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Socialization and Newcomer Adjustment: The Role of Organizational Context

Blake E. Ashforth

Department of Management, College of Business, Arizona State University, Main Campus, P.O.B. 874006, Tempe, Arizona 85287-4006.

Alan M. Saks

Department of Administrative Studies, Atkinson College, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3.

Raymond T. Lee

Department of Business Administration, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 2N2.

Research on how the context of work affects HRM practices in general, and socialization practices in particular, is relatively scarce. The present study assesses a model linking context, socialization, and newcomer adjustment. Self-report data from business school graduates after 4 months (N = 295) and 10 months (N = 223) on the job revealed that mechanistic (vs. organic) structure, organization size, and jobs of high motivating potential were each positively associated with organizations' use of what Jones (1986) refers to as institutionalized socialization, and this form of socialization was positively associated with newcomer adjustment. Contrary to expectations, neither a newcomer's bureaucratic orientation nor growth need strength moderated the relationship between socialization and adjustment.

Key Words: organizational socialization • newcomer adjustment • job design

Human Relations, Vol. 51, No. 7, 897-926 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/001872679805100703
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