Newcomer psychological contracts and employee socialization activities: Does perceived balance in obligations matter?

We sought to determine the extent to which one’s beliefs about the relationship between an employee and an organization at the start of employment influence subsequent socialization activities. The balance of employee exchange relationships, employee perceptions of both their own obligations and the employers’ obligations, were collected from 120 newcomers in a public sector organization on the first day of employment and again three months later. We found the relationship between employee obligations and two socialization activities (time with mentor and time spent in training) depended on the employee’s perceptions of what the employer owed the employee, such that employees in unbalanced relationships tended to engage in more socialization activities than employees in balanced relationships.     

Old wine in a new bottle: Impact of membership change on group creativity

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of membership change on group creativity. Based on the literature suggesting stimulating effects of membership change in groups, we hypothesized that membership change would enhance the creativity of groups. Membership change involved randomly rotating a subset of group members among groups during a series of creative tasks. Using an idea generation paradigm, we compared the creativity of open groups (i.e., groups that experienced a change in their membership across tasks) with that of closed groups (i.e., groups whose membership was invariant across tasks) in two experiments. In both experiments, we found that open groups generated more ideas and more different kinds of ideas than did closed groups. Moreover, Experiment 2 revealed that it was the productivity of “newcomers” (measured in terms of their creative idea generation in a previous task) that exerted a positive impact on groups. We also found that the entry of more productive newcomers increased the creativity of “oldtimers” (i.e., people who remained in one group across tasks). Implications for the role of membership change in groups are discussed.     

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.     

新员工入职期望及其影响因素

以403名企业新员工为调查对象,使用Lisrel8.20对新员工入职期望问卷(NPEQ)的结构进行验证,并建立了入职期望产生的结构方程模型。结果显示:①入职期望三维度结构得到初步验证,NPEQ具有良好的结构效度。②工作、团队和企业期望之间存在显著正相关,工作期望是入职期望中最重要的维度。③在校经历对工作期望有正向的影响作用,自身压力对工作期望有负向的影响作用;团队期望受在校经历和企业期望的直接影响;企业期望同时受到招聘过程、在校经历、自身压力和他人期望的影响。     

Minority influence in work teams: The impact of newcomers

Although initial work on minority influence was spurred by interest in group processes, relevant research has rarely examined interactions between majority and minority factions. In particular, little is known about how current members of work teams respond to newcomers’ efforts to change existing work practices. In this study, three-person teams (a commander and two subordinates) used a computer-based air-surveillance system to monitor planes flying through a simulated airspace. After either choosing or being assigned a task strategy, teams completed a work shift and received feedback that they had either failed or succeeded. One subordinate was then replaced by a confederate (newcomer) who suggested a new strategy for the next shift. As predicted, newcomers were more influential when teams had been assigned rather than chosen their initial strategy and had subsequently failed rather than succeeded. Although newcomers are often portrayed as passive recipients of influence, this study identifies conditions under which they can function as influence agents.     

Socialization tactics, proactive behavior, and newcomer learning: Integrating socialization models

The purpose of the study was to examine how socialization processes (socialization tactics and proactive behavior) jointly affect socialization content (i.e., what newcomers learn) and adjustment. Longitudinal survey data from 150 business and engineering graduates during their first 7 months of work indicate that: (1) institutionalized socialization and proactive behavior are each associated with newcomer learning, (2) the socialization processes and learning are each associated with various forms of adjustment, and (3) the socialization processes are associated with adjustment, while controlling for learning. These findings suggest that how newcomers are socialized has substantive and symbolic value over and above what they actually learn.     

How socialization tactics relate to role clarity,cohesion, and intentions to return in soccer teams

Socialization tactics for integrating newcomers into sport teams can be key to the evolution of relationships within the group and can lead to positive or negative consequences throughout the season. For this reason, across two studies with distinct contexts, we sought to unpack the mechanisms through which socialization tactics are related to group and individual outcomes. Study 1 examined the relation between socialization tactics and cohesion, and examined role clarity as a potential mediator of this relation with 170 national-level soccer players. We observed a strong positive association between socialization tactics and cohesion, with role clarity mediating the relation between socialization tactics and Group Integration – Task. Study 2 analyzed the relation between socialization tactics (measured at T1) and intentions to return (measured at T2), with cohesion perceptions (measured at T1) as a mediator of this relation. Results from the responses of 214 club-level soccer players indicated that that Individual Attractions to the Group–Task helped explain the socialization tactics-intentions to return relation. As the arrival of new team members is a persistent and consequential occurrence for team dynamics in sport, our results provide insight into how socialization tactics relate to a range of key individual athlete perceptions about their sport experiences.     

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.