A new look at the psychological contract during organizational socialization: The role of newcomers' obligations at entry
(2015) Journal of Organizational Behavior — Vol. 37, n° 2, p. n (2015)
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- Abstract
- Previous studies have demonstrated that the psychological contract is largely shaped during socialization. This study adopts a complementary perspective and analyzes how the psychological contract at the start of employment shapes the subsequent socialization process. Drawing upon social exchange theory, we propose that newcomers with a higher sense of their personal obligations at entry will perceive orientation training as more useful and develop better relationships with their supervisors and peers, which in turn will facilitate their work adjustment. Results of a longitudinal survey on a sample of 144 recruits from a European Army show that newcomers with a higher initial sense of their employee obligations toward their employer report higher perceived training utility, higher leader-member exchange (LMX) with their instructors, and higher team-member exchange (TMX) with their platoon peers. Moreover, perceived training utility and LMX predict the fulfillment of employers’ obligations; and training utility predicts the level of newcomers’ employee obligations. Finally, training utility, LMX, and TMX predict some of three indicators of newcomers’ adjustment, namely role clarity (training utility, LMX), group integration (TMX), and organizational values understanding (training utility). These results highlight how newcomers’ obligations at the start of employment contribute to the social exchange dynamic underlying organizational socialization.
- Affiliations
Louvain School of Management Strategy and Organisation
Citations
Delobbe, N., Cooper-Thomas, H. D., & De Hoe, R. (2015). A new look at the psychological contract during organizational socialization: The role of newcomers’ obligations at entry. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37(2), n. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2078 (Original work published 2015)