Emergence and persistence of work relationships in early socialization: Contrasting interpersonal and organizational perspectives

The development and maintenance of work relationships is the primary mechanism for effective socialization, yet emerging work relationships in early socialization are fragile. We hypothesize that their persistence is related to frequency of information-based support between newcomers and support providers and perceived responsiveness of support providers. We contrast this relational effect with a more established effect of organizational socialization practices. In a three-wave longitudinal study of 40 newcomers involved in 601 work relationships, we examined the persistence of newcomers’ information-support relationships over time. We found support for arguing that the persistence of information-support relationships is positively related to the frequency of information support that newcomers receive from their support providers. Moreover, we show that the persistence of information-support relationships depends on relational factors—the perceived willingness of a support provider to provide informational support, while favourable socialization tactics as perceived by newcomers do not play a significant role. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.