Organizational socialization: between tactics and practices

Abstract

Research on how organizations socialize
individuals largely relies on the work of Van
Maanen and Schein (1979), who define six
major organizational socialization (OS) tactics.
The literature suggests that these tactics are key
organizational variables in the sense that they
encompass all the important actions that organizations can implement to socialize newcomers. Furthermore, the consequences of OS
tactics have been studied in a variety of work
settings, and consistent empirical results suggest that such tactics have a strong and systematic impact on several socialization outcomes. This article suggests that OS tactics and
practices are conceptually different, although
they have been empirically confounded. The
results sustain that socialization practices have
a direct and significant impact on socialization
outcomes. Also, we found that socialization
tactics are related to socialization outcomes
only when appropriate practices are implemented. In other words, we develop a contingency
approach of the effects of OS tactics, which
challenges and complements the traditional
view of OS tactics.