与个体传统性的作用

每年都有大量的高校毕业生进入职场。在企业竞争日趋激烈的今天, 如何将这些大学毕业生快速地转变成高绩效的企业员工, 是一个重要的研究议题。基于自我表达的理论视角, 本研究探讨工作重塑能否促进新员工的任务绩效和创造力, 以及领导成员交换和个体传统性如何影响新员工的工作重塑。我们对256名新员工进行4轮的问卷调查, 最终得到125份有效的匹配问卷。数据分析结果显示: (1)工作重塑会正向影响新员工的工作投入, 进而影响他们的任务绩效和创造力; (2)对于传统性比较高的新员工, 领导成员交换可以促进他们的工作重塑; (3)个体传统性正向调节领导成员交换对任务绩效、创造力的间接作用, 当个体传统性高时, 领导成员交换通过工作重塑和工作投入对任务绩效、创造力的积极影响更为显著。本研究从新员工自我表达的视角为组织提升新员工的任务绩效和创造力提供了新的思路。     

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.     

Beyond organizational entry and newcomer stress: Building a self-reliant workforce

This article extends the organizational entry and newcomer stress literature by focusing on the importance of building a self-reliant workforce. It posits that newcomer socialization now and in the future requires building a workforce of self-reliant managers and employees who can function effectively in a dynamic, global workplace. This article suggests that socializing workers to be self-reliant helps employees and organizations to thrive in the uncertain economic environment that is the determining factor in the success of today's organizations. It further contends that by reducing ambiguity and increasing employability, employees are likely to suffer less distress and organizations are less likely to pay the price for distressed employees.     

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.     

Curiosity adapted the cat: the role of trait curiosity in newcomer adaptation

Using longitudinal data from 123 newcomers across 12 telemarketing organizations, we examined the role of 2 forms of trait curiosity (specific and diversive) as antecedents of proximal adaptation behaviors (information seeking and positive framing) and more distal, in-role and extra-role behaviors (job performance and taking charge). Results suggest that specific curiosity predicts information seeking behaviors, whereas diversive curiosity promotes positive framing. Results also support the relationship between positive framing and performance and the extra-role behavior of taking charge. Overall, the study validates the role of curiosity as a multifaceted individual difference that serves as an antecedent to newcomer adaptation.     

Socializing the newcomer: The mediating role of leader–member exchange

We expand organizational socialization research by integrating social exchange theory, specifically leader–member exchange (LMX), as an important mediator in explaining newcomer attachment to the job, occupation, and organization. Using temporally-lagged data from 213 newcomers across 12 telemarketing organizations, we found that newcomer perceptions of LMX mediate the association between supervisory socialization tactics (i.e. supervisory job-focused advice, guidance, and role modeling) and occupational identification as well as between supervisory socialization tactics and perceived person-organization fit – but not between supervisory socialization tactics and job satisfaction. Our study specifies (1) LMX as a compelling mediating mechanism within the new employee ‘on-boarding’ process and (2) the immediate supervisor as an important relational source for newcomer attitudes.     

Interindividual differences in intraindividual changes in proactivity during organizational entry: a latent growth modeling approach to understanding newcomer adaptation

Intraindividual change over time is the essence of the change phenomenon hypothesized to occur in the individual newcomer adaptation process. Many important adaptation questions cannot be answered without an adequate conceptualization and assessment of intraindividual change. Using a latent growth modeling approach to data collected from 146 doctoral program newcomers over 4 repeated measurements spaced at 1-month intervals, the authors explicitly modeled interindividual differences in intraindividual changes in newcomer proactivities (information seeking, relationship building) and proximal adaptation outcomes (task mastery, role clarity, social integration) during organizational entry. Results indicated that changes in proactivity may be related to newcomer characteristics and adaptation outcomes in interesting ways that have not been previously examined.     

Socialization tactics and newcomer adjustment: A meta-analytic review and test of a model

One of the most popular and often studied topics in the organizational socialization literature is Van Maanen and Schein’s [Van Maanen, J., & Schein, E. H. (1979). Toward a theory of organizational socialization. In B. M. Staw (Ed.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 1), pp. 209-264. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.] theory of organizational socialization tactics. Over 30 studies on socialization tactics have been conducted in the past 20 years. In this meta-analysis, we examine the relationships between six socialization tactics and various indicators of newcomer adjustment as well as the moderating effects of study design (cross-sectional vs. longitudinal), measurement scale (use of complete vs. modified tactics scale), and type of newcomer (recent graduates vs. other newcomers). Our results indicate that institutionalized socialization tactics were negatively related to role ambiguity, role conflict, and intentions to quit, and positively related to fit perceptions, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job performance, and a custodial role orientation. We also found that the social tactics (serial and investiture) were the strongest predictors of adjustment outcomes. The results also indicated that the relationships between the tactics and outcomes were stronger for recent graduates compared to other newcomers; cross-sectional designs compared to longitudinal designs; and when Jones’ [Jones, G. R. (1986). Socialization tactics, self-efficacy, and newcomers’ adjustments to organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 29, 262-279.] complete scales were used compared to modified versions. Support was also found for a mediation model of newcomer adjustment in which role conflict, role ambiguity, and fit perceptions partially mediate some of the relationships between the socialization tactics and distal outcomes of adjustment. The implications of these results for research and practice are discussed.     

Built to last: Interactive effects of perceived overqualification and proactive personality on new employee adjustment

We integrate relative deprivation and broaden and build theories to develop a process-based model of perceived overqualification and its relationship with new employee adjustment via “broaden and build” mechanisms (i.e., reciprocal relationships between initial status and change trajectories in work-related positive affect and perceived job autonomy). Additionally, we examine how new employee proactive personality may influence this process. Analyses of weekly survey responses from 331 new employees of a large financial institution throughout their first 90 days of employment revealed that those who felt overqualified generally experienced less work-related positive affect and perceived less job autonomy when beginning their jobs (assessed the first week of employment) than their more qualified counterparts. Moreover, initial levels of perceived job autonomy were positively associated with adjustment outcomes (assessed at 90 days of employment) via linear change in positive affect over time (assessed weekly, up to 8 weeks of employment). These findings suggest that perceived overqualification may negatively influence newcomer adjustment by stunting broaden and build processes. However, proactive personality attenuated this effect. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

组织社会化交互视角下新员工政治自我效能的动态演化及作用机制

组织政治是工作场所不可回避的客观现象,新员工是否拥有充足的自我信念来有效应对组织政治是他们快速融入组织并且提升职业竞争力的关键所在。因此,将以组织社会化的交互视角为框架,来探讨新员工政治自我效能的作用机制和动态演化过程。首先,通过质性方法对政治自我效能进行概念界定,依照严谨的心理测量方法进行量表开发与信度、区分效度检验,并构建诺莫网络来检验其构念属性;其次,构建动态演化模型,来分析新员工政治自我效能如何随着他们在组织社会化过程中的政治学习而不断进行动态演化,以及在此过程中员工个人的政治意愿和学习导向又会产生何种影响;再次,建立多层级互动模型,系统地剖析在组织社会化阶段新员工与领导、同事之间的互动过程中,新员工政治自我效能如何通过匹配路径和关系路径对工作绩效产生影响。     

Organizational Socialization: A Field Study into Socialization Success and Rate

The last decade has witnessed a resurgence of organizational socialization research. However, a critical question has been neglected: Is there a common underlying pattern to organizational socialization? We investigated newcomer learning, job satisfaction and intent to quit as common indicators of socialization, in research with 222 newcomers at two organizations during the crucial post‐entry period. The results support a learning‐dependent model of newcomer adjustment, with learning in specific domains related to improved attitudinal outcomes. Some aspects of organizational socialization were not uniform across the two organizations, suggesting a need for further development of socialization models and greater accounting for this in organizational socialization research.     

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.     

How organizational cultures shape social cognition for newcomer voices

Drawing on cue consensus theory and status characteristics theory, we argue that the consensus between newcomer voice (challenging vs. supportive) and organizational culture (individualistic vs. collectivistic) leads to observers' social cognition of warmth or competence. Based on two survey studies and two experiment studies, we found that individualistic organizational culture strengthens the positive relationship between challenging voice and perceived competence and that voice constructiveness mediates this moderating effect. We also found that collectivistic organizational culture strengthens the positive relationship between supportive voice and perceived warmth, and prosocial motivation mediates this moderating effect. Focusing on consistent cues between voice and organizational culture, our research contributes to the voice literature, answering when and how both newcomer challenging voice and supportive voice can lead to perceived warmth and competence. Our results offer both theoretical implications and practical insights for employees and organizations.     

Shaking hands with a computer: an examination of two methods of organizational newcomer orientation

The current study investigated the effects of using a computer-based orientation program on organizational socialization and attitudinal outcomes. In a quasi-experimental field study, 261 newcomers either participated in a group, social-based orientation session or an individual, computer-based orientation session. Consistent with hypotheses, results indicated that participation in the computer-based orientation session led to lower levels of socialization in the more socially rich content areas, whereas the more information-based content areas were not affected. Levels of socialization mediated the effects of computer-based orientation on the more distal attitudinal outcomes of affective organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Computer-based orientation participation also negatively affected supervisor ratings of socialization. The results demonstrate the importance of newcomer orientations and socialization outcomes during organizational entry and that training method can be an important moderator of orientation practices.     

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.