Cover Page. The handle holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation

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1 Cover Page The handle holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation Author: Kleef, Daphne van Title: Changing the Nature of the Beast : how organizational socialization contributes to the development of the organizational role identity of Dutch veterinary inspectors Issue Date:

2 9 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

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4 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION CHAPTER INTRODUCTION Organizational socialization can be defined as the process through which individuals acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors required to adapt to a new work role (Wanberg, 2012: 17). Organizational socialization is a topic discussed in many different fields (e.g. Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, Industrial-Organization Psychology). These different fields of study focus on different aspects of the organizational socialization process such as socialization tactics (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979), socialization agents (Reichers, 1987; Korte, 2010), proactive behavior (Jones, 1986), and socialization content (Chao et al., 1994). Yet, in the different fields there appears to be consensus that information and learning are core components of organizational socialization (Ashforth et al., 2007; Bauer et al., 1998; Cooper- Thomas & Anderson, 2005; Klein & Heuser, 2008; Korte, 2010; Miller & Jablin, 1991; Morrison, 2002; Saks & Ashforth, 1997; Wanberg, 2012). Therefore, more and more research takes a socialization content approach in which socialization is considered primarily a learning process in which newcomers acquire a variety of information, attitudes, and behaviors in order to become effective organizational members (Klein & Heuser, 2008: 296). In such an approach the focus is on what (i.e. socialization content) employees learn. Yet what individual employees learn during their organizational socialization process, does not say anything about the dynamics underlying this process. This research focuses on these dynamics as little is known about how organizational socialization leads to positive organizational outcomes (Saks & Gruman, 2012; Ashforth et al., 2007). The socialization content approach is based on the assumption that when employees know more about the organizational socialization content, their uncertainty is reduced and therefore they become better adjusted to their work role. In this study, I argue that such a rationalist approach overlooks the role of the individual in interpreting socialization content. In order to assess the effectiveness of the organizational socialization process, it is important to know how employees interpret the expectations of the organization. Therefore organizational socialization literature is combined with identity theory as the concept of organizational role identity deals with this interpretation

5 CHAPTER 9 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION The organizational role communicates the organization s expectations (i.e. socialization content) with regard to the occupants of this specific work role. Identity theory, in contrast to the socialization content approach, states that this socialization content is not automatically adopted by the individual employee, but interpreted first. This results in an organizational role identity for employees. In situations where employees have lots of autonomy - such as is the case for professionals (e.g. medical doctors, lawyers) - an effective organizational socialization process is important to secure individual behavior that is congruent with the mission and vison of the organization. This particularly is a prominent issue in the public sector where behavior and decisions of employees can influence the legitimacy of the organizations for which they work. It should be emphasized that in this research the focus is on the organizational role identity and how the process of organizational socialization contributes to the development of this role identity 1. Therefore, this research poses the question: How does organizational socialization contribute to the development of the organizational role identity of public service professionals? This research uses the case of Dutch veterinary inspectors to study the dynamics underlying the organizational socialization process. This case is especially interesting for studying such dynamics as inspectors work environment is comprised of two localities : (1) their own organization (i.e. inspection services), and (2) the field (i.e. inspected facilities). This study aims to understand how the interactions in both localized contexts (i.e. the organization and the field) contribute to the individuals understanding of their organizational role identity. This offers the opportunity to also focus on the impact external actors can have on the organizational socialization process of employees. This chapter brings together the results of this study to provide us with a better understanding of the dynamics underlying the organizational socialization process of employees. In section 9.2, I recap the theoretical underpinnings of this study. Section 9.3 then discusses the results of this research and their theoretical implications for the organizational socialization literature. In section 1 In a complementary dissertation that is part of the NWO Double Bind research project, focus is on the link between role identity and decision-making behavior (see Schott, 2015). 236

6 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION CHAPTER also suggestions for future research are made. Finally, in section 9.4, this chapter concludes by highlighting the significant scientific, methodological, and societal contributions of the research. The limitations and further research efforts needed on the topic of organizational socialization are discussed in chapter THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF THE STUDY: A LOCALIZED SOCIALIZATION CONTENT APPROACH TOWARDS ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION An important focus in organizational socialization research has been the link between the socialization tactics that organizations can employ and positive organizational outcomes (e.g. commitment, satisfaction, less turnover) (Ashforth et al., 2007). More generally phrased, previous research has focused on the question of whether it matters that organizations actively try to structure the socialization process of their employees. Research findings indicate that actively 9 structuring the socialization process by organizations has a positive impact on a set of organizational outcomes. However, the dynamics contributing to these effects remain somewhat misunderstood and unknown (Saks & Gruman, 2012). Two recent reviews of organizational socialization literature emphasize the importance of focusing on the localized contexts in the work environment of employees to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the organizational socialization process of employees. This stems from the idea that sets of interactions in the different localized contexts transform the organization from being abstract and distant for employees to becoming a concrete and coherent structure of which they are part. An example of this is that transparency in the form of organizational messages and communications has limited meaning unless acted out by organizational members (Ashforth et al., 2007; Wanberg, 2012). This research starts from the idea that information and learning are core components of organizational socialization. This learning of socialization content takes place in the localized contexts of employees work environment. In the case of inspection services these localized contexts are at the level of the organization, 237

7 CHAPTER 9 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION e.g. within its facilities, on the one hand and in the field, when performing their inspection tasks, on the other. In both localized contexts there are two types of learning moments: 1) the information sources and 2) the information settings. With information sources the learning moment consists of one-onone interaction with a specific interpersonal or written information source. Information settings, in contrast, are learning moments where the contributions of the different information sources have become almost intangible, resulting in serious difficulties in determining the independent effects of the various information sources on the process of socialization. Therefore, these settings are considered as one learning moment. This learning process can be intentionally structured by the organization (i.e. institutionalized socialization tactics) or the result of regular day-today interactions (i.e. individualized socialization tactics). These socialization tactics are organizational-level strategies that not only influences the way information is disseminated to new employees but also the type and source from which the information is received (Klein & Heuser, 2008). In other words, the socialization tactics employed by the organization determine the learning moments encountered by employees. Although this research takes a managerial approach and therefore focuses mainly on the role of the organization and different learning moments in the organizational socialization process, individual employees do play an important role in their own socialization process. This role is not only limited to the proactive behaviors and proactivity that can help inspectors increase their socialization content. Moreover, the professional background and professional role identity of employees can influence the way in which socialization content is translated into the organizational role identity. The conceptual model of this study is depicted in figure 9.1 and results in the following propositions (table 9.1). 238

8 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION CHAPTER 9 Socialization content: Organizational level Team level Job level Organizational role identity Localized context the organization Learning moments: Information sources Institutionalized: Interpersonal Non-interpersonal Individualized: Interpersonal Non-interpersonal Information setting Institutionalized Individualized Localized context the field : Learning moments: Information sources Institutionalized: Interpersonal Non-interpersonal Individualized: Interpersonal Non-interpersonal Information setting Institutionalized Proactivity Professional role identity Individualized Figure 9.1 Conceptual model: The dynamics underlying the organizational socialization process 9 239

9 CHAPTER 9 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION Table 9.1 Propositions Nr Proposition Ch. 1a There are different interpretations of the organizational role which results in different organizational role identities of employees. 5 1b Effective organizational socialization increases the congruence of an individual employee s organisational role identity with the organizational role through socialization content. 5 2a The localized context in which important socialization encounters take place differs between organizations employing different socialization tactics. 8 2b The localized context of the organization provides employees with the socialization content desired from an organizational perspective. 6 2c The localized context of the field can either confirm the organizational message or provide employees with a different perspective. 7 3a The learning moments for employees differ between organizations employing institutionalized and individualized socialization tactics. 8 3b Institutionalized learning moments contribute positively to employees knowledge of the organizational socialization content. 6/8 3c Individualized learning moments impact on employees knowledge of the organizational socialization content. 7/8 4a Proactive personality of employees increases their knowledge about the organizational socialization content. 6/7/8 4b The professional role identity plays a role in the interpretation of the organizational socialization content. 5/8 In this dissertation, the model, read from right to left, was used to structure the analysis in the different chapters. The same structure is again used to discuss this study s findings in this concluding chapter. In section 9.3.1, the organizational role and the many different role identities of inspectors are discussed. Moreover, attention is paid to the relation between socialization content and role identities, thereby focusing on the importance of learning for the development of inspectors role identities (see also chapter 5). In section 240

10 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION CHAPTER , the focus is on the learning moments inspectors encounter in the localized context of the organization and their contributions to the socialization content of the inspectors (see also chapter 6). This section therefore mainly aims at studying institutionalized learning moments and individualized learning moments related to the organization. Section focuses on the learning moments encountered in the localized content of the field (see also chapter 7). Here, attention is paid to the impact of external information sources and individualized information settings on the organizational socialization process. In section 9.3.4, the dynamics underlying organizational socialization are compared for an organization employing institutionalized socialization tactics (NVWA) and an organization employing individualized socialization tactics (FAVV) (see also chapter 8). 9.3 RESEARCH FINDINGS: THE SOCIALIZATION OF INSPECTORS 9 This section discusses the research findings and their implications for organizational socialization literature. First, the narrative behind the analysis is explained. The analysis started with the development of the organizational role description. This role description comprises what the NVWA as an organization expects from its veterinary inspectors. The dimensions identified as part of the organizational role were then used to describe the different organizational role identities of veterinary inspectors, for example, their different interpretations of what enforcement should entail. Next the impact of socialization content on the different dimensions of the organizational role identity was tested to establish the importance of uncertainty reduction in this respect (chapter 5). This was followed by two chapters focusing on what learning moments helped inspectors to acquire the information needed. The first chapter focused on learning moments in the localized context of the organization, such as interaction with supervisors or the training program (chapter 6), whereas the second chapter focused on the localized context of the field in situations encountered on the work floor (chapter 7). The previous chapters provided insights into the dynamics underlying organizational socialization for an organization that can be said to 241

11 CHAPTER 9 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION employ institutionalized socialization tactics. Chapter 8, then, focused on the question of whether these dynamics are comparable for organizations employing institutionalized socialization tactics and organizations employing individualized socialization tactics. The latter is possible by comparing the Dutch NVWA with its Belgian counterpart the FAVV. In contrast to the Dutch services, the FAVV is an organization that minimally structures the socialization of the veterinarians performing the inspections. This comparison did not provide strong conclusive evidence for the difference in dynamics underlying organizational socialization along the two types of tactics: institutionalized and individualized socialization tactics. However, it did give insights and suggestions for a further and more specific research agenda on how organizational-level strategies impact the individual socialization of employees. These insights are discussed in section THE LINK BETWEEN SOCIALIZATION CONTENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL ROLE IDENTITY Before focusing on the link between socialization content and organizational role identity, a description of the organizational role was developed that identified the main expectations the NVWA has of its inspectors. The content of this organizational role is the basis for the socialization content learned by inspectors. The dimensions that were established as part of this organizational role description (i.e. knowledge base, values, communication, strict enforcement, and detachment from the inspectee) were used to analyze the inspectors interpretation of the different dimensions (i.e. organizational role identity). The analysis in chapter 5 showed a wide variation in personal interpretations of the organizational role (proposition 1a). For example, the dimension of enforcement shows a wide range of role identities among inspectors, from those who hold compliance-oriented attitudes to those who emphasize the importance of sanctioning infringements. Similar diversity is observed regarding inspectors interpretations of the importance of detachment from the facility under inspection. At the end of chapter 5, I tested the hypothesis that inspectors with more knowledge about organizational socialization content have perceptions matching the organization s expectations on the dimensions values, enforcement, and detachment from inspectees of the organizational role (proposition 1b). The quantitative analysis reveals three noteworthy findings indicating that 242

12 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION CHAPTER 9 professional socialization of inspectors (i.e. professional training before entering the organization) might have a greater impact on the organizational socialization process than one would expect in advance. I find that socialization content only increases the probability that inspectors role identities match the organizational role description for the dimension of enforcement (thus not regarding the other dimensions studied). This alludes to the impact of professional veterinary training on inspectors organizational socialization processes, given that the enforcement dimension of the organizational role is the only one that distinguishes the professional role of a practicing veterinarian from the organizational role of a veterinary inspector (proposition 4b). This means that on this dimension (i.e. enforcement) inspectors cannot rely on information gained through professional training as driven by their educational qualification. Taken together with the absence of relations between socialization content and organizational role identities on the other role dimensions that I investigated, this finding indicates that uncertainty reduction (i.e. learning) about the expectations of one s behavior is the main underlying mechanism enacted when employees do not have professional knowledge on which to fall back. The second main finding, which again results in the conclusion that professional training has an impact on the organizational socialization process of inspectors, concerns the relation between the professional educational background being trained at the University of Utrecht, the only veterinarian training in the Netherlands - and inspectors organizational role identities regarding the dimensions of enforcement and economic interests. Тhis effect remains significant even when corrected for the nationality of the inspectors, as the other veterinary medicine programs are outside the Netherlands. Inspectors graduated from the University of Utrecht thus seem more likely to have organizational role identities matching the organizational role description on the dimensions of economic interests and enforcement. At first glance this result appears paradoxical as I have established that there are conflicting norms and values between the professional and organizational roles. However, the results can be clarified by the intensive relation between the NVWA and the program of veterinary medicine at the University of Utrecht. Recently, the program s focus on food safety has increased. Moreover, NVWA employees are involved in the program s lectures 9 243

13 CHAPTER 9 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION and activities organized by the student association in which these employees also reach potential newcomers in more informal settings. These results provide an indication that organizational influence in the anticipatory socialization stage has a positive impact on the organizational socialization process in later stages. However, this raises questions regarding the generalization of this finding. For example, is this impact of the anticipatory socialization stage on organizational socialization something specific for professionals in the classical sense of the word such as medical doctors or does it also hold true for semi-professionals with a less strictly defined professional role such as account managers? Therefore, this impact of anticipatory socialization through influence of the professional training necessitates the attention of scholars in future research. The third major finding concerns the impact of professional background on organizational socialization, which becomes evident in the negative relationship between tenure and inspectors interpretation of the role dimensions of economic interests. This means that inspectors who have been employed in the NVWA for a longer period of time are less likely to have perceptions similar to the NVWA s expectations on this dimension, as opposed to those who entered the organization more recently. The organization s history provides us with a plausible explanation for this finding, indicating the impact of professional background. The predecessor of the NVWA, the RVV, employed many older veterinarians with years of work experience as practicing veterinarians, who were thus socialized strongly outside the organization in their professional role of practicing veterinarian. Moreover, once a veterinarian started working for the RVV as an inspector, the RVV did not invest in the socialization of such employees through, for example, training programs, internships and such 2. Taking a step back, two processes are at play in this situation. First, there is the strong professional socialization as a result of veterinarians professional training and work experience as practicing veterinarians. In other words, the professional role identity of veterinarians is likely to be strong for this group as the years of work experience as practicing veterinarians makes this an important part of who they are. Second, the communication of the RVV s expectations regarding its veterinary inspectors and their behavior was limited as most 2 An alternative explanation is that through negative experiences with the organization inspectors lose commitment to the organizational role identity. This is strongly related to the alternative explanation discussed in the following sections on the role of perceived organizational support. 244

14 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION CHAPTER 9 inspectors entered the organization during crises (e.g. swine fever) 3. In short, the strong professional identity in combination with the lack of organizational effort to redirect organizational role interpretations that - based on veterinary inspector s professional standards - deviate from the organizational standard, causes the professional role identity to remain dominant. What are the implications for the literature on organizational socialization? As discussed above, an important criticism of the state-of-the-art literature on the topic is that it lacks focus on the role of professional background in the organizational socialization processes of employees. This critique appears to be justified given that the research s findings indicate a significant effect of professional background on the organizational socialization of inspectors. First, there is the finding that uncertainty reduction through the learning of socialization content only takes place for those aspects of the organizational role that are not shared with the professional role such as enforcement. Second, the findings indicate that the intervention of the organization in the professional training has an important positive influence on the anticipatory socialization of employees as these employees are more likely to develop organizational role identities matching the organizational role. Third, communication of the organizational role towards inspectors appears to help increase its salience among the inspectors other role identities, including the professional role identity. This distinction between the professional and organization role identity made throughout the research also links to another discussion in the body of literature on organizational socialization, namely between dispositional and institutional perspectives, and more specifically on the development of bureaucratic personalities (Oberfield, 2014). In this literature, the dispositional perspective holds that bureaucratic personalities are relatively stable as these personalities relate to more or less stable underlying characteristics such as personality and internalized - professional - training before newcomers enter bureaucracies. In contrast, the rationale of the institutional perspective is that organizational forces can exert a great influence on the bureaucratic personalities of newcomers. The discussion in the literature is focused on how well these two perspectives explain bureaucratic socialization (Oberfield, 2014). 9 3 This shows from the responses of multiple respondents in the qualitative interviews. 245

15 CHAPTER 9 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION This study contributes to this discussion as it illustrates an important dynamic between the two competing perspectives. When dispositional knowledge or attitudes do not provide employees with tools to handle situations, the institutional perspective comes into play and knowledge acquisition in combination with a decrease in uncertainty helps employees to further develop their bureaucratic personalities. Future research should focus more on how these two competing perspectives relate to each other in order to gain a better understanding of the dynamics underlying the organizational socialization process. In terms of the practical contributions and implications of these findings, they raise awareness about the potential influence of employees professional backgrounds on their adjustment to the new organization or work role. In the current environment, where there is a shift from lifetime employment to lifetime employability, the potential impact of previous roles on employees and their organizational socialization processes cannot be underestimated. Moreover, increased mobility among the work force makes an effective socialization process even more important for the continuity and performance of organizations. Organizations should therefore try to identify and anticipate the influence of employees professional backgrounds on the organizational socialization process. For organizations working with one specific type of professional, it could be an option to actively influence the professionals during their professional training given that the findings from this study indicate that this could be effective. More specifically, in doing this, organizations should pay attention to the dimensions on which the professional and organizational role potentially deviate and try to increase potential newcomers understanding of the organizational role on these dimensions THE DYNAMICS BEHIND SOCIALIZATION: THE LOCALIZED CONTEXT OF THE ORGANIZATION The previous section recapped the findings on the relation between socialization content and the organizational role identity on the dimensions not shared between the professional and organizational role. This automatically raises the question of how, then, inspectors acquire this information (i.e. socialization content)? Different authors identify the importance of localized, specific interpersonal and group-based interactions as ways by which employees acquire this information 246

16 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION CHAPTER 9 (Ashforth et al., 2007). In my study I made the distinction between two, general, localized contexts: the interactions with the organization and the interactions in the field with the facilities under inspection. First, I focused on the interactions within the localized context of the organization, i.e. with other internal actors (see chapter 6) (figure 9.1). Central to this analysis were the identification of the different learning moments (i.e. information sources and information settings) within the organization (proposition 2b), and the proactivity inspectors show with regard to gathering socialization content (proposition 4a); and the relation between these learning moments, proactivity and socialization content (proposition 3b and 3c). The results from this analysis reveal two important findings: 1) the role of perceived organizational support in the process of organizational socialization, and 2) the impact of proactivity on inspectors socialization content THE ROLE OF PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT The most prominent finding of this research seems to indicate that the functioning of institutionalized information sources and settings strongly influences employees perceptions of the organization, and more importantly employees perceptions of organizational support. This shifts our perception on socialization from a rational learning process aimed at reducing uncertainty about the organization towards a perception on organizational socialization as a more emotional process in which socialization is achieved through the norm of reciprocity. With the exception of the research by Allen and Shanock (2013), the potential role of perceived organizational support has received no attention in the literature on organizational socialization. The findings of this present study support the conclusion of Allen and Shanock s research, indicating an important mediating role for perceived organizational support in the organizational socialization process; a conclusion which was based on their finding that perceived organizational support mediates the relationship between socialization tactics and affective commitment. It should be noted that although perceived organizational support has received little attention in the organizational socialization literature, the HRM field of organizational behavior has paid extensive attention to this topic. This topic has been studied in relation to, for example, social exchange in organizations such as leader

17 CHAPTER 9 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION member exchange (Settoon, Bennett & Liden, 1996; Wayne, Shore & Liden, 1997), employee retention and perceived supervisor support (Eisenberger, Stingelhamer, Vandenberghe, Sucharski & Rhoades, 2002), psychological contracts (Aselage & Eisenberger, 2003; Coyle-Shapiro & Conway, 2005). Yet, how does socialization through perceived organizational support work? Perceived organizational support is defined as the beliefs [of employees] concerning the extent to which the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being (Eisenberger et. al, 1986:504). These beliefs are the result of the process of personification in which employees view their favourable and unfavourable treatment as an indication that the organization favors or disfavors them (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002: 698). The impact of the outcome of this treatment on the perceived organizational support of employees depends on the extent to which employees identify the actions of, for example, their supervisors with the organization (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002). Research shows that perceptions of organizational support mediate positively the relation between work experiences and affective commitment (Rhoades, Eisenberger, & Armeli, 2001). This positive influence of perceived organizational support on affective commitment stems from what is called the reciprocity norm, i.e., the - emotional - need of employees to further the organizational goals in order to return the favour of support (Rhoades and Eisenberg, 2002; Rhoades et al., 2001). Therefore, perceived organizational support theory provides us with an alternative explanation for a mechanism underlying organizational socialization when uncertainty reduction theory does not apply. In this instance, organizational socialization is not caused by employees need for uncertainty reduction, but by the need to reciprocate organizational support. This could be especially important in instances where the professional background of employees limits their dependence on organizational knowledge to adapt to a new work role. Important antecedents of perceived organizational support as identified in the literature are organizational rewards, procedural justice, and supervisor support (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002; Rhoades et al., 2001). Yet, in the case of the Dutch food safety services the functioning of organizational facilities (e.g. ICT, planning) also appears to influence the perceptions of organizational support. 248

18 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION CHAPTER 9 When these facilities do not function properly, inspectors experience a loss of professionalism and authority in their role as veterinary inspectors, and as a result employees do not feel supported by the organization in the implementation of their job. For example, when ICT problems prevent inspectors from properly performing their obligations as an inspector, they experience a loss of respect and authority among and within the facilities being inspected, and in turn feel they were led down by the organization. Further research needs to focus on the exact effects of perceived organizational support and the reciprocity norm on organizational socialization and its effectiveness. It should also focus on whether the influence of perceived organizational support on the organizational socialization process is dependent on the absence of the need for uncertainty reduction or whether these two mechanisms coexist in socialization processes IMPACT OF EMPLOYEES PROACTIVITY The second important finding related to chapter 6 focuses on the impact of proactivity on the socialization content of inspectors. This effect appears to be, at least partially, the result of the physical and psychological distance between inspector and NVWA. The physical distance between the NVWA and the inspectors daily work environment causes a psychological distance, as most interactions within the localized context of the organization are indirect (e.g. phone, ). Therefore, the use of interpersonal information sources requires proactivity from the side of veterinary inspectors as accidental encounters with colleagues during daily work are scarce. However, inspectors also show proactivity aimed at correcting inefficiencies and deficits of the organization. In this respect network building is of pivotal importance because the actors in these networks can help inspectors to find answers to their questions or solve problems when institutionalized information sources and settings fail. This network building is an interaction between the institutionalized information sources and settings and proactivity from the side of inspectors as inspectors use these institutionalized sources and settings to connect with specialists or colleagues. It is not only proactivity from inspectors themselves that influences their socialization content; different institutionalized interpersonal sources in turn 9 249

19 CHAPTER 9 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION also have the ability to employ proactive behaviors, thereby changing the socialization content not only for themselves but also for inspectors. One telling example is that of team leaders offering inspectors development opportunities or company inspectors improving working procedures at companies. In short, the importance of proactivity in the organizational socialization process is twofold. First, proactivity of employees is stimulated by the distance between organization and employee, but also by the problems encountered with information sources, settings, or facilities. Second, proactivity from the side of the individuals occupying positions as institutionalized information source can also influence the socialization content of employees THE DYNAMICS BEHIND SOCIALIZATION: THE LOCALIZED CONTEXT OF THE FIELD In the previous section, I focused on the localized context of the organization, while this section focuses on the localized contextual dynamics in the field and the learning moments within this localized context that provide inspectors with socialization content (chapter 7; proposition 2c). The analysis of the localized context of the field shows a noteworthy influence of contextual factors on the acquisition of socialization content on behalf of inspectors. For example, the impact of the financing structure becomes clear from the tensions it evokes between inspectors and the facilities under inspection. More importantly, conflicts arising from contextual factors influence the socialization content of inspectors as these inspectors have to learn how to deal with these tensions. The analysis in chapter 7 shows that external actors on the work floor provide inspectors with practical information important for the implementation of their job. However, the analysis also shows that the individualized information settings in the localized context of the field are the learning moments that provide inspectors with a deeper understanding of their job. These individualized information settings are therefore a better starting point than external actors for analyzing the impact of encounters in the localized context of the field. In this localized context, both inspection and enforcement are important individualized information settings. Experiences in either of these settings can discredit as well as confirm the organizational message. Furthermore, these experiences 250

20 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION CHAPTER 9 also teach inspectors about the attitudes and behaviors of the companies under inspection, and consequently help inspectors to develop coping strategies to deal with the specifics of the relationship with these companies. How the individualized information settings can confirm the organizational message for employees is well illustrated, for example, in the experiences of inspectors with the strategic behaviors of the facilities that are aimed at limiting inspection costs. These experiences confirm the organizational message that economic interests play an important role in the inspection process. Similarly, inspectors learn that encounters potentially leading to an enforcement situation can quickly escalate. Therefore, based on their experience and knowledge learned during the course on communication strategies, inspectors develop strategies to prevent situations from escalating and to make it possible to discuss infringements. Moreover, positive effects of enforcement that are observed also confirm the organizational message which requires inspectors to enforce rules and regulations. This confirmation, therefore, fosters the enforcement attitude of inspectors (proposition 3c). However, there are also individualized information settings that discredit the organizational message (proposition 3c). In this respect, the lack of knowledge about meat, the lack of manpower during the ante-mortem inspection, and the absence of human contact encourage inspectors to seek contact with the companies they are inspecting. This increased frequency of contact, in turn, increases the risk of capture by the company s interests. Warning against the threat of capture is one of the most important organizational messages that the NVWA communicates towards its inspectors. This example shows that forces from the organization (i.e. organizational messages) and from individualized information settings (e.g. reducing the lack of knowledge about meat) can conflict with one another. However, the organizational message itself can also contribute to its own discredit. For example, if the organizational message is unequivocal, inspectors can use this to legitimize deviating actions. The organizational message may be utilized in a way that triggers diverging organizational role identities, making it difficult to create uniformity. What does this mean on a more general level for the research on organizational socialization? Research on organizational socialization should focus more 9 251

21 CHAPTER 9 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION explicitly on both institutionalized and individualized learning moments, and more importantly on their reciprocal relation. Furthermore, attention should be paid to the impact of contextual factors on the socialization content of employees. These conclusions have important implications for the research designs used in studies on organizational socialization. In their chapter labeled How we do research around here, Vancouver and Warren (2012) put forward an argument in which they elaborate on different research designs that could be of benefit to the field of organizational socialization. They mention such examples as longitudinal designs, experimental design, qualitative methods, and research simulations. These are designs and methods praised for being well equipped to provide more insight into the dynamics and processes behind the organizational socialization of employees. I agree with the authors that these types of designs can be an important addition to the literature. Nevertheless, based on the findings in this research, I would like to take this argument one step further and argue that not only would the scholarly debate benefit from a broader set of research methods, but more generally, research inquiries in organizational socialization should take a more contextualized approach. My reasoning is that this can help us identify individualized information settings and contextual factors impacting on the organization socialization of employees. In short, accepting socialization content as being the truth relies for an important part on constant interactions between different localized contexts in which institutionalized information is assessed against the experiences in reality. When the information from the institutionalized sources and settings are confirmed by employees experiences, this increases the chance of acceptance of the socialization content. Conversely, experiences that discredit institutionalized information hinder the socialization process. This finding has important practical implications. It implies, for example, that it is important for organizations to select mentors purposefully, based on their agreement with the organizational message. Otherwise contradictory messages have the potential to confuse newcomers, which in turn reflects negatively on the organization. The findings of this research also indicate that such contradictory messages could be the result from the differences between the professional role and organizational role. Future research should focus more in-depth on this as the 252

22 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION CHAPTER 9 increased mobility in society makes the question which influence the previous professional background of employees has on their organizational socialization more prominent DO THE ORGANIZATION S EFFORTS MATTER: THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIALIZATION TACTICS ON THE DYNAMICS BEHIND ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION The previous sections focused on the dynamics underlying the organizational socialization process in an organization that can be identified as employing institutionalized socialization tactics. Yet, the question remains: are these dynamics vastly different from the dynamics in an organization employing individualized socialization tactics? To answer this question, chapter 8 compared the Dutch food safety services and its Belgian counterpart. These organizations are quite similar regarding their work and work environment as these are strongly influenced by rules and regulations established at an European level. The organizations do, however, differ regarding one major aspect relevant to this study, namely the type of socialization tactics employed. Whereas the Dutch food safety services has a profile that leans clearly towards the use of institutionalized socialization tactics, the Belgian food safety services is less focused on strictly structuring the socialization experiences of its veterinarians performing the inspections. As such, the Belgian counterpart of the Dutch food safety services fits the profile of an organization using individualized socialization tactics. A note of caution is in order: since I have only two cases (n=2), the evidence from the comparison is not enough to comment conclusively on the differences between organizations employing different types of socialization tactics. Nevertheless, the comparability of both cases allows us to gain more insights in how the differences in socialization tactics affect the dynamics underlying individual socialization and influence the socialization content of employees. This in-depth understanding can also be used to study socialization dynamics in other types of organizations, thus helping scholars and practitioners to generalize these findings in broader contexts

23 CHAPTER 9 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION I can conclude with relative certainty that the difference between the veterinarians in both organizations can be divided into two aspects, namely: 1) the importance assigned to internal written sources, and 2) the importance assigned to external written sources. Whereas internal written sources are perceived as significantly more important by inspectors of the organization employing institutionalized socialization tactics for their development as inspector, the opposite is true for the external written sources. The latter are considered more important by employees of the organization employing individualized socialization tactics for their development. This appears congruent with the idea that employees in an organization employing institutionalized socialization tactics are more focused on and knowledgeable about internal sources compared to employees in an organization where the socialization process is less structured. The comparison of the dynamics underlying organizational socialization in both organizations shows (propositions 2a and 3a): 1) a difference in levels of socialization content, 2) a varying impact of learning moments on socialization content, 3) a consistent impact of proactivity, and 4) inconsistent findings regarding the relation between learning moments and socialization content. First, the level of socialization content on the organizational and job level differs significantly between the organizations. Yet, surprisingly veterinarians in the organization employing individualized socialization tactics have higher levels of socialization content than veterinarians in the organization employing institutionalized socialization tactics. A potential explanation for this can be found in the specific setting of the cases studied. The latest merger of the Dutch food safety services into the NVWA had a somewhat disturbing effect on the organization as informal networks were destroyed, employees were assigned different jobs, and assistants were fired. Consequently, the work on the work floor was seriously disrupted. This may well have left employees feeling confused. If this is the case, this would show that mergers can seriously disrupt the organizational socialization process and, in turn, also may limit the impact of institutionalized learning moments. 254

24 THE DYNAMICS UNDERLYING ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION CHAPTER 9 Second, the analysis also showed that there was a difference between both organizations with regard to the impact of the learning moments on the socialization content (ANOVA). The ordinal logistic regression performed shows what these differences are. At the most general level, the models are significant for all three levels of socialization content in the organization employing institutionalized socialization tactics. Yet, for the organization employing individualized socialization tactics, only the model for job-level socialization content is significant. Moreover, the significance of the latter model is mainly explained by proactive personality. A potential explanation for this finding is that as organizations employing individualized socialization tactics do not structure the socialization processes of their employees, employees have to find their own ways of garnering the necessary information. The priority of employees in organizations employing individualized socialization tactics might be on reducing their uncertainty about job-level responsibilities, whereas reducing uncertainty regarding the organization, for example, is considered less important. This explanation is supported by the significant role proactivity plays in this model. Yet, another potential explanation can be found in levels of perceived organizational support. When employees are less committed to the organization due to the lack of investment in them, their urgency to learn about this organization might also be less. In turn, the institutionalized information sources and settings in an organization employing institutionalized socialization tactics might already provide employees with knowledge about the organizational- and team-level content. Further research is needed to test and develop these ideas. Third, the only independent variable which shows a consistent relation with all the dependent variables in the significant models is proactive personality (proposition 4a). This strong positive relation shows that the individual s input has a positive influence on his or her perceived level of socialization content. An important remark that should be made here is that proactive personality is an antecedent for different kinds of proactive behaviors. Therefore, these results cannot be interpreted as that specific proactive behaviors always have positive effects on socialization content. Further research should focus on specific proactive behaviors and their contribution to the organizational socialization process