The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Socialization
Oxford Library of Psychology Series

Organizational socialization is the process by which a new employee learns to adapt to an organizational culture. This crucial early period has been shown to have an influence on eventual job satisfaction, commitment, innovation, and cooperation, and ultimately the performance of the organization. After decades of research on organizational socialization, much is now known about this important process. However, some confusion still exists regarding what it means to be socialized. The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Socialization brings comprehensive reviews of the scholarly literature together with perspectives on what is being done in organizations to integrate and support new employees. The first section introduces the principles and practice of employee socialization and provides a history of the field, and the second section focuses on outcomes and antecedents of socialization. The third section on organizational context, systems, and tactics covers an extensive number of topics, including diversity, person-organization fit, and social networks, and special contexts such as socialization into higher-level jobs, and expatriation. The fourth section reviews process, methods, and measurement. The fifth section goes "beyond the organizational newcomer" to examine socialization in special contexts. The sixth section expands on practice-related issues and walks the reader through two case studies, one in an academic setting and another in a corporate setting. The final chapters provide a "best practices" approach, based on the highest quality research, summarize the state of the field, and offer an agenda for future research as well as suggestions for potential research-practice partnerships. Unique and thorough in its approach, The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Socialization is a useful single source of information across the range of research relevant to organizational socialization.

Contents. Part One: Introduction and Foundations. 1. Facilitating Organizational Socialization: An Introduction. Connie Wanberg. 2. From Past to Present and Into the Future: A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Socialization Literature. Sue Ashford and Samir Nurmohamed. Part Two: Conceptualizations of Socialization, Antecedents, and Outcomes. 3. Getting Newcomers On-Board: A Review of Socialization Practices and Introduction to Socialization Resources Theory. Alan M. Saks and Jamie A. Gruman. 4. Newcomer Proactive Behavior: Can There be Too Much of a Good Thing?. Helena D. Cooper-Thomas and Sarah E. Burke. 5. Getting the Right Connections? The Consequences and Antecedents of Social Networks in Newcomer Socialization. Markku Jokisaari and Jari-Erik Nurmi. 6. Organizational Socialization Outcomes: Now and Into the Future. Talya N. Bauer and Berrin Erdogan. Part Three: Organizational Context, Systems, and Tactics. 7. The Odd One Out: How Newcomers Who Are Different Become Adjusted. Charlice Hurst, John Kammeyer-Mueller, and Beth Livingston. 8. Content and Development of Newcomer Person-Organization Fit: An Agenda for Future Research. Annelies E.M. van Vianen and Irene E. De Pater. Part Four: Socialization Process, Methods, and Measurement. 9. The Role of Time in Socialization Dynamics. Blake E. Ashforth. 10. This Is How We Do Research Around Here: Socializing Methodological and Measurement Issues. Jeffrey B. Vancouver and Michael A. Warren. Part Five: Specialized Contexts. 11. The Impact of Socializing Newcomers on Insiders. Daniel C. Feldman. 12. The Perspective of Host Country Nationals in Socializing Expatriates:. The Importance of Foreign-Local Relations. Soo Min Toh, Angelo S. DeNisi, and Geoffrey J. Leonardelli. 13. Socializing the alt,"Otheragt," Organizational Newcomers - Customers, Clients, and Guests. Keith Rollag. Part Six: Socialization in Practice. 14. Are Organizations Onboard with Best Practices Onboarding?. Howard J. Klein and Beth Polin. 15. The Development of a Comprehensive Onboarding Program at a Big Ten Research University. Stacy Doepner-Hove. 16. Socializing Leadership Talent: Ensuring Successful Transitions into Senior Management Roles. Jay A. Conger. 17. Socializing Socialization: Everything is Connected-Especially Recruiting, Hiring, and Accelerating Talent. George Bradt. 18. Developing Organizational Cultural Competence through Mentoring: Onboarding the Menttium Way. Pamela M. Dixon, Lynn P. Sontag, and Kimberly Vappie. Part Seven: Conclusions. 19. Employee Socialization: Next Directions. Connie Wanberg.

Connie Wanberg, Ph.D., is the Industrial Relations Faculty Excellence Chair and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.