The role of social socialization tactics in the relationship between socialization content and newcomers' affective commitment

摘要

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to explore the role of social socialization tactics on the relationship between task- and organization-related information (socialization content) and newcomers' affective commitment to their work organization.rnDesign/methodology/approach - A total of 280 new hires in a Greek service company participated in a survey. Moderated regression analyses were conducted to test research hypotheses. Findings - The results supported the role of investiture-divestiture tactics as a moderator in the relationship between newcomers' task-related information acquisition and organizational affective commitment. In addition, serial-disjunctive tactics were found to moderate the relationship between organization-related information acquisition and newcomers' affective commitment. The study also demonstrated that both task-related and organization-related information acquisition are important to the development of newcomers' affective commitment at the early stages of the socialization process. Research limitations/implications - Owing to the cross-sectional design of the research, causality cannot be drawn.rnPractical implications - The knowledge of whether, and the extent to which, particular socialization tactics and content areas contribute to newcomers' adjustment would provide organizations a competitive advantage by incorporating them into their socialization programs. Originality/value - Provision of feedback affirming newcomers' personal characteristics as well as assignment of established role models were found to provide the framework within which the acquisition of task and organization-related information respectively are related to new hires' affective commitment towards their work organization.