Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-2lccl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T17:05:14.148Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Showing commitment or incompetence? When and how newcomers' information seeking elevates (degrades) task-related outcomes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2023

Hui Deng Open the ORCID record for Hui Deng [Opens in a new window] ,
Yihua Zhang ,
Shaoxue Wu ,
Wenbing Wu ,
Dan Ni  and
Xiaoyan Zhang
Hui Deng
Affiliation:
Beijing Jiaotong University, Haidian District, Beijing, China
Yihua Zhang*
Affiliation:
Pepperdine University, Malibu, USA
Shaoxue Wu
Affiliation:
Beijing Jiaotong University, Haidian District, Beijing, China
Wenbing Wu
Affiliation:
Beijing Jiaotong University, Haidian District, Beijing, China
Dan Ni
Affiliation:
Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
Xiaoyan Zhang
Affiliation:
Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
*
Author for correspondence: Yihua Zhang, E-mail: yihua.zhang@pepperdine.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

To date, empirical research exploring the complex mechanisms of when and how information seeking from supervisor affects newcomers' task-related outcomes remains in its infancy. With a sample of 394 newcomers and their supervisors, drawing on the conservation of resources theory and professional image construction theory, we proposed and confirmed two paradoxical paths regarding perceptions of professional image construction – concern about impairing competence-image and confidence in improving commitment-image – that connect newcomers' information seeking from supervisor with their emotional exhaustion during socialization and ultimately can elevate and degrade their task-related outcomes, respectively. In addition, we found that supervisors' favorable feedback weakened the relationship between information seeking from supervisor and competence-image impairment concern, whereas it strengthened the linkage between information seeking and commitment-image improvement confidence. This study thus provides a more comprehensive picture for scholars and practitioners.

Keywords

Commitment-image improvement confidencecompetence-image impairment concernemotional exhaustionnewcomers' information seekingtask masterytask performance
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , First View , pp. 1 - 23
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anseel, F., & Lievens, F. (2007). The long-term impact of the feedback environment on job satisfaction: A field study in a Belgian context. Applied Psychology, 56(2), 254–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashford, S. J., & Cummings, L. L. (1983). Feedback as an individual resource: Personal strategies of creating information. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 32(3), 370–398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashford, S. J., & Taylor, M. (1990). Adaptations to work transition: An integrative approach. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 8, 1–39.Google Scholar
Baer, M. D., Dhensa-Kahlon, R. K., Colquitt, J. A., Rodell, J. B., Outlaw, R., & Long, D. M. (2015). Uneasy lies the head that bears the trust: The effects of feeling trusted on emotional exhaustion. Academy of Management Journal, 58(6), 1637–1657.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bamberger, P. (2009). Employee help-seeking: Antecedents, consequences and new insights for future research. In Martocchio, J. J. & Liao, H. (Eds.), Research in personnel and human resources management (Vol. 28, pp. 49–98). Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bem, D. J. (1972). Self-perception theory. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 6, 1–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolton, L. R., Harvey, R. D., Grawitch, M. J., & Barber, L. K. (2012). Counterproductive work behaviours in response to emotional exhaustion: A moderated mediational approach. Stress and Health, 28(3), 222–233.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Borden, L., Levy, P. E., & Silverman, S. B. (2018). Leader arrogance and subordinate outcomes: The role of feedback processes. Journal of Business and Psychology, 33(3), 345–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourgoin, A., & Harvey, J.-F. (2018). Professional image under threat: Dealing with learning–credibility tension. Human Relations, 71(12), 1611–1639.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brislin, R. W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1(3), 185–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooks, A. W., Gino, F., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2015). Smart people ask for (my) advice: Seeking advice boosts perceptions of competence. Management Science, 61(6), 1421–1435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brunstein, J. C. (1993). Personal goals and subjective well-being: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(5), 1061–1070.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Budworth, M.-H., Latham, G. P., & Manroop, L. (2015). Looking forward to performance improvement: A field test of the feedforward interview for performance management. Human Resource Management, 54(1), 45–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chan, D., & Schmitt, N. (2000). Interindividual differences in intraindividual changes in proactivity during organizational entry: A latent growth modeling approach to understanding newcomer adaptation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 190–210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chao, G. T., O'Leary-Kelly, A. M., Wolf, S., Klein, H. J., & Gardner, P. D. (1994). Organizational socialization: Its content and consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(5), 730–743.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Y., & Li, S. (2020). Relationship between workplace ostracism and unsafe behaviors: The mediating effect of psychological detachment and emotional exhaustion. Psychological Reports, 123(2), 488–516.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, S., Westman, M., & Hobfoll, S. E. (2015). The commerce and crossover of resources: Resource conservation in the service of resilience. Stress and Health, 31(2), 95–105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chênevert, D., Jourdain, G., & Vandenberghe, C. (2016). The role of high-involvement work practices and professional self-image in nursing recruits’ turnover: A three-year prospective study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 53, 73–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chi, N.-W., & Wang, I. A. (2018). The relationship between newcomers’ emotional labor and service performance: The moderating roles of service training and mentoring functions. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(19), 2729–2757.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S., & Aiken, L. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.Google Scholar
Cooper-Thomas, H. D., & Burke, S. E. (2012). Newcomer proactive behavior: Can there be too much of a good thing? In Wanberg, C. R. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of organizational socialization (pp. 56–77). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Cooper-Thomas, H. D., Paterson, N. L., Stadler, M. J., & Saks, A. M. (2014). The relative importance of proactive behaviors and outcomes for predicting newcomer learning, well-being, and work engagement. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 84(3), 318–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper-Thomas, H. D., & Stadler, M. J. (2015). Costs and benefits of newcomer adjustment tactics. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 23(2), 160–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Vos, A., & Freese, C. (2011). Sensemaking during organizational entry: Changes in newcomer information seeking and the relationship with psychological contract fulfillment. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 84(2), 288–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, A. M., Bauer, T. N., Mansfield, L. R., Erdogan, B., Truxillo, D. M., & Simon, L. S. (2015). Navigating uncharted waters: Newcomer socialization through the lens of stress theory. Journal of Management, 41(1), 203–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, A. M., Nifadkar, S. S., Bauer, T. N., & Erdogan, B. (2017). Newcomer adjustment: Examining the role of managers’ perception of newcomer proactive behavior during organizational socialization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(6), 993–1001.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fernandez, C. F., & Vecchio, R. P. (1997). Situational leadership theory revisited: A test of an across-jobs perspective. Leadership Quarterly, 8(1), 67–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernet, C., Lavigne, G. L., Vallerand, R. J., & Austin, S. (2014). Fired up with passion: Investigating how job autonomy and passion predict burnout at career start in teachers. Work & Stress, 28(3), 270–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffeth, R. W., & Horn, P. W. (2001). Retaining valued employees. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halbesleben, J. R. B., Neveu, J.-P., Paustian-Underdahl, S. C., & Westman, M. (2014). Getting to the ‘COR’: Understanding the role of resources in conservation of resources theory. Journal of Management, 40(5), 1334–1364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, D. T., & Hall, F. S. (1974). The relationship between goals, performance, success, self-image, and involvement under different organization climates. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 9(3), 267–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hambleton, R. K., Blanchard, K. H., & Hersey, P. (1977). Maturity scale – Self-rating form. San Diego, CA: Learning Resources Corporation.Google Scholar
Harmon-Jones, C., Bastian, B., & Harmon-Jones, E. (2016). Detecting transient emotional responses with improved self-report measures and instructions. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 16(7), 1086–1096.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hayes, A. F. (2022). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (3rd ed.). Guilford.Google Scholar
Hinkin, T. R. (1998). A brief tutorial on the development of measures for use in survey questionnaires. Organizational Research Methods, 1(1), 104–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology, 50(3), 337–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E. (2011). Conservation of resource caravans and engaged settings. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 84(1), 116–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E., Halbesleben, J., Neveu, J.-P., & Westman, M. (2018). Conservation of resources in the organizational context: The reality of resources and their consequences. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5(1), 103–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E., & Shirom, A. (2001). Conservation of resources theory: Applications to stress and management in the workplace. In Golembiewski, R. T. (Ed.), Handbook of organizational behavior (pp. 57–80). New York, NY: Marcel Dekker.Google Scholar
Hur, W., Kim, B., & Park, S. (2015). The relationship between coworker incivility, emotional exhaustion, and organizational outcomes. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries, 25(6), 701–712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ibarra, H. (1999). Provisional selves: Experimenting with image and identity in professional adaptation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(4), 764–791.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jiang, Z., & Qu, Y. (2022). Leader favorable feedback and withdrawal behavior: A moderated mediation model of gratitude and leader-member exchange. Personnel Review.Google Scholar
Jokisaari, M., & Nurmi, J.-E. (2009). Change in newcomers’ supervisor support and socialization outcomes after organizational entry. Academy of Management Journal, 52(3), 527–544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ju, D., Qin, X., Xu, M., & Direnzo, M. S. (2016). Boundary conditions of the emotional exhaustion-unsafe behavior link: The dark side of group norms and personal control. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 33(1), 113–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D., & Wanberg, C. R. (2003). Unwrapping the organizational entry process: Disentangling multiple antecedents and their pathways to adjustment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 779–794.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lam, C. K., Walter, F., & Huang, X. (2017). Supervisors’ emotional exhaustion and abusive supervision: The moderating roles of perceived subordinate performance and supervisor self-monitoring. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(8), 1151–1166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lapointe, É, & Vandenberghe, C. (2018). Trust in the supervisor and the development of employees’ social capital during organizational entry: A conservation of resources approach. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(17), 2503–2523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, R. T., & Ashforth, B. E. (1996). A meta-analytic examination of the correlates of the three dimensions of job burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(2), 123–133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, N., Harris, T. B., Boswell, W. R., & Xie, Z. (2011). The role of organizational insiders’ developmental feedback and proactive personality on newcomers’ performance: An interactionist perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(6), 1317–1327.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lim, J. H., Tai, K., Bamberger, P. A., & Morrison, E. W. (2020). Soliciting resources from others: An integrative review. Academy of Management Annals, 14(1), 122–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, S.-H. J., Poulton, E., Tu, M.-H., & Xu, M. (2022). The consequences of empathic concern for the actors themselves: Understanding empathic concern through conservation of resources and work-home resources perspectives. Journal of Applied Psychology, 107(10), 1843–1863.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Little, L. M., Major, V. S., Hinojosa, A. S., & Nelson, D. L. (2015). Professional image maintenance: How women navigate pregnancy in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 58(1), 8–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Little, T., Rhemtulla, M., Gibson, K., & Schoemann, A. (2013). Why the items versus parcels controversy needn't be one. Psychological Methods, 18(3), 285–300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, X., Greenbaum, R. L., Allen, D., & Zhang, Z. (2022). A newcomer socialization perspective on the proliferation of unethical conduct in organizations: The influences of peer coaching practices and newcomers’ goal orientations. Journal of Business Ethics, 176(1), 73–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 2(2), 99–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, V. D. (1996). An experimental study of newcomers’ information seeking behaviors during organizational entry. Communication Studies, 47, 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, V. D., & Jablin, F. M. (1991). Information seeking during organizational entry: Influences, tactics, and a model of the process. Academy of Management Review, 16(1), 92–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrison, E. W. (1993a). Longitudinal study of the effects of information seeking on newcomer socialization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 173–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrison, E. W. (1993b). Newcomer information seeking: Exploring types, modes, sources, and outcomes. Academy of Management Journal, 36, 557–589.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrison, E. W. (2002). Information seeking within organizations. Human Communication Research, 28(2), 229–242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2018). Mplus user's guide (8th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén.Google Scholar
Nifadkar, S. S., & Bauer, T. N. (2016). Breach of belongingness: Newcomer relationship conflict, information, and task-related outcomes during organizational socialization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(1), 1–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Norris-Watts, C., & Levy, P. E. (2004). The mediating role of affective commitment in the relation of the feedback environment to work outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65(3), 351–365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ozcelik, H. (2017). Exploring the activation dimension of affect in organizations: A focus on trait-level activation, climate-level activation, and work-related outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(3), 351–371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peng, J.-C., & Chiu, S.-F. (2010). An integrative model linking feedback environment and organizational citizenship behavior. The Journal of Social Psychology, 150(6), 582–607.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Puustinen, M., & Rouet, J.-F. (2009). Learning with new technologies: Help seeking and information searching revisited. Computers & Education, 53(4), 1014–1019.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, L. M. (2005). Changing faces: Professional image construction in diverse organizational settings. Academy of Management Review, 30(4), 685–711.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rogers, W. M., & Schmitt, N. (2004). Parameter recovery and model fit using multidimensional composites: A comparison of four empirical parceling algorithms. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 39(3), 379–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenfeld, P., Giacalone, R., & Riordan, C. (2001). Impression management: Building and enhancing reputations at work. New York, NY: International Thomson Business Press.Google Scholar
Seibert, S. E., Crant, J. M., & Kraimer, M. L. (1999). Proactive personality and career success. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(3), 416–427.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shantz, A., Arevshatian, L., Alfes, K., & Bailey, C. (2016). The effect of HRM attributions on emotional exhaustion and the mediating roles of job involvement and work overload. Human Resource Management Journal, 26(2), 172–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheng, N., Yang, C., Han, L., & Jou, M. (2023). Too much overload and concerns: Antecedents of social media fatigue and the mediating role of emotional exhaustion. Computers in Human Behavior, 139, 107500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shrauger, J. S. (1975). Responses to evaluation as a function of initial self-perceptions. Psychological Bulletin, 82(4), 581–596.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steelman, L. A., Levy, P. E., & Snell, A. F. (2004). The feedback environment scale: Construct definition, measurement, and validation. Educational & Psychological Measurement, 64(1), 165–184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tan, K. W. T., Au, A. K. C., Cooper-Thomas, H. D., & Aw, S. S. Y. (2016). The effect of learning goal orientation and communal goal strivings on newcomer proactive behaviours and learning. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(2), 420–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103(2), 193–210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thompson, K. W. (2009). Underemployment perceptions, job attitudes, and outcomes: An equity theory perspective. Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, 1(1), 1–6.Google Scholar
Tice, D. M., & Wallace, H. M. (2003). The reflected self: Creating yourself as (you think) others see you. In Leary, M. R. & Tangney, J. P. (Eds.), Handbook of self and identity. (pp. 91–105). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Tidwell, M., & Sias, P. (2005). Personality and information seeking: Understanding how traits influence information-seeking behaviors. International Journal of Business Communication, 42(1), 51–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van der Werff, E., Steg, L., & Keizer, K. (2014). Follow the signal: When past pro-environmental actions signal who you are. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 40, 273–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vandewalle, D., Ganesan, S., Challagalla, G., & Brown, S. (2000). An integrated model of feedback-seeking behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 996–1003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, L. J., & Anderson, S. E. (1991). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship behavior and in-role behavior. Journal of Management, 17(3), 601–617.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woo, S. E., Sims, C., Rupp, D., & Gibbons, A. (2008). Development engagement within and following developmental assessment centers: Considering feedback favorability and self-assessor agreement. Personnel Psychology, 61, 727–759.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, T. A., & Cropanzano, R. (1998). Emotional exhaustion as a predictor of job performance and voluntary turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(3), 486–493.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yi, J., Kwong Kwan, H., Hu, Y.-L., & Chen, S. (2017). Revenge exacerbates the effects of interpersonal problems on mentors’ emotional exhaustion and work-family conflict: A self-defeating perspective. Human Resource Management, 56(5), 851–866.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Y., Feick, L., & Mittal, V. (2014). How males and females differ in their likelihood of transmitting negative word of mouth. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(6), 1097–1108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zou, W.-C., Tian, Q., & Liu, J. (2015). The role of work group context and information seeking in newcomer socialization: An interactionist perspective. Journal of Management & Organization, 21(2), 159–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar