Content area
Full text
This investigation explores the influence of perceptions of socialization tactics' use and communication relationships on employees at the initiation of and 4 months into an organizational restructuring. Results of this longitudinal investigation reveal that employees (N = 72) report considerable changes in perceptions of organizational socialization/resocialization efforts. Results also indicate that both perceptions of socialization tactics' use and communication relationships contribute to decreased role ambiguity and role conflict and increased commitment at the initiation of the restructuring and four months later. However, the influence of these factors on the dependent variables changes over time. These findings are discussed in relation to recent research on organizational entry and change, and suggestions are made for future research.
It is generally held that organizations seek to socialize newcomers so that they will conform to prescribed norms and values, perform their roles efficiently, and exhibit commitment to the organization (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979). Indeed, organizations at times specifically design a set of experiences to instruct newcomers in the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to perform their new role (Chao, O'Leary, Wolf, Klein, & Gardner, 1994; Jones, 1986; Van Maanen & Schein, 1979). However, relationships between socialization efforts and their outcomes are not easily discerned as most studies to date only consider the impact of socialization tactics and neglect other notable influences such as communication messages and relationships that provide direct meaning to employees' socialization experiences. Messages from role set members are critical because supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates can clarify, reinforce, and/or contradict organizational messages (Jablin, 2001) and have considerable influence on employees' attitudes about their job and the organization (Salancik, 1977).
In addition, socialization research typically only considers newcomers, neglecting incumbents undergoing fundamental changes due to restructuring or shifts in organizational priorities (Feldman, 1989). Socialization is a part of all work role transitions both into and within organizations (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979), and firms expend considerable time and effort on training programs that seek to resocialize their current employees (Feldman, 1989).
This investigation examines the socialization of new hires and the resocialization of incumbents as part of an organizational change. Specifically, this study focuses on the relative impact of communication relationships and organizational socialization tactics on newcomers' and incumbents' organizational commitment and two key role outcomes,...