This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (16) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Gundry, L. K. Articles by Rousseau, D. M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Critical Incidents in Communicating Culture to Newcomers: The Meaning is the Message

Department of Management, DePaul University, 1 E. Jackson, Chicago, Illinois 60604.

Denise M. Rousseau

Kellogg School of Management. Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208.

Recent hires (n = 149) in 12 electronics manufacturing firms were asked to relate their experiences of formative events and the messages derived from them. Newcomers also described the behavioral norms characterizing their organization, one facet of its culture. Critical incidents newcomers reported were significantly related to their perceptions of behavioral norms. The messages newcomers interpreted from these incidents were coded in terms of positive or negative frame (emphasizing desirable or undesirable outcomes). Positively framed events were related to experiencing the organization's culture as team-oriented. Negatively framed events were related to describing the culture as more control-oriented. Analyses indicate that the critical incidents impact beliefs regarding cultural norms through their effect on the frame of the message newcomers derive from the events. Moreover, team norms were negatively related to role conflict and positively related to role clarity. Findings are interpreted with respect to proactive and reactive roles played by newcomers in their own socialization.

Key Words: critical incidents • culture • socialization • norms • framing • roles

Human Relations, Vol. 47, No. 9, 1063-1088 (1994)
DOI: 10.1177/001872679404700903


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. Elron and E. Vigoda-Gadot Influence and Political Processes in Cyberspace: The Case of Global Virtual Teams International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, December 1, 2006; 6(3): 295 - 317. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. R. Testa and M. G. Ehrhart Service Leader Interaction Behaviors: Comparing Employee and Manager Perspectives Group Organization Management, October 1, 2005; 30(5): 456 - 486. [Abstract] [PDF]

				P. M. Wright and W. R. Boswell Desegregating HRM: A Review and Synthesis of Micro and Macro Human Resource Management Research Journal of Management, June 1, 2002; 28(3): 247 - 276. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. Veiga, M. Lubatkin, R. Calori, and P. Very Research Note Measuring Organizational Culture Clashes: A Two-Nation Post-Hoc Analysis of a Cultural Compatibility Index Human Relations, April 1, 2000; 53(4): 539 - 557. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. C. Lundberg and C. A. Young Newcomer Socialization: Critical Incidents in Hospitality Organizations Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, January 1, 1997; 21(2): 58 - 74. [Abstract] [PDF]