How do socialization tactics and supervisor behaviors influence newcomers’ psychological contract formation? The mediating role of information acquisition

Abstract

This study examines how an organization’s socialization tactics and supervisor behaviors can influence a newcomer’s psychological contract by identifying the specific factors involved in its formation process. It hypothesizes that socialization tactics and supervisor behaviors would help newcomers perceive more promises in their relationship with the organization and that this relationship would be mediated by the acquisition of organizational information. In this study, a longitudinal approach was adopted and 221 newcomers at major Korean companies were surveyed twice, with a three-month interval between the surveys. The results show that the extent to which socialization tactics are institutionalized positively affects newcomers’ perception of promises. The extent to which supervisors demonstrate relational behaviors also positively affects newcomers’ perceptions of promises. Further, these relationships are fully mediated by the acquisition of organizational information. The results show the significant impact of socialization tactics and supervisor behaviors on the formation of psychological contracts, highlighting the role of information as one of the causal explanations of these relationships.